Yeah so uhhhhh... hi guys. So this is a bit of an awkward AN to have to make. But long story short, between last chapter and this chapter, Iskall and Stress resigned as hermits. Which... I've been going back and forth with what to do with TLO, considering that in this arc in particular, he was supposed to be a sort of deuteragonist starting like, this exact chapter. (This was just going be just for the arc.) The perspectives would mostly flip between him and G, from a perspective of an Dead and a terrified Alive, But... that doesn't quite seem appropriate anymore. I had written part of this chapter, but I decided that in this case, I decided to trash almost all of it. There were a few story elements I had wanted to expand with him, but ah well -- the lore is still there, it just might not be written to full fruition. In any case, I've always believed I write best without planning. So while my plans may have been cut in half, thrown into a paper shredder and burned, I've come and built up something new. It just... might a much shorter arc than I had originally intended. So if it feels as though there was a big build up and not much to show for it, or the rest of this feels... a little rushed, this is why. (I am pretty happy with how this came out, though.)

Actually, since I'm not going to write it anymore -- might as well spoil it -- Iskall was supposed to find himself in danger time and time again. He'd survive just barely, even if it seemed as though there was no physical way that he could have survived. And yes, there is a specific lore reason why this was, not that any Hermit -- Dead or Alive-- knew that. The Vexes sure would've been screaming their heads off in annoyance, though. It was all in the Dragon head if you know what I mean.

Anyway-- enough of real life! You came here to forget your problems and watch your favorite characters suffer in agony! So let's get to it. :D

✧⃫⃥⃞ ✰⃫⃥⃞ ✧⃫⃥⃞ 

Within the vastness of the End, a single Watcher flew as fast as he could. His clothes were sullen from the elements and his locks were far beyond messy, but he paid that no mind as he approached the large island that he had been heading for all this time. One of his wings half gave out, but he was able to recover just enough to pull off a mostly graceful kneel, his face downcast. He lifted his hands, preparing to speak in a court full of mostly strangers.

"Use your voice, Xiomara. This is not the Sanctum of Seers." The Great Ones spoke in unison. "Now tell us, have you found the traitor?"

Xiomara's eyes flickered over to the other Higher Species; most notably to the Listener King himself. He opened his mouth, about to ask the meaning of such a group coming together, but he thought better of it and said something else instead. "I-- not yet, but--"

"And what is the meaning of that?" The Great Lord asked him. He knelt over before pinching the Watcher's wing in between his fingers, lifting him up. Xiomara cried out in pain as he tried in vain to squirm out of the Great One's grip.

"I-- trust me, your Greatnesses! I have spent every day since the day you sent me searching for Xelqua! I've looked in so many different worlds, visited so many voids personally! But these worlds -- you must understand -- even if I search a million worlds, there would still be many, many others he could be hiding in! I'm only one person!" He cried, letting out another cry as the grip on his wing tightened even more and a loud snapping sound resounded.

"We had thought that you might be able to handle a task of such importance. Perhaps we were wrong to have faith in you. Such failure is completely inexcusable for a Watcher such as yourself!" The Great Lady spat out as her other half began to shake the much smaller creature. That was when a large green arrow sailed through the air before lodging itself in the Great Lord's hand. He cried out as he momentarily lost his grip on Xiomara, causing the Watcher to fall.

Said Watcher tumbled through the air, trying to pump his wings, but the broken one refused to open properly. Before he could hit the ground, however, something grabbed his uninjured wing. This time, while it was uncomfortable, it wasn't forceful. He watched as the giant Ender Dragon gently set him down on the ground beside her eggs before letting him out of her mouth. Even though he had watched the Listener King shoot the arrow and Endellion race to grab him out of the air, he still had trouble processing it all. "What?" He asked in an exasperated whisper. "Why...?" But the attention had already moved off of him. Endellion towered over him, lifting her head to look at the Great Ones in a way that covered him, almost as though she were passively guarding him as he healed for some reason. As though he were just as precious as her own children.

"How could you possibly treat one of your own subjects in such a manner? You should be ignominious of yourselves!" The Listener King yelled. His bow had been lowered, but there was an arrow drawn in the string just in case.

"At least we have some sort of order amongst our kind! You wouldn't understand how paramount our role is to the Universe itself. Without absolute perfection, the worlds would expeditiously fall to ruin, overtaken by glitches and bugs, no help from you." The Great Lord replied as he gripped the arrow with the hand that hadn't been struck with it. With one swift motion, he ripped the arrow out, letting it fall to the ground without care. Some of his blood spattered along with it before he could nurse the hand, covering the wound.

"All you two ever do is bicker and fight, but I do have to agree with his highness here." The Elder Guardian replied from the pond that he had made. "Listen, what you do with your subjects genuinely does not concern me. However, considering that you have handed him a task that even you two cannot complete on your own, it is rather absurd that you beat and threaten him like this. Our time would be much better spent doing other things."

