POV: Xisuma

It had been almost two hours since the incident with Impulse and Viper had happened. But Impulse was okay. On the other hand, we had no clue where Viper was. 

So I excused myself, said goodbye, and went to find her. I pushed through the dense undergrowth of the jungle, populated by hermits. After a little bit it was clear she wasn't in the jungle. None of the undergrowth was disturbed, no traces of anyone. 

So I pulled out my communicator, scrolling through until I found Joe. I clicked on it and typed in a short message.

Hey Joe, have you seen Viper?

A few moments later came a response. 

Yeah, shes with me. Apparently she just ran around the Nether for quite some time.

This wasn't what I was expecting, but it was good she was with Joe.

Alright. Thanks.

I didn't go to Joe's. I figured she might not want to see me. So I headed home. I shot through the sky on my elytra, touching down in front of my Nether portal a few minutes later. 

I tended to my bees, collecting the precious honey they made. They buzzed contently around me, and I smiled. I loved the bees. 

I entered the main living space of my base. Then I entered my bedroom. I didn't sleep often, but when I did, having the room here was nice. I took off my helmet and suit and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. I threw the helmet and suit on my bed before walking out and into the kitchen. I made myself a cup of tea, honey tea, and sat down on the couch.

My thoughts drifted towards my brother. Ex. Sure, he was evil, but sometimes it was nice to see him. He had done bad things, so I had to ban him from HermitCraft, but he visited every so often. I dont know how he got here, but he just did, when he visited. I sighed, summoning a blue panel which held all the player stats and codes. I just scanned through them to make sure everything was in order. But something wasnt right. I flicked through the mob list, and everything was normal. Although, thats not what the code said. 

And then, the very last mob, was what I had suspected. An entity, not a player or a normal mob, had joined the game. It had no picture of it, and no stats. But it did have one thing.

The entity name read Allister.

(O snap, sorry his part was so short. But cliff hanger i guess?)

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POV: Viper

Me and Joe were tending to the dogs when I saw it. It surprised me that they were here. They weren't supposed to be here- Why were they out of the Graylands. The entity came closer. I tried to pay no attention to it, knowing better than to interact with the entity. I had interactions with them before, things didn't go too well. 

How did they get here...? I pondered silently, continuing to feed the dogs with Joe. It came closer still, before it was floating a few feet from me. I tried to payno attention. I lost.

"Allister," I hissed, knowing I didnt need to. Joe looked up from the dogs he was feeding, a confused look on his face. He couldn't see Allister. But I could.

"Yeah, im alright!" I tell him, and he turned back to his work. I continued to do mine.

I know you can hear me, Allister said, it's voice scratchy just like I remembered it. The entity had no gender, but a male voice, but not a deep one. Allister could intrude on any shifters thoughts, and I knew it. 

Allister, leave me alone. I think, knowing they could hear me. They hissed.

Why should I, It taunts, floating around me. What are you doing here? Its too... colorful. It hissed, reinforcing the last word. I let out a soft hiss, receiving another confused look from Joe. 

Allister, go pick on someone else.

Hm. I dont think I will. I set down another bowl of dog food. Unless... You're suggesting one of your new Shifter friends?

I froze. No. He couldnt go to Tango, Grian, or even Impulse. It would cause trouble. How'd you get here anyway?

I can dimension-hop, idiot. Allister hissed, before floating over to Joe. Their long cat-like ears flicked. Well well well, whos this? It perched on Joes head, long tail flicking. One of his paws flicked over Joes eyes. He was unfazed. Of course, he wasn't a shifter. Allister growled before floating back over to me. 

I should tell Joe. Or Xisuma. Someone. But how? 

So Joe and I finished feeding the dogs, and thankfully, Allister just watched. 

"Thanks for letting me help," I tell Joe, and he nods.

"No problem. I think Xisuma was looking for you, might want to head over there.

"Okay, thanks Joe." I pick up my flute from where it was laying on the front steps to the winery, and head over to the nether portal. Allister stays behind. I can only hope he doesnt find Grian, Tango, or Impulse. I have my thoughts to myself now, glad Allister couldn't bother me anymore. I had to tell Xisuma. After wandering through the Nether, I find a portal marked 'Xisuma'. I step through the swirling portal, purple, unlike the gray shade for the Graylands. I was greeted by Allister. I hissed, walking over to one of the huge towers. Allister simply floated behind me. 

"Xisuma?" I yell, hoping the yellow-armored man would be home. And he was. I was greeted by him a few moments later. He seems stressed. 

"Hey Viper, you alright?" He asks, flicking through a panel of codes.

"I could sk the same," I reply, and he looks at me, confused. 

"You don't happen to know of an 'Allister', do you?" He asks, closing the panel of codes.

"Actually, uh, I do. Thats why I came." X nods. He tells me to follow him and we head inside. Allister sits on my shoulder. After we're both situated, I start to tell him who Allister is.

"Well, uh, see, Allister isnt great." I start, before it decided they want to say something.

Well, gee, thanks. Now I have more reason to hate you. It hisses, leaping off my shoulder to sit next to X. Xisuma nods.

"Allister is sorta a demon, I guess-" I say, before I hear a hiss from Allister. I look over to it as they poof away. Probably back to the Graylands. Now I could explain in peace. "Its a genderless entity, which im sure you saw in that panel-thing. He can control shifters like me, go into their minds and read their thoughts. You can't see him, but Grian, Tango, and Impulse will be able to, just like myself." Xisuma nods. I continue on. "Allister, well, it can do bad things, really bad things. He was sitting next to you a few moments ago, actually. But anyway, they like to toy with the shifters minds. Especially shifters who are new to it. We have to try and keep them away from Grian, Impulse, and Tango. Im not sure how, though." 

