"Xisuma? Where have you been?" Mumbo broke the silence, seemingly the only one who didn't sense the eerie tension in the air.

"I was simply taking a look around the castle," he hummed, the sunlight gleaming on his darkened visor. "By the time I came back to the courtyard, everyone had vanished."

Joe glanced at the others, all clearly on edge. They had ran all throughout the castle to try and escape the other hermits, and not once did they see any trace of the admin. The southerner wasn't stupid, he knew that X had left his helmet behind before they had came here. And now he suddenly had it back? Yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all. Something wasn't adding up.

"I see you've been gathering supplies—" Xisuma said, noticing the shulker boxes and tools that the group had obtained. "—that's wonderful! It will be much easier to get the hermits back now."

"Riiiight..." Grian spoke slowly with narrowed eyes, gripping tighter to the handle of his axe. He was nearly ready to throw it, but a hand was placed onto his shoulder, causing the Brit to stop.

"Of course." Joe smiled, "We're glad you're okay, we can definitely use the help to kill the watcher."

Xisuma paused for a moment, his expression impossible to read through the helmet. "Kill, you say?" He asked, his voice remaining flat and emotionless.

"Why yes! It's the only way to free the others from those masks on their faces."

"Well, what about Mumbo?" The man in armor pointed out. "Wasn't he wearing a mask before? How is he free now?"

"It would take much more time to free all the hermits that way, and by killing the watcher, we'll never have to worry about this happening again. You'll join us, won't you?"

His hands tightened around the railing of the balcony, which Joe noticed, though he gave a nod. "Of course. Anything to help the other hermits." Xisuma said, though it sounded as though he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Perfect." The southerner smiled, glancing at the three other survivors. "Come on, everyone. Let's head back into the castle to look for the watcher. X, since you've already explored the castle, would you like to lead the way?"

"I'd love to."

He turned towards the large doors, pushing them open. While the admin's back was turned, Grian turned to Joe with a look mixed between confusion and anger. "Are you trying to get us killed?" He whisper-yelled. "Xisuma is obviously brainwashed! Not to mention those journal sketches we saw in the library!"

"Calm down, I know. 'Suma is gonna lead us straight to that watcher. Once we're there we can just knock him out or something, then Mumbo just has to build that TNT machine. And if we get into any trouble, you can just pull out an invisibility potion and splash us."

Grian shared a worried look with Mumbo and Stress, the idea risky, although it could work. "I 'fink we should give it a shot." The brunette hummed quietly, followed with a moment of hesitation, before gaining a silent nod from the other two Brits.

"Is everything okay?" Xisuma called from the balcony.

"Yep! We were just gathering our tools." Joe responded, looking back at the three other survivors. "Stay close. If we need to use the invisibility potion, grab hands before you get splashed so we can stick together."

With no time to waste through arguments or questions, the four walked up the stairs that led to the balcony. Stress glanced up at Joe for reassurance, her eyes expressing the worry that she felt. The southerner wished that he could say something to comfort her, though he wasn't sure he had any words to begin with.

"I stumbled upon the throne room while I was exploring the castle," he explained calmly, the admin holding his hands behind his back as they began to wander through the halls of the palace. "I think that'll be the best place to start looking."

The halls felt colder than normal, with an unsettling feeling beginning to form in the pit of Joe's stomach. But this was their last chance to get Hermitcraft back, and in order to do so, they had to trust one of the brainwashed hermits to lead them in the right direction. It wasn't exactly the most foolproof plan, but it was the only plan they had. No matter what, the four had to keep moving.

"It seems like you all have been through quite a bit." Xisuma mentioned to break the silence, his voice unnaturally monotone. He glanced over his shoulder, looking back at the surviving hermits. Even up close, Joe still couldn't make out any expression behind the tinted visor. He could only see his own nervous reflection staring back at him. After no response, the admin glanced back towards the darkness ahead.

"Quiet, are we?" He let out a dry chuckle, "Normally you all are so talkative."