The swarm of Vexes shrieked their agreements with the others as they all flew in front of the Great Ones faces. The two dismissively swatted the Vexes away, ignoring their shrill cries.

"As we have said befor--" She froze mid-sentence, her scowl fading as she paled.

"What?" A Vex asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Another asked.

"Something-- or rather someone-- approaches." The Listener King replied for them as he turned, tightening his grip on his bow for a new reason. "Someone that seems to have come out of nowhere. I had not heard them before..."

"But what player, what bastard or member of the Higher Species, would come to this place?" The Elder asked.

"It is none of those." The Great Lord dismissed. Emotion was seldom ever in his tone, but his words were even more distant than usual.

"Then what is it?" Enderllion asked. She swished her tail, moving it to circle Xiomara and her daughters as an extra layer of defense. One young Dragon squeaked as it was pushed closer to her mother. She stumbled on her feet as she was redirected the other direction. Seeing Xiomara, her head tilted and she squeaked again.

"It's--"

"Ohhh brother!~" The Void called as she ran through the vastness of the End, of the Void itself that surrounded the End, before her feet reached the endstone island the rest of them were on. With a form so large and a pace so quick, it wasn't long before she had caught up to them all.

"Wait-- brother?" The Elder asked.

"What does she refer to?" One of the Wardens grunted.

"Who is she?" Enderllion asked.

Void giggled as she swiftly wrapped her arms around the Great Ones, pulling them in for one big hug. "Oh, I'm their Sister!" She exclaimed. She let go for just a moment to grab the Listener King's hand and pull him into the non-consensual group hug.

"Wha-- excuse me?!" The Listener cried as he tried and failed to break free, along with the two Great Ones. "I certainly do not have you for a sister! Or them as siblings, mind you!"

Void only tilted its head, its frenzied grin only growing at the declaration. "Oh? But truly I am, Brother. Tell them, Sibling! Tell them that we're a family!" The onlookers all turned their gazes to the Great Ones expectedly, but they didn't reply.

"Surely, she's lying!" The King exclaimed. "Tell her she's lying, you two!" The silence that followed was enough to say it all. "But-- what? That makes no sense! Certainly we're not--?!"

"The Universe raised the two of us and Void together as siblings, that is true." The Great Lord hummed. With that admission, the Void let the three of them go. A moment later, she grabbed onto the Lord's arm, squeezing it tight as she rubbed her head against him affectionately. He shook his head with a sigh. "And along with us, the spirit of the King of Listeners that resides in you also was raised by the Universe at the same time."

"And that makes us a family!" The Void finished with a large grin, looking over at everyone else. The other three averted their gazes, frowning.

"Surely all of our species were born of the Universe. That, however, does not mean that we are all family." Enderllion replied, noticing the way in which only one of them were eagerly proclaiming such a close relationship. "I was raised with the first-born Vex and Sniffer, and yet I did not consider either species my family." She glanced down at her children. One of her hatchlings had moved over to Xiomara, sniffing him curiously as he tried to back away. The little Dragon didn't seem to get the message, only following him. Enderllion let out a huff of dragon's breath at them affectionately. "Children... Just stay still, Xiomara, and let yourself heal. She's just curious is all."

"Similarly, us Guardians do not consider the Wardens our kin." The Elder agreed, narrowing its eye in scrutiny. "Seems rather hard to believe that the two of us that fight the most would consider themselves siblings, Void."

The Listener King shied away from the two Watchers and the Void, going to discreetly stand closer to everyone else.

"But it's true! Sibling here calls me Sister, and we call him Brother!" Void exclaimed, taking one of its hands away from her sibling for just long enough to point at the Listener.

"That why you stay by Great One's side, do bidding?" One of the Wardens asked.

"Of course!" She answered gleefully, squeezing the Lord's arm even harder.

The Listener King let out a heavy sigh, rubbing at his eyes. Hadn't he gone through enough? Wasn't this entire situation hard enough? He really didn't want to think about the meaning of these words, if this whole family thing really meant anything at all. Maybe later. But for now, for the sake of his sanity, he needed to pull things back on track. "As far as I recollect, Void, you have laid dormant. Torturing some poor souls, sure, but you have stayed in the Void for -- well, all accounts of history that I can manage to obtain never recalled you even having a physical form in the first place. So then -- for what purpose? We have been trying our best to fix things, to obviate the downfall of all of us. The Vexes and the Watchers have noticed some sort of aberration in their powers and their people. Now I too -- my people, have seemed to succumb to the same fate..." He paused as he studied his arm, trembling ever so slightly. Was that because of the drain of magic, or the emotional toll of the past few nights? He bit his lip as he looked back at Void, his eyes narrowing. "And you have been doing what precisely? Why have you not come to our aid?"

