Last time on Project HermitVengers:

Poor Bdubs finds himself in older brother mode-

The Voids call a truce and try to put those issues on hold until they're not living meal-to-meal-

And here's Mumbo! :D

What's going on here... ah, rewind to a few eavesdroppers listening in on the heart-felt Void brothers moment!

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Zed was worried. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't the only one. But... he couldn't just wait. So he snuck off to see what the duo were doing, and luckily Impulse and Tango followed. Seeing Alex and X so quiet... It was unnerving.

And even more unnerving was seeing Xisuma starting to cry. As Suma started to ramble, Tango exchanged worried looks with the other two. Bdubs had told them all that the Void twins had nearly worked as one person for a few years now, and he'd seen it in acton personally (the talking in unison was never something he could get used to, even with his own siblings it never happened as often as it did with those two).

So, seeing them out of that usual synchronization was weird, at best.

But as Xisuma kept talking, it was obvious that Alex couldn't stay mad at him. His shoulders slowly dropped from the defensive, and he reassured his brother (and the eavesdropping trio, unintentionally) that everything was okay.

"Yes!" Zed whisper-shouted, grinning at Impulse and Tango. The three quickly snuck off to tell the rest of the group, leaving as the brothers affectionately teased each other.

"Guys! Guysguysguysguys- They're okay!" Impulse ran in, startling all the other teenagers in the alleyway.

Ren's eyebrows went up in surprise and excitement. "They are?! Are they done arguing?"

"I think so!"

"There were tearful apologies-" Zed added, "So I think they're all good!"

Bdubs especially seemed relieved at this news. They'd all missed the playful and well-meaning banter the two normally had... and it was hard to get Xisuma to agree to allowing them money for non-essentials while he was in a bad mood (and Alex not being there to help convince him).

"What's goin' on?"

Speaking of the twins, the two approached side by side, looking at the cheerful group in confusion. Xisuma raised an eyebrow while his brother quickly deduced that they'd likely been followed and had been eavesdropped on.

"Well.... Guess neither of us have to tell you lot much." Alex shrugged a bit and went to walk off, quickly being met with lighthearted protests and (from a particular trio) excuses.

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But that was a few days ago, before the newest member had come along. Now...

"Are you sure that's a good idea..?" Mumbo nervously chuckled, watching Cleo and Joe head off.

Cleo snorted and shrugged. "Eh, I don't have any better ideas to get more cash."

"Suma isn't gonna like that..." Bdubs chuckled, messing with Alex's jacket that he still hadn't given back.

"X doesn't like most of my ideas!"

"Gee, I wonder why." Joe said sarcastically. "It's almost like most of them involve scammin' or scarin' people out of their money."

"Hey, we need it more than they do! Especially when it's one of the obvious scams." The zombie defended, adjusting her hood a bit to block her face better.

As Iskall watched the pair walk off, they sighed a bit. "How did I get here again?"

"By being really bad at hiding from Xisuma's parental urges." Bdubs snorted, walking over to a distracted Impulse and plopping in his lap. Impulse jumped a bit in surprise, then laughed.

"Uh- Hello?"

"Hi." Bdubs grinned, laying across his and Tango's laps as the two tried to continue their conversation. They were all fairly used to this, and nobody had brought up being uncomfortable with it given the frequent cold and the limited layers they each had. There'd been conversations around how to get more supplies, and the Voids were currently out doing just that with Zedaph. All the others were simply doing as they pleased, as demonstrated by Cleo and Bdubs.

After they'd been talking for quite a while, Tango noticed Bdubs had gone quiet. He glanced at the smaller teenager and held back a laugh. "Impy- Dude, I think Bdubs fell asleep on you."

"Huh-? Oh-"

Impulse smiled in a mix of (platonic) delight and confusion at the sight.

"Uh... I guess I can't move now. It's like when a cat sits with you, right?"

