The sound of overhead rustling of leaves pulled Xisuma and Ancel's attention to the sky, Grian flapping his wings as he slowly descended into the grove of trees where the two had been hiding. "Finally," He groaned while his feet hit the dirt. "I've been looking everywhere for you two!"

"How'd you even find us?" X asked the Watcher, as they were thousands of blocks away from any build or player.

"I can sense magic, you and Ancel are full of it. Pretty easy for me to find you guys." Grian explained, scratching at his wrist. "Hey, uh, Ancel, can I speak to you?"

"Whatever you want to say to me, you can say to Xisuma." She flicked her tongue, eyes glowing a dark shade of blue that made Grian's stomach curl into tight knots.

"Fine. I made a deal." He rolled up his sleeve, showing off symbols that were glowing on his wrist. They were very similar to the symbols all along Ancel's back, like some kind of strange language Xisuma couldn't understand.

"What..what is that?" The admin asked, looking up from the glowing purple symbols to meet Grian's eyes.

He rolled his sleeve back down, looking away out of shame. "I made something called a soul deal. Basically it's some kind of magic thing that can get people to become more complacent towards my commands. Truthfully, I don't understand how it really works. Watcher magic is really strange." Grian admitted, his gaze falling to the floor while he rubbed the back of his neck.

"It can turn people into subservient puppets," Ancel curled around Xisuma's neck, whispering in his ear. "Make them unable to resist commands. It's a very powerful spell that binds the soul of the puppet with the magic user."

"Who did you bind yourself to?" Xisuma pointed to Grian's wrist, raising his eyebrows curiously.

"Mumbo," Said the Watcher in a disappointed tone. "I thought he would be the easiest target. He already trusts me."

Xisuma stared at him for a moment, his eyes glowing blue. He probably should have felt worried. After all, Mumbo was now a puppet for Grian to use. But oddly enough, Xisuma didn't mind. In fact, he was completely fine with it.

Things like this were necessary in order to help the Watchers. It was only temporary, after all.

Grian felt his posture shrink under Xisuma's blank stare, shuddering as he looked towards the snake around X's neck. "What did you do to him?" He asked, annoyed at the snake.

"I put him deeper underneath my control." She narrowed her glowing eyes, hissing and flicking her tongue as she spoke. "He's much more compliant now. More agreeable. Now it will be much easier to take control of this miserable server."

He frowned and looked back at Xisuma, whose eyes were foggy and distant. Grian snapped his fingers in front of his face a few times, before the admin was brought back to the present moment. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I think I dozed off for a moment," He laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, it's been a little while since I've slept."

Grian narrowed his eyes once more, looking at the snake. "Ancel, we need to talk. Alone."

The snake stared back at him with an equally narrowed gaze, before she huffed. "Fine," she slithered down Xisuma's arm, curling and coiling along his limb before reaching his wrist. "Just make it quick."

Reaching out his hand, Ancel slithered into Grian's palms. She looked at Xisuma, flicking her tongue at him. "Practice more of your telekinesis while we talk. The more you practice, the heavier objects you can lift."

"Alright." The admin nodded, walking off to get back to his training. Once he was out of earshot, Grian turned his attention towards the snake in the palm of his hands.

"You can't do this again, Ancel." He groaned while pinching the bridge of his nose, clearly annoyed.

"I do not know what you are referring to." She hissed, turning her back to the Watcher.

Grian scoffed. "Treating Xisuma like this! He's not like us, his body is still human!"

"Oh please. He's fine." She flicked her tongue, flashing her fangs as she spoke. "Soon enough his body will adapt to magic, just like yours did."

"It takes time, Ancel. Magic in a human body..it's not normal. It needs time to adjust. He can't go days without sleep or food or breaks." Grian tried to explain, though the snake didn't seem to care.

"He'll do whatever I say. And I say that he does not deserve a break." She replied coldly, tail swishing.

"Tsk," The Watcher scoffed at her, his eyes glowing as the feathers on his wings puffed up slightly. "I should have known you learned nothing from last time."

"You turned out fine." She hissed, turning away and refusing to look at Grian.

He shook his head, looking up from the snake and towards Xisuma. The admin was trying to use his limited magic to lift a fallen tree off of the ground, though his hands were shaking, and he was clearly struggling to even move the trunk.

"Without you, X doesn't have much magic." Grian shook his head, "His body hasn't adapted. It hasn't accepted the magic. So without you, he's pretty much powerless. If you really want things to go quicker, you'll need to give him time to eat and sleep. His body still needs those things to function."