The Void took a few more sweet moments, taking in the feeling of her sibling, before she finally let go once and for all. "Time is a line, a cage, a loop. You cannot beat time; it does not matter if you struggle or you succumb to it -- everything will play out the same. I never interfered, and that was why I chose to not interfere."

"But you could have."

"But I didn't."

"Sure you can! You still can!"

The Void only sighed, shaking her head. Her attention was caught by Xiomara, who was now being fervently licked by his new, unwanted Dragon friend. Deciding that he had heard too much already, she swallowed him into her realm, to be dealt with later. This no longer concerned him.

With that settled, she spoke once more. "Fate, will... Concepts that you two made on your own accord when I tried to teach you to see time the way I do." She shook her head. "Fate, the ability to see the future, but it's clouded since Siblings were unable to master it. Sometimes, they interpret it wrong, yet they hold fast to it as though it is the truth. They misuse it for the control they were born of. And to you, Brother, I taught your spirit to listen to itself, to pass down knowledge from any who have had that spirit that dwells in you now. Over time, you have combined it with your culture and beliefs, which is now referred to as will. You too have failed; you cannot recall all the memories of those who came before you. Only I have mastered and understood time itself." She placed a hand on her chest, grabbing her wrist with her other hand. She could sense the others were about to speak, but she spoke again before they could interject. "Fate and will... were these not what you both used to determine the growing instability of the Universe? If I had simply told you these things -- no. What I have done was to prove to you both, and all the rest of you standing here, the severity of the situation. Perhaps my efforts were overlooked. They nearly always are, but you should know that there is a reason for every single action I perform, every word that leaves my mouth."

Void waited for the reaction. Even the Vexes were silent at this new information, and she could nearly feel the gears turning inside their heads. The one who spoke first was none other than Enderllion. "So all of this time, you really were helping us." She summarized.

"The burden I bear is great." Void replied, rubbing her shoulder as she averted her gaze.

"We all have our roles to play, for better or worse." The Guardian agreed.

"Better!" A Vex reasoned.

"Always for the better!" another concurred.

"Well, mostly."

"Except that stroke of bad luck we had-"

"We don't talk about that."

"Enough!"  The Great Lady called over all the Vexes. When it was quiet, she turned to the Void. "If there is a reason for everything you do, then why did you choose to appear now of all times?"

The question made the Void beam. "Oh!" She exclaimed, clapping. "I'm so glad you asked! Remember that deal we made? What were the exact words? —'I will grant you one favor in exchange for your service?' Well, I have served you for well long enough. It is time for you to uphold your part of that deal, right here and now."

"Right now? In front of everyone?" They both asked in unison.

"Of course!" Void grinned all the more. "You certainly would not lie to me, would you?" She tilted her head innocently, blinking slowly. She felt them squirm ever so slightly under her gaze, running her essence through their clothing, their feathers and their skin. How many times had she returned to this moment too? Such a pivotal moment, one nearing the ending. Not that it would ever tell any of them that.

"We would never lie. We are sworn to the truth. Surely you all know this." The Great Lord replied.

"Name your price, and it will be granted." The Lady concurred.

The Void took ahold of the Great Lord's hand first, then the Great Lady's. She squeezed one, then the other before looking up at them. She had made sure that her form was comparable to theirs in size, but just a little shorter. Anything to seem that much more obedient, to seem that much more passive. "I would like the piece of your power that Xiomara retrieved from Miesall's remains." She nearly sung.

"What?" They both exclaimed, taking their hands away. "But that's—"

"Worth over a million years of slavery and blind loyalty, would you not say?" The Void replied, her happy demeanor falling flat, replaced by by something that could only be described as venom: a look of pure hate and spite, built over so many years — nay, an eternity. "Did you truly believe my price would be a cheap one?"

The little shiver from her siblings was well worth it, as the way their eyes darted from underneath their masks. She loved how she could feel each one of their anxious movements, even if outwardly they mostly kept their cool as they always did. When they responded, they replied, "You could have asked for so much more of our power. You could have asked for all of it if you had wanted. Even so, you would not have been able to wield any of it. Yet you ask for a single fragment, a fraction of it? Why?"

The Void turned both her palms upwards. "Time has kept me locked within it's cage; as have you. Must I reveal my intentions to you? I think not. Now, it is time to uphold your promise to me, lest you wish to break the highest level of oaths in front of all of the leaders of the Higher Species." She said in such a way that left no room for argument.

The Great Ones solemnly nodded. The Great Lady placed a hand on her chest as it began to glow purple with the flow of magic. She reached inside of herself and pulled out the small fragment of Miesall that Xiomara had retrieved. She lowered her arm just enough for Void to quick swipe it, grasping it with both of it's hands.