No one dared to answer, and Xisuma didn't push them to do so. They just continue to walk forward, progressing deeper into the belly of the beast. It was an unsettling feeling to be here, especially due to the risks that the group was taking. Just the thought of Cleo with that mask over her eyes was enough to give Joe goosebumps, but the sight of her and the other hermits was even worse. They may have to fight the brainwashed hermits in order to get to the watcher, which only made the southerner feel worse.

"Hello? Grian? Joe? Stress? Are you here?"

The three suddenly stopped in their tracks, frozen at the voice that called their names. Mumbo raised an eyebrow at their pale faces, confusion shining through his chocolate eyes. The voice was easy to distinguish, the gruff tone and German accent made it clear from the very beginning. There was no doubt that it was Doc.

"Ah!" Xisuma perked up, looking back at the four hermits. "That must be Doc. Maybe he and Wels stuck together once you were separated from one another. They sound like they're just around the corner, we should meet up with them."

'There's no way that Wels and Doc aren't brainwashed,' Joe thought, hoping that the others shared his concerns and discomfort. Based on their expressions of uncertainty, it was clear that the remaining hermits were all on the same page.

"You go ahead to make sure that it's all clear, and tell them we're okay if you find anyone." Grian spoke up. "We'll stay back for a minute or two until you tell us it's safe."

"Great idea!" The admin said, probably not to cause any suspicion towards himself. He walked ahead, disappeared around the corner where Doc's voice had been coming from. Once Xisuma was out of sight, the builder's smiling expression fell into a serious frown.

"There has to be an ambush around the corner. Doc and Wels sacrificed themselves, there's no way they made it out."

"Agreed." Stress nodded, "We need to get out of here."

Grian pulled out an invisibility potion, the same one he managed to steal from the brewing room. "I have just the thing." He grinned devilishly.

"It won't last long—" Joe warned. "—and it's the only one we have. Let's make it last. Everyone, grab hands so we can stick together, then run down the hall past the ambush. They've got to be guarding the way that leads to the watcher."

Stress grabbed Joe's hand, Joe grabbed Mumbo's hand, and Mumbo grabbed Grian's hand. The four held a firm grip on one another, determined to stick close. The shorter Brit took one last glance at the faces of his friends, before he dropped the glass bottle onto the ground.

Xisuma heard the shatter, poking his head back around the corner just as a silver cloud of mist began to clear. The hall was completely empty, no sign of any life other than a few shards of glass and a rather small puddle of a mysterious liquid. The admin tightened his hands into fists, turning back towards the group that had hidden around the corner in wait. "They're gone."

"That's not possible," Taurtis said. "There's nowhere to run. If they were gone, we would have seen them running down the hallway."

"Well, they're not there." X snapped back to the evolutionist.

"Sylvia won't be pleased, this failure will upset her greatly." GeminiTay shook her head in disapproval.

"These so-called 'friends' of yours are trouble, Xisuma." Pearlescentmoon sighed, the silver eye on her mask beginning to narrow at him. "We need to find them before they can hurt our watcher."

The admin glanced towards Wels and Doc. "Get the others. Search the castle. Don't stop until we find them."

"What about you?" Gem asked as Xisuma began to walk away, causing him to stop.

"I will guard Sylvia. No harm will come to her underneath my watch. Join the hermits in our search. They couldn't have gone far."

☼

"I hope you've returned with good news, my dear."

Xisuma said nothing, his gaze focused on the ground as he used both hands to shut the towering wooden doors of the throne room. "I'm afraid not, they managed to slip away without me noticing." He reported, taking off his helmet to reveal the mask over his eyes.

"It's alright," Sylvia said, rising from her seat. "They won't be able to run for long. We'll find them soon."

"I thought you would be upset." The admin said quietly, staring at his shoes.

"My child, you have brought me your world. You have finally returned to me. These few remaining pests are not as important as you think. If they are unwilling to submit, we are always able to eliminate them. There's no reason to fret." She said, bending down to become face-to-face with her creation. She placed two of her fