Grian had no idea how long had passed since he'd been captured.

He'd woken up one day to chains around his wrists and complete darkness around him. At first he'd expected someone to come, but they waited until when they finally did he was so weak that he couldn't protest when they dragged him off and put him in the cage.

The cage hung from the ceiling in a massive hall; a Watcher hall. It stretched further than Grian could see and every day (or so Grian assumed) the Watchers would gather to eat. The Watcher king's throne was at one end of the hall, behind his High Table, at which his advisors and people he liked sat. Grian's cage hung in front of the High Table, so that everyone could see him whether they sat at the High or Low Tables.

The first day, the Watcher King, who Grian had since learned was called Kyle (sorry, I can't seem to help myself), had shown Grian off as his new "pet." Grian had tried to protest, but they'd just laughed at his efforts to defend himself. Since then, he'd stopped trying to argue.

Sometimes they would open the door to the cage and let him out. They'd make him fly around, then they'd chase him  with whips and hit him if they caught him. The second time the door opened, he'd tried to stay inside it, but they'd simply dragged him out and punished him more. Since then, he'd learned just to do what they wanted.

It fell into a vicious cycle. The longer he stayed there, the weaker he was. The weaker he was, the easier it was for them to catch him. The more they caught him, the more they hurt him, and the weaker he got.

Unfortunately, they weren't stupid. They'd beat him to near-death, then stop for a while until he was healed, then start chasing him again.

He almost wished they'd let him starve, but they fed him. It was barely anything, and it wasn't pleasant, but they forced him to eat.

Grian sat in his cage and slowly lost his hope.

They'll rescue me, right?

Yeah, I won't be here forever.

Where are they?

Are they coming?

They'll come. Soon. I hope.

Won't they?

They'll save me!

(Then why haven't they come?)

They'll come!

(Will they?)

Maybe they're not coming.

(You're not worth it)

They don't care about me.

Surely they would have come by now if they could.

(They could, couldn't they? They're the Hermits)

They just... didn't.

(They don't care)

Maybe they just can't come...

(You know that's not true)

They can come.

(They just didn't)

They don't care about me.

I'm not worth it.

No one wants me.

Please plot your Watcher-murdering here ------------------->

O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O

<Xisuma> I FOINS SONEHHINN
<Mumbo> Excuse me, what?
<Xisuma> I f o u n d s o m e t h i n g
<Iskall85> OMFG NO WAY
<Xisuma> YES EVERYONE HERE NOW
<ZombieCleo> Every hermit report to Xisuma's jungle towers or your kneecaps... well, you know what wil happen.
<TangoTek> Yes, Cleo
<ImpulseSV> Yes, Cleo
<Bdouble0100> Yes, Cleo
<Joehillssays> Yes, Cleo
<GoodTimeWithScar> Yes, Cleo
<Cubfan135> Yes, Cleo
<Ethoslab> Yes, Cleo
<ZedaphPlays> Yes, Cleo
<Renthedog> Yes, Cleo
<Docm77> Yes, Cleo
<ZombieCleo> Alright that's enough the next person to say "yes cleo" is getting consequences
<Mumbo> Y Cleo
<Joehillssays> Please watch your language, Cleo, I know what you're about to say.
<Falsesymmetry> Might I suggest "butt?"
<ZombieCleo> you little butt Mumbo
<Mumbo> i will be there please dont kill me cleo
<ZombieCleo> I'll consider it.
<Stressmonster101> Cleo, please refrain from extreme violence? Last time was a nightmare to clean up.
<ZombieCleo> Alright, I will refrain from using things that make a mess.
<Stressmonster101> CLEO!
<ZombieCleo> Ok ok
<Falsesymmetry> c u there Cleo

The hermits arrived at Xisuma's base as fast as they could. There was no need to ask what Xisuma had found something about; there had been only one thing on their minds for the last three months.

Grian.

The small hermit had gone missing three months ago and nothing had been the same since.

Xisuma appeared from somewhere in the jungle to meet the hermits. He looked tired and overworked, but excited. Many of the hermits overworked themselves now, either to take their minds off things, to try to keep some semblance of normal life, or to try to find Grian.

So far, no one had found anything- until now.

Xisuma pulled out his computer (It's better if you don't question) and typed something in. Then, he showed the screen to the hermits.

A bar at the top read "Currently Signed In As: Xisumavoid (Admin)" and had the time and date as well as some other basic info.

Below that, another bar read "Tracking > Locations > Watchers > Great Hall > Currently Present"

Below it was a long list of names. Among them, highlighted, was the name Grian Xelqua. None of them asked about the last name, although they'd never heard it. Grian was not a common name and they doubted Xisuma would have called them here without checking that he had the right Grian; he undoubtedly had ways to find out that information.

"How'd you find his name in the list and why's it highlighted?" Tango asked.

"I'm just a tech genius," Xisuma joked.

Tango raised an eyebrow.

"Command-F," Xisuma admitted.

"So that just leaves on issue," Iskall said.

"Where the-" Cleo began

"-flip is this Great Hall and what is a Watchers," Joe finished for her. Xisuma bit back a laugh at the incorrect grammar, although Joe couldn't possibly know, so it wasn't his fault.

"Can't even let me swear once in a while? You boys are no fun," Cleo pouted.

"Grian didn't stay away for three months of his own accord if Watchers are involved," Xisuma said. "Watchers are a species of beings that live in the End. They're cruel, malicious, and evil. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but after three months with them, I'm surprised Grian is still alive."

The others stared in shock.

"So, Cleo," Xisuma added deviously. "We'll probably excuse it if you swear at and/or about the Watchers, because I'm 100% sure they've hurt him and you know how angry you can be when one of us is hurt... I'm sure it'll be an accident..."