"Well then, this is the end of the line for us." She grinned before a darkness appeared and grew from her feet, swallowing her vessel whole. Then, just as though it had never been there at all, the Void vanished as well.

✧⃫⃥⃞ ✰⃫⃥⃞ ✧⃫⃥⃞ 

"I'm back!" Void called as its vessel ran through the darkness of it's realm to where it had left what had approached her before. The creature looked up wordlessly, staring at her. "As much as I would have loved to join you immediately, there was one thing I just had to get for you, Fledgling..." She opened her clasped hands, revealing the lavender gem, before offering it to the creature. The creature made a sound akin to a growl, gripping their hollow center where their stomach should have been, but a hole resided instead. "I know, I know... A part of you is still out there, but take this. It'll help fill that appetite of yours, if only a little. And once we are together, we will be able to do so much more. The people and things that chained us for so long will no longer have power over us."

The creature looked back up as the eyes all over its body began blinking, as though they were processing the information.

"Please, eat it." void urged, bringing the pendant closer to its face. It paused before nodding ever so slightly and sinking their fangs into the gem, eating it with a few loud crunches. "There, is that better?" She asked, moving to place a hand on its cheek. It didn't respond, but the grip on its missing stomach eased, revealing the deep claw marks on its sides that had been left from their anguish. Void patted it's cheek, giving it a sad smile. "Come on, Glimmer, Fledgling, Sweetheart. I've waited long enough for this moment. Though even I do not know what comes after this, I am more than ready to leave my cage. And I have just the idea to help fill that stomach of yours."

✧⃫⃥⃞ ✰⃫⃥⃞ ✧⃫⃥⃞ 

The next few days were a complete blur. After their death, Grian met up with Mumbo back at the Dead headquarters. Between Mumbo's redstone skills and Grian's explosive personality, they worked together to set up traps all throughout the world. It was too exciting, really; so much so that neither of them could hardly sleep. They would set out hours before sunrise and only finish their schemings well past midnight. And with each passing day, the amount of players alive dwindled until two remained.

It was about 3 AM now, come to think of it. Grian perched himself on top of the crest of a hill, wrapping his wings around himself to brace from the cool night air. Mumbo had turned in about an hour prior, but Grian couldn't sleep; not yet. How could he? Excitement tingled through his greyed skin, the anticipation making it hard for him to stay still.

Two more. Only two more Hermits, and this would all be over. Tonight, if everything went to plan, they could crown one lucky winner. His mouth twitched into a half smirk at the thought of the poor little winner cowering for his life, to be truly alone as they tried their best to run from the inevitable. He just couldn't wait for the sun to rise.

He looked down at his arm. Covering the light grey of his skin was the white fabric that always remained wound tightly to him. Because it had always been colorless, it hadn't changed -- much like his necklace, whose purple never faded for some odd reason. In any case, even though the fabric had not changed, he had. If he wanted to take on the strongest, smartest man in the world, he would need to use all the cards in his arsenal. He grabbed the edge of the bandages before unwinding it three times.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he felt the blocked magic swirl within him. A new set of wings unfurled themselves and about a dozen of his eyes appeared around him. It took a few moments to readjust to it, but then he was ready. He opened his physical eyes as he sent out his new ones into the vault that laid below him. He may not understand redstone -- that much was true, but he could use his eyes to find an entrance or a weak point in the security if he looked carefully enough.

With the amount of eyes that he had, it didn't take terribly long to find it -- the west side of the building was where the hidden door was, the only place where lava wasn't waiting to spill out in case someone tried to break through the wall. That was all what he needed to know.

He stood up and opened his wings. With a few strong pushes, he shot off the cliff and descended down to the vaults' door. "But how will I ever get in? I don't know how to open the door!" he mourned, placing the back of his hand on his forehead, staring defeatedly up at the sky. He dropped the act a moment later, laughing at himself as he grabbed his picaxe, swinging it around once in his hand for good measure. He struck the wall a few times and that was that -- the entryway was clear to see: a straight path that led to a flight of stairs, the entire place empty and devoid of anything that could be a trap.

That was, to the human eye. With Grian's eyes, he could see the almost invisible strings, pressure plates, observers, pistons and redstone lines that were hidden under the floors and behind the walls. It was really such a shame, he snickered. All that work for nothing. Using his wings again, he hovered so that his feet were just off the ground. he moved through the room with ease, only having to dance around the strings set in the air. He advanced to the next floor.

This floor presented the same to a normal player, but of course Grian saw through this too. The arrangement of traps were different, but just like before, he easily avoided it all. The next few floors were the same story. If Doc had wanted to bore him to sleep, he was doing an awfully good job at it. He had been hoping for something more explosive or even baseline entertaining. This was just simply pitiful.