Xisuma ponders a moment before responding. "Alright, that's odd. Its almost like my brother, in a way. You should probably tell G, Impulse, and Tango, you know." He says, and after a moment, I nod. It would be better to tell them before they find Allister on their own. 

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POV: Grian

Me, Tango, and Impulse were told to go to Scar's village. So, listening to Xisuma, we did. We had been waiting here for almost 10 minutes when it appeared. It looked like a ghost. But it had cat-like features, except it had no mouth. Only bright white eyes. 

"You see that...?" Tango whispered. 

"Yeah, isn't it kinda cool though?" I reply, wanting to go over to it, but staying still. Thats when Viper walked over, saw us, and waved. Then she saw whatever the demon-cat was. Her smile faded. She walked over to it, hissing.

"Allister, can't you leave them alone?" She hissed, the floating cat looked at her. Then they just stared at eachother for a few more minutes, before it floated over to us. 

Viper just looked scared. But she didnt move. 

Well well well, we have a shifter here, do we now? A voice hissed in my head. Tango and Impulse looked confused, too. 

"It can hear your thoughts," Viper finally spoke up. So I tried it. 

Hey, who are you?

Well, my name is Allister, I suppose.

Why does Viper not seem to like you?

Shes young. She doesnt know anything. It hissed. 

Why are you here?

Its my job.

"Maybe you should quit your job." I say out loud, receiving a hiss from Allister and a laugh from Viper. 

How dare you? It hissed.

Well, I dont know. Its annoying, really. Cant you leave?

UGH! You idiot! The demon hissed.

I laughed again before it seemed to give me my thoughts back. The, it floated away. Impulse and Tango looked at each other before they turned to me. Then, collectively, we all looked at Viper. She sighed, before walking over to us. Tango growled a little bit. 

"It seems Allister got to you all before I did," She said, sighing again. "Sorry about them. Now, I suppose I should explain." She sat down on the path of Scar's village, and I did the same. As did Tango and Impulse. 

"Its name is Allister. But you already know that. I was hoping to warn you all before, but they seem to have beaten me to it. You have to stay away from Allister at all costs. They can do bad things," The grip on her flute tightened. She physically tensed up. Tango nodded. 

"Im sure you all had a... conversation, with them, earlier. Oh, that grump. It's not too happy with me, I did some... questionable things, back in the Graylands. So they got payback on me and Ru- my other shifter friend. It didn't end very well. You cant tell anyone else about it," She hissed. "Only you three and I can see it. You have to be a shifter." 

Impulse and Tango growled a little bit. I just nodded. This whole situation was weird. 

"They're going to go to outstanding measures to toy with your mind. They can make you do things you dont want to do, if they wish." 

I noticed Viper's grip on her flute hadn't loosened. Her hand must have started to hurt. If it did, she didn't show it. 

Then Allister poofed back, perching on Viper's shoulder. She hissed. Getting a better look, I saw Allister had really long limbs. And an even longer tail. Nobody talked, until Viper's eyes started to give off a soft red glow. And her eyes were a dark red. Tango stood up quickly, Impulse doing the same. I remained where I was. It was weird. She just... Sat there. Then she spoke.

"Allister, just.. leave," She hissed, seemingly hard for her to manage to say just that. 

And this is what happens when you mess with me, Allisters voice hissed. So dont mess with me again. Or you'll be next.

I nodded vigorously. Tango and Impulse must have gotten the same message, because they too nodded. Then they sat back down. Allister must have told them to. 

Viper let out another hiss, this one soft. Then another. She hadn't moved. She remained tense, the grip on her flute getting even tighter still. 

"Should we get someone..?" I whispered to Impulse, who nodded. He pulled out his communicator, quickly typing something in. Then, moments later, Scar was shooting through the sky above us. He touched down in between us and Viper, a worried look on his face. He saw Viper and gasped. 

Allister had not left his spot on her shoulder. Of course, Scar couldnt see it. But I could. Allister was torturing Viper and we knew it. Scar was shuffling through a shulker of potions, worried. Then X arrived. 

Oh, they're so stupid, arent they? They cant help her, I have control of her mind. And she wont snap out of it until I leave. And, gee, I dont know if I want to. Allister hissed.

I could, always, let her go. It'll be fun doing it on a newer shifter... Much easier to deal with.

Please, dont. I pray, not wanting to end up like Viper.

Hm. Okay, It hissed, then left my mind. It was terrible, what it was doing to Viper. 

She kept letting out soft hisses, seemingly unable to form words. X was trying to get the flute out of her hands, but she wouldnt let go of it. Until X finally got it. She hissed. 

Tango stood up, walking over to one of the large trees. He picked up a stick roughly the same size as her flute. He handed it to Xisuma, who set it down next to Viper. She picked it up, gripping it tightly. Then Tango sat down next to Viper. I stood up, and on shaky legs, got up and did the same. Impulse joined us. 

This is getting boring, Allister hissed. I suppose ive tortured her enough now. I'll let her go, but i'll be back. 

He hopped off her shoulder, and her eyes returned to the brown they were before. X hugged her, and she let go of the stick. And she just cried. 

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WC: 2248

Hope you enjoyed! I enjoyed writing the last part, even if it was a bit cruel-

Here, i'll leave you with an (uncolored) picture of Allister. 

This is not they're final design, I will be making small changes when I color it. 

Anyway, thank you for reading!