Joe rolled his eyes but said nothing, and Cleo smirked.

"I know where to go, now gear up for a fight." Xisuma told them.

O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O

The Watchers filed in as usual and took their seats in the Hall.

Grian watched as usual as they uncaringly ate the food in front of him. He was sure that the same amount of food one Watcher ate at a meal was four times what he got... over a week.

But by now he was so used to being hungry he barely cared. It was the least of his worries when every night he had to avoid the whips.

"And now, entertainment!" Kyle called once the Watchers had finished their meal. Grian knew that this meant him flying around while the Watchers chased him with whips. Sometimes knives. Once in a while they'd even use electric rods. Those were the worst.

TW: Minor suicidal thought in the next paragraph.

Today's tools were long spears. Grian hoped he didn't get impaled on one, but he didn't think they wanted him dead. He almost wished they did. At least it would have been an escape.

Skip to here to avoid the TW. (Summary: They're using spears to chase Grian today)

At least only a few of the Watchers chased him at a time; he would never have had a chance against all of them.

"Let out the bird!" Kyle commanded. The door to Grian's cage opened and he flew out.

"Good birdie!" Kyle called. "Now, after it!"

Grian flew away, dodging around the pillars. He managed to escape them for several minutes, but his luck never lasted.

Grian rounded a corner in time to see one of the Watchers throw their spear. He had no time to dodge it and it impaled his leg. Grian stopped midair as the sharp rush of pain brought a flare of blackness to his eyes; not unusual. He assumed it was from blood loss and lack of food. 

This gave the second Watcher the chance he needed to throw his spear at Grian's arm. Grian winced as it hit. He pulled them out, earning flares of pain and blackness across his vision, and kept flying. Vaguely, he heard Kyle's voice.

"Very good, Zadee's spear gave Xendo the chance needed to strike..."

Grian stopped listening and continued to weave among the pillars. The Watchers never seemed to care when he rained blood on them, although the spears were worse than the usual whips and knives. Grian was hit once more in the side, although that one only grazed the surface, it didn't get stuck in him. Grian evaded them for a while, then made a break for it.

He was nearly to his cage when hot, sharp pain seared through his wing. His momentum kept him going; too much, he realized, as he slammed into the far side of the cage. He slumped to the ground in agony. One of the spears had pierced his wing, he realized distantly.

Then, everything vanished into blackness.

O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O

Xisuma led the hermits to the nearest stronghold and into the End. Once there, they went through one of the portals. When they arrived, they found a small collection of towers surrounding a large portal in the center. Made of bedrock, it was formed in a circle and was glowing pure purple. 

Once Xisuma had jumped through, the other hermits didn't hesitate to follow.

They emerged on the other side to a large hall, decorated with massive purpur pillars and a large table spanning the length of the room. Near the other end was a platform on which a throne sat behind a much smaller table alongside several other chairs.
(Imagine the "basement" of Grian's mansion, except ten times as big and decorated with purpur, obsidian, endstone, and bedrock rather than spruce, stone, and prismarine- and a portal instead of the doorway)

The feature that caught their eye, however, was a giant birdcage hanging from the ceiling. Inside, they could see a small, brown-haired figure. He was laying limply on his side against the bars in a pool of blood, which was running out of the cage and dripping down onto the floor. The Watchers didn't seem to care.

There was no holding back an army of angry hermits, and none of them wanted to try. Ignoring the fact that the Watchers were powerful beings, they rushed straight at them and attacked. Their only saving grace was the fact that only about twenty Watchers were still in the Hall, and Kyle and his advisors were gone.

The hall was filled with furious yells and the sounds of fighting as the enraged hermits battled the giant Watchers. They dodged and stabbed, ducked and jabbed, ferociously holding back the Watchers while Stress, Joe, and Xisuma flew up to the cage. Picking the lock, Xisuma flung open the door, then waited as Stress and Joe frantically landed in the cage, running over to Grian.
(Yes I thought this out: Stress = healer in my headcanon of her, Joe = doctor/therapist and also is calm enough not to go attack the Watchers, Xisuma = very controlled and is focused only on Grian, not the Watchers)

"He's lost a lot of blood, we need to get him back fast!" Stress exclaimed.

"Do you have bandages for the worst of his injuries?" Joe replied.

"I'm on it, here, you do his arm," Stress said, tossing Joe a bandage.

They quickly patched up Grian's wing, leg, and arm, where he had deep wounds that were bleeding heavily. It wasn't a great job, but they needed to get him out fast.

Joe picked Grian up, completely ignoring the amount of blood Grian got on Joe's clothes and simply gripping him tightly as he flew out of the cage and into the portal with Stress. Xisuma pulled out a small device, which he spoke into. It amplified his voice so the other hermits would hear him over the battle.

"Hermits, we have Grian. We can go now. All you have to do is make it to the portal and you should be safe; they can't follow us onto Hermitcraft."

This, of course, was not true; they could easily get onto Hermitcraft. But they would have serious difficulty, and he knew he could ban them before they were able to get onto the server.

The hermits turned, one by one, and vanished into the portal.

"REMEMBER US, AND DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO MESS WITH GRIAN EVER AGAIN!" False yelled as she dove into the portal. 

Xisuma waited until they were all through, then glided into it himself and pulled out his communicator. Quickly, he typed in the command to block all Watchers from entering the server, then made his way to the Town Hall, where everyone was gathered.
(I have no idea where the stronghold/s is/are on HC so I'm just gonna say there's one near the shopping district)

O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O--O

Pretty generic one-shot for me, but I wanted to write something and had no inspiration.

I know it's not finished, but it's already 2000 words and idk how to finish it.