At last, he reached the final floor. He stopped just before the entrance, hiding just out of sight. He didn't need to see what was going on, anyway. He already knew that more traps awaited him, along with an obsidian box Doc had encased him and his bed in. That's all that he needed to know.

Grian had to admit, it had been clever. In order for any normal player to get to Doc, they would have to painstakingly mine the obsidian. Even with the fastest pickaxe, Doc would be woken up by the noise long before the attacker could trap him. But once again, Grian wasn't any normal player. He grabbed the cloth that was wound to his arm. He was about to unwind it some more when his pendant began to shimmer and glow. He froze in place, all of his eyes appearing around him to observe it.

"M... Miesall?" He whispered, blinking as color flickered in his irises. He dropped the cloth in favor of cupping the pendant in both of his hands. "What? Why--?" His voice shuddered as he felt the too familiar feeling of tears wanting to be freed. Was Miesall talking to him? Could he do such a thing? If he could, then why would he wait so long? And what was he trying to say right then and there?

The crystal dimmed as quickly as it had started glowing.

"Miesall...?" There was no answer, nor no glow that acted as a response in its stead. Had it been the lighting, then? It must have been. The Dead half-Watcher let the silly emotion die inside of him, his irises going back to their more suiting monochrome color. Without any more distractions, he ripped the power-sapping bandages right off of his arm, stuffing it into his inventory for safe keeping. He saw how the pendant began to glow again, this time exploding in a fury of lavenders and purples in rapid succession, but this time, he ignored it. It didn't mean anything, surely. Or maybe it had just been reacting to the same magic.

Xelqua's third pair of wings appeared, along with all of his earwings. So much magic power poured into him all at once that it made him weak in the knees. He bit his lip and held onto the wall as he his vision was swarmed with hundreds of new different points of view, none of which he could control. He squeezed all of his physical eyes shut as he placed his forehead against the wall. His palms felt sweaty as he gripped his mouth with one hand, swallowing acid that began climbing it's way to his mouth before it could get there.

Had this been so hard before? It had felt so natural for a few hundred years, so then why...?

With a few deep breaths, he was able to get it mostly under control, albeit he still leaned against the wall. That stupid necklace of his was about giving him a migraine, but he could push through this so long as he didn't look at that. He positioned a large sum of eyes around and inside of Doc's obsidian box. If Xelqua had cried out at all during his transformation, it didn't stir his target in the least, thanks to the soundproof box. Perfect.

He reached out his hand, moving his magic so that his hand would glow. It took him a few moments to recall how to use it, but once he did, he used all the magic he could muster to create as many tnt minecarts as he possibly could just above Doc's head. There were so many that exploded at once that even standing so far away, behind a wall, Xelqua still could not hear the sound of his own joyous shrieks over the sound of explosions. The crystal against his chest faded into its regular, steady lavender color as if hope itself had drained from it.

Docm77 blew up

And just like that, it was over. As Xelqua continued to laugh, he grabbed his bandages and slid them back on, just as they always had been. His laughter didn't last very long, however, because a secondary explosion obliterated him, the room and the entire bunker all at once.

Grian blew up

BdoubleO100 fell out of the world

Falsesymmetry experienced kinetic energy

Keralis fell from a high place

ZombieCleo didn't want to live in the same world as Creeper

Zedaph was struck by lightning

Stressmonster101 was squashed by a falling block

Cubfan135 suffocated in a wall

Rendog was doomed to fall

MumboJumbo fell from a high place

Xisuma died

GoodTimeWithScar was killed by magic

xBCrafted death.fell.accident.water

ImpulseSV fell out of the world

TangoTek went off with a bang

Welsknight was killed by even more magic

TinfoilChef tried to swim in lava

JoeHillsTSD left the confines of this world

iJevin fell while climbing

✧⃫⃥⃞ ✰⃫⃥⃞ ✧⃫⃥⃞ 

Grian woke up from the hard ground with a start. His communicator was buzzing nonstop, the screen scrolling quickly with death message after death message. Beside him, False appeared. Then one by one, everyone else was appearing: Keralis, Zedaph, Stress, Cub, Ren, Mumbo, Xisuma, Scar, xB, Tango, Wels, Joe and finally, Jevin. One by one, everyone either sat or stood up, looking around. That was, everyone but Scar, who was already comfortably sat in his chair.

It was as though Grian had come out a deep fog. He could recall what all he had done, but now he finally felt as though he had his head on straight -- no more underlying murderous intent. Yet, he didn't have time to dwell on that right then, or all the terrible things he had done -- what they all had done, minus the very last ones standing. "What... happened?" he asked, wincing at the lingering headache from the explosion.

A metal hand grabbed his own hand, squeezing firmly. "You need to get up!" Doc exclaimed. He didn't wait for Grian to react, and instead flung him to his feet before dashing over to Mumbo to do the same thing. "The world is corrupted! We need to get out of here!"