"Fine." She spat, her glowing eyes narrowing in frustration. "I'll give his body time to adapt. But I expect you to pick up the slack when he rests. You know we don't have time to waste."

Grian looked down at his wrist, staring at the symbols that were glowing on his skin. He let out a defeated sigh. "I know. Things are moving quicker than I expected.."

"I'm surprised you were able to convince that mustached buffoon to even shake your hand." Ancel spoke, almost tauntingly.

"Don't talk about him like that.." He muttered, looking away out of shame. Mumbo didn't deserve what was coming. Now that Grian had his soul, he would be tangled up in this mess too.

Suddenly Xisuma appeared in front of them, stumbling as he teleported. "O-oh! Sorry!" The admin laughed, "I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm still trying to figure out how to properly use these powers.."

"It's quite alright." Ancel spoke sweetly, before looking back at Grian with a cold and dirty glare. "We just finished talking."

Xisuma stretched out his hands, allowing for the snake to slither into his palms and up his arm. She curled around his neck, settling comfortably into place. "Xisuma, the Watchers have decided to give you a day of rest for your hard work." She spoke charmingly, her voice dripping with poisonous sweetness.

"R-really?" He asked, eyes lighting up. "Oh, that's so great! I can't remember the last time I got to sleep. We've been working pretty hard."

"Yes yes, they are very gracious, aren't they?" She cooed into his ear, staring at Grian with a cocky gaze.

"I can't wait to meet them. Once they're out of that void, I mean. They seem wonderful." Xisuma smiled, his eyes glowing a deep shade of hypnotic blue. He looked towards Grian, stretching out his hand towards the Watcher. "Come on, I'll teleport us back to spawn! I think I'm starting to get the hang of this now."

Grian hesitated at first, but eventually sighed and grabbed the admin's hand.

⭑

Xisuma passed out as soon as he hit the bed, leaving Ancel and Grian to speak alone in the shabby base that X had been living in. The snake didn't give him any time to build, so he was pretty much left with just a few wooden rooms built into underground caves.

Since the admin was sleeping, Ancel was curled around Grian's neck for the time being, her cold scales brushing up against his skin. He shuddered, trying not to pay attention to the way she slithered around him. It made him feel gross.

"He's coming along nicely," Ancel purred at her work, practically complimenting herself. "I must say, even you weren't as compliant as Xisuma is."

"You've gotten stronger than before, I guess." Grian muttered, annoyed at their chit chat and small talk.

"Yes well, I suppose.." Her voice drifted off as she looked away, the snake shifting a bit. "It's been a while since I've been around your neck. I've gotten used to Xisuma's rough armor, I almost forgot how soft your sweater is."

"Don't get comfortable." Grian spat.

The snake tilted her head, flicking her tongue out as she stared at him. "You don't like me very much, don't you?"

"How could you tell?" He asked sarcastically, the snake hissing back in response.

"We don't have to like each other," She huffed, her tail swishing as she spoke. "But we must work together if we want this server to come along."

"I wouldn't do this if I had a choice."

Ancel stared at him with narrowed eyes. "You're forgetting your place, Andromeda."

Grian shuddered at the mention of that name, shutting his eyes tightly as he shook his head. "Don't..don't call me that." He mumbled weakly, his hands grabbing at his trousers for support.

"You made a deal with the Watchers, and you must follow through." She scolded.

He nodded his head, his defeated gaze stuck to the floor. "I-I know. And I'll fulfill my promise. As long as the Watchers give me what I want in return."

"Their word is as good as gold." She smiled, flicking her tongue.

"Then I'll do what is needed." Grian said firmly, rolling up his sleeve and staring at the words glowing along his wrist. "I promise. I'll get this done."

After a moment, he pushed his sleeve back down, hiding the symbols underneath the fabric. "How much longer until X is pretty much a puppet for you?" Grian asked, a bit defeated in his tone as he spoke.

"He'll do most of what I ask now, though I still sense great reluctance when it comes to hurting his friends." The snake explained through a hiss.

"All we gotta do is tear these Hermits apart." Grian sat back as he spoke, his gaze firm. "Prevent them from ever being able to rise up against us."

Ancel smirked, curling further around his neck. "And that deal of yours will Mumbo, how will it help us?" She inquired.

Grian placed a hand over his wrist, squeezing it tightly before he let out a sigh.

"I think I know how."