The others around them started laughing as quietly as they could, somewhat forgetting how deep a sleeper their friend could be. None of them could really blame him for falling asleep either: they'd all had a few moments where they'd drifted off mid-day on each other, or otherwise snuggled against each other outside the usual nightly cuddle pile.

The two human pillows exchanged looks before laughing again and kept talking, occasionally fidgeting with Bdubs' hair and clothes as he slept.

Iskall turned to Mumbo. "So, how you feeling, dude?"

"Honestly?" Mumbo smiled. "Better."

The two had bonded particularly fast, which was a bit of a comedic sight with Mumbo, being significantly taller (despite being the youngest of the group now) and thinner than the Swede, almost always standing next to Iskall.

"Great!" The NB beamed. They too were much happier with the group, the feeling of being ignored nearly a distant memory replaced by Ren's warm hugs, Bdubs' usual yelling, Cleo and Joe's banter, and the daily shenanigans. Just yesterday, Impulse nearly shorted out a vending machine in the subway after being startled by a sudden blast of music from someone's boombox.

When the Voids returned with bags of new clothes, they took Tango and Impulse's places to let them join the others in getting more layers on.

"I'm getting deja vu." Alex joked, playing with his friend's bandanna. Xisuma just laughed softly, leaning against the wall and watching Mumbo tease Iskall about wearing a sleeveless vest. The Swede insisted they weren't that cold, and they may as well take it if nobody else would.

'I hope you're proud of us, Mum.' Xisuma thought, looking up at the cloudy sky between the two brick buildings. He smiled, closing his eyes and letting himself listen to the usual shenanigans.

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Fundy and Doc spent about a day or two in the forest (which was a closed campground apparently), looking around for anything that could help either of them. A few bear lockers were easy for Doc to bust open, and there was some stuff people had left behind (thankfully including food that hadn't gone bad).

Firewood was also pretty easy to get... but not as easy to light. So they'd had to go a while without the warmth the night before. Tonight though, they had been prepared and had a decent fire going by the time the sun set.

"Hey Doc?" Fundy asked through a bite of a granola bar.

"Hm?"

"... if HYDRA's still after us... would it be smarter to split up?"

Doc didn't know why, but his chest tightened at that. Was it the thought of going back? Or the thought they could be watching the two right now? Or...

"... Maybe. If you feel like it's necessary, we could." He fidgeted with a stick in his hand, drawing circles in the dirt.

"If you think there's still strength in numbers, I can stay-" Fundy rambled, sensing Doc's possible discomfort. "I get it if you don't want to be alone again after all that."

Doc jolted a bit. He... hadn't thought of that. Humans were naturally social creatures, and he'd been deprived of that need so much already...

A little longer wouldn't kill him, especially if it meant it wouldn't put Fundy in worse danger. If HYDRA got to him and activated the Creeper...

"No, you're right. Splitting up is safer." The words left his mouth before he could stop himself. He couldn't endanger anyone else, at least not until he felt like he had more control over himself. Fundy paused, then nodded and nibbled on some of the food they'd found.

They'd made their goodbyes quick, Doc not wanting to focus on it longer than he had to. He was gonna miss Fundy, especially if this really was goodbye. He was cheerful and funny, and even when they talked about how messed up HYDRA was, he'd always manage to turn it into a joke of some kind. It was... refreshing. For a moment, he considered changing his mind, but glanced down at his robotic arm. Faint screams whispered in the back of his mind, and he clenched his fist at the fractured memories of what he'd done in the past. That wouldn't happen under his watch... Not ever again if he could help it.

So as he walked away and thought of how he was right back where he started, he joked to himself, "At least it's something I'm used to."

It was a bit sad, but he found himself chuckling anyway as he formed plans in his head of what he should do. 

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Little late but- better than never!

Oh! Keep an eye out for updates to the Face Your Demons storyline if you don't mind reading this universe out of order, there should be a weekly update each Sunday :D

Have a wonderful day, evening, and night! Goodbye <3

- CinnabonSys