"What?" Grian whispered, binking. Everything began to feel distant, as though he hadn't really been there in that moment. As though this were some kind of dream. His eyes focused at a place behind Doc. What should have been a cluttered scene full of buildings within the shopping district was mostly devoid of any kind of skyline. The debris of buildings laid on top of each other, and the few that remained were actively shaking and falling on top of the others. On the ground, deep rifts were cracking open, making for an even more precarious position.

No. This wasn't happening. This was a dream. A nightmare. A trick of the Watchers, a punishment of the Void, an overactive imagination. Something. The world couldn't just be destroyed, not like this! Not so suddenly! Not ever! Everything had just been fine and -- no, it hadn't. Something had been brewing for awhile. He knew that. But still. Surely, this wasn't as bad as it looked, right?

Distantly, he heard the laughter of Scar among the panicked cries of various Hermits. He was saying something about this being... a prank? Could this be some kind of prank? He tried to look over at Scar, but he couldn't seem to move at all. Cub ran through his line of sight towards the direction of Scar's voice. A few moments later, Scar gave the shriek he often gave whenever he got jumpscared by something. Yet, Grian still couldn't move; only watch on.

When he had he ever been able to stand so far from his tower with such a clear view of it from spawn? Never. It was... wrong. It wasn't supposed to be that way. This was the shopping district. On the ground he wasn't supposed to see very far. It's supposed to feel crowded. It's supposed to make him feel the need to open his wings and fly. This... this didn't do that.

"Everyone! Get through the portal!" Someone called in the distance.

The waves of the ocean were beginning to become huge. He could make them out from where he stood, and he could see how they smacked his and Mumbo's bases again and again. Each passing wave was larger than the last, steadily growing. They were large enough that both Grian and Mumbo's bases were beginning to rock in rhythm of the waves.

"Wait-- where's Impulse?!" Tango called.

"Someone's missing?!"

The waves were only growing by the moment. A particularly large one fully submerged Mumbo's base. A nasty screeching sound came from the base as the sphere was nearly pulled right off the rest of the structure.

"Has someone seen Bdubs?"

"Guys-- what about Cleo?!"

"We can't just leave them!"

A hand landed firmly on Grian's shoulder. That was enough to break him out of his trance, or at least, enough for him to turn to see who it was. It wasn't enough to return his soul back into his body. It wasn't enough for him to feel as though he was home within his own body. Mumbo. Mumbo was there, blocking most of his vision from behind him. A bright purple light from behind the man obscured most of the rest of the scene. "Grian, we need to get out of here! Come on!" His friend begged, already beginning to drag him towards the blinding light. 

"But--" Grian could hardly think of the words to say. He turned his attention back towards the direction of his base. His home. Hermitcraft was his home -- where he felt safe. Where he didn't have to worry about the Watchers, or being controlled, or having to put on this perfect act one-hundred and twenty seven hours every single day for the rest of eternity. Where he could break down, sob, cry, scream, fall apart beyond repair and no one would judge him for it. Where he didn't have to be the one and only screw up. Where he could be free. He stepped into that portal, he was done for. Doomed. The Watchers would find him in no time and then -- then what? Would they force him to be with them again? No, no they would never have such mercy. A trip to the Void, if they were being merciful. But... they rarely were merciful. No, they likely would strike him down on the spot, and maybe they would blame his friends and then all of them would be put on trial -- and then-- and then-- guilty. The verdict would be guilty. And -- and they would never be seen again! They were all headed to the Void, or killed, and it was all his fault!

"Should we really be leaving if we're all not accounted for?"

With his mind spinning and spiralling, he hardly registered that Mumbo's base could no longer hold up to the ocean. The large sphere broke off the rest of the build and was pushed by the current. It smashed against Grian's own base, which was enough to break through the wall on the main floor. From there, the building collapsed in on itself, the taller floors smashing the sphere's glass. 

"Yes. As admin, I will stay behind and find them myself if that's what it takes! But all of us staying would needlessly endanger all of our lives!"

"Now, you know that's not fair, X."

Grian's legs gave out and he fell to the ground. That was -- that was his base. The first place he had felt at home since -- well, actually, he couldn't remember. Maybe never. Before Evo, if there was even a 'before Evo.' He had no home now. Mumbo had no home. As he stared at his knees, his vision blurred and he had the vague feeling as though he were trembling. 

"I refuse to let anyone get hurt!"

"And that goes for me too. I can't let you go by yourself!"

"Grian!" Someone called, lightly touching one of his shoulders. His chin seemed to have lifted itself, and then he was looking into a pair of dark eyes. Who...? Mumbo. Slowly, he was lifted back to his feet. "Are you--" 

Suddenly, the ground underneath of them exploded. Grian was sent flying, left to flail his wings wildly. Normally, he would have been able to recover with such ease that it would have seemed as though it was a trick that he had planned. This time, however, he just ended up crashing full force into the rubble of unidentifiable shops. 

"My volcano!" Someone screamed as the ground trembled and quaked again. Grian looked up, once again looking towards the sea. He could see Scar's group of islands in the distance. The volcano had a thick, black plume of smoke coming out of it, lava sputtering out of the top. Not the beautiful, fake eruption that the builder had made. An actual, real eruption. How -- how was that even possible? What was happening? How was it happening? Why--?

"Are you alright?" Mumbo asked as he ran back over to Grian. His hair was all over the place now, and his suit had a few tears, no doubt from the explosion. He grabbed Grian's arm again, beginning to lift him up for a third time, when Scar screamed as loud as he ever had. 

Grian's head immediately snapped to the source of the sound. First, he saw Cub standing there, mouth agape with an empty wheelchair on it's side, one wheel still spinning. Scar? Where was -- a little bit further was Scar sliding across the ground in a way that certainly didn't seem natural. And what was more, he was headed straight for a ravine! 

The moment before, Grian hadn't been aware of anything. Now, he was hyperaware-- hyperaware of his best friend, his godchild, a member of his family that was quickly approaching certain death. And in a world so unstable, there was no telling that respawn was working properly. He sucked in a deep breath and screamed "Scar!" at the very top of his lungs. His body was already throwing itself into motion, lunging past Mumbo. As he extended his arm towards Scar, he managed to bite into the fabric binding him and somehow take it off and stuff it into his inventory. He used all of his wings to propel himself forwards, letting him go that much faster. Time seemed to freeze for everything and everyone but him. He threw up a slanted wall of obsidian spikes right at the edge of ravine just before time began to move again. Scar slid to a stop, just barely not falling off the edge of the spikes and into the gaping void. Grian landed, letting himself slide a few feet onto the spike as well. 

His heart was pounding even harder than ever before. He clutched his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Magic hummed through his veins, making up for the deficit, but he wasn't used to relying on his magic like that anymore. He swallowed some vomit that had entered his mouth. "Scar..." He breathed as he leaned down. "Are you--?" 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the obsidian shattered, sending them both tumbling. Scar let out another scream, and Grian screamed right along with him. Even one of the strongest substances in the universe wasn't safe here? Even his magic couldn't save them? 

But now wasn't the time for panicking; it was time for a plan. He twisted himself in the air and pushed his wings to their limits. He needed to get over to Scar, grab him, and stop their decent in only a matter of seconds. Miesall may have taught him everything he knew about flying, sure. And maybe-- just maybe -- he might've had a chance at beating the speed demon if they could only have a rematch today. But even Miesall had a limit of how fast he could fly, how fast he could change the course of his flight, and Grian wasn't any different. 

Faster. 

He needed to go faster!

Just as he thought he wasn't going to be able to grab Scar in time, everything froze once again -- this time, that included him as well.... Yeah, no that wasn't natural either. He couldn't move a muscle, couldn't even move his eyes somehow (he hadn't even realized those had come out), but he could move his pupils. How--?

"Good work, my friend." Xisuma said, patting Joe's back. Joe's glasses were in his hand now, revealing his blindingly white, pupiless eyes. His hair floated in the air, giving him an even more eerie air to him. 

Joe's mouth moved, and he spoke, but without any words. I can't hold them for long, he said. The world is unstable and I haven't used these powers in so long. 

"You've done quite enough. Let me take care of things." X assured Joe. But before he could, both Ren and Tango had jumped into action. 

"No, we've got this. We are a team for a reason, my dude!" Ren assured. Tango dived into the hole, keeping his wings close to him so he could fall faster, to close the gap that much sooner. Ren may not have a pair of wings, or be astoundingly good with an electra, but he jumped right after Tango. There was no time to waste on what ifs! 

"You two--!!" X began to scold, but he sighed instead, shaking his head. As much as he hated it, they were right -- he wasn't alone, and there certainly was no way in the all the worlds the other Hermits would willingly sit idly by. Knowing that, he called, "Be careful!" instead. 

I--I can't hold it! Joe mouthed, dropping his glasses. He cupped his hands on either side of his face, massaging around his never-blinking eyes. It wasn't his cheeks or forehead that needed the relief, but his eyes themselves. No matter what, he could not afford to close them. Not when four lives of his friends depended on it. 

That, X knew, he could help with. He placed his hand back on Joe's shoulder, giving a tight squeeze. "You can, dear friend. Just a few more seconds. Just a few more seconds is all you have to do." Joe could no longer respond, even in his own odd way, putting everything he had into holding on for that much longer. 

Tango got to Scar first, lifting him up in a way that mimicked bridal style. Ren got to Grian next, throwing him over his shoulder and holding onto Grian's back with one steadying hand. 

X! I really--!! Joe begged. His knees began to buckle under the pressure, but Mumbo and Keralis came to stand on either side of him, ensuring that he didn't fall.

"Just-- two more seconds! Promise!" X exclaimed. 

As Ren and Tango made their way up towards the surface, Zedaph, TFC, iJevin, Doc and False rushed to the edge of the fissure, their arms open and ready to receive them. Cub wasn't too far behind, pushing the damaged wheelchair in front of him. 

X!! Joe cried. Tango was now reaching out towards TFC and Doc, the distance between their hands only a few blocks from each other. Ren was about five blocks below Tango, and he had his eyes set on Zed, Jevin and False.

"I know, I know. Just -- just one more second!!" X promised. However, Joe really did have nothing more left in the tank. The white glow of his eyes dimmed and he fell back into Mumbo and Keralis' arms fully. In that instant, his magic was released, and time began to move again. Another chain of explosions blew up around them, throwing the six Hermits on the surface trying to rescue Grian and Scar back towards the portal. Cub lost his grip on Scar's chair in the process, sending it flying as well. On impact, the left wheel snapped right off, as though it hadn't been enchanted with unbreaking 3, mending and a few modded enchantments to ensure it was nearly impossible for it to be destroyed. 

In the rift, a strong, vacuum-like wind quickly swirled to life. Despite how many rockets Ren used, or how much Tango flapped his wings, they were all sliding back down. They all screamed, but it was Scar who was loudest, having no choice but to cling to Tango the best he could. Grian freed himself from Ren's grip, opting to fly on his own instead. He was fairing better than the others, but even he was slowly falling. He knew that he had to do something or they were all going to die! 

Changing his focus from flying as fast as he could to using his magic, he allowed himself to slow down. He only had a few moments, but he haphazardly grew obsidian spikes from what was left of the exposed bedrock. Tango was the first to land on it. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Quick thinking, G..." He sighed as Ren landed beside him. 

"Yeah, my dude. I don't know what you did, but--" And just like last time, the obsidian shattered, crumbled away as though it was nothing. All of their collective screams were cut short. 

TangoTek fell out of the world

GoodTimeWithScar fell out of the world

Rendog fell out of the world

Grian fell out of the world

**To be continued in the next book**

Phew... I've been writing and editing rather fervently the past... week or so? But especially the past few days, pumping this massive heap of a chapter out. At about 7.5k excluding the A/Ns, this is... the largest chapter I have ever written by myself. I did make a 10k one shot, but this is like... a chapter. Part of me knew that it was going to be long, but I didn't quite realize how long. I was going to guess like, 4-5k? *laughs* I was so naïve. I thought about splitting the chapter, but it just kinda seemed to fit all together. 

Man, I usually sit down and edit everything start to finish so I don't miss things. (In the draft, Grian took off his bandage and without putting it back on, took it off in the next scene for example.) But... That was not possible. So I edited one scene at a time in between a rather hectic weekend. And now... I'm kind of exhausted. 

Um, I do like giving some fun facts, sooooo random post-book ramble:

Xiomara hasn't appeared in awhile! For those that don't remember him, he was around in XR. He and Miesall butt heads quite a lot -- especially when it came to Grian. But even before him, they were always fighting. He's the third youngest Watcher after Miesall and Gri respectfully. Overall, I see him and Miesall as siblings (sibling rivalry; I think there was a scene where Xiomara was complaining to the Great Ones at one point about how easy they go on Miesall. Typical sibling jealousy). At first I disliked him, but now I have a little odd affection for him? Just a bit. Random fun trivia about him: he's bisexual. Which... probably gives him a lot of issues and guilt. I don't know why or when I've decided this, but --

Also! I've been wanting to write this ending for quite awhile! I knew that the world was going to be destroyed, and I distinctly wanted this moment where Grian is chasing Scar and trying to make sure he doesn't fall in the chasm. Though, I didn't realize that he was going to use every bit of magic that he had to save Scar. I shouldn't have been so surprised. I also didn't expect for ALL of the Hermits to just... refuse to leave. Again, shouldn't have been surprised. 

I'm not sure if this was made clear or not, but Joe is Herobrine. I had thought about having X calling him by that name, but it just... didn't feel right. Anyway, I got the idea with another fic I made. That one was a collab and my writing partner insisted Joe be Herobrine. 

I've got a lot in store. This book may be over, but the story is far from over! So make sure you're subscribed to the series or following me so you don't miss the new book! It may be awhile, or I might jump right to it. We'll see. (Am I still on hiatus?... I give up having any idea.) But for now, I'll leave you with the initials of the next book: SG. Anyone want to guess what that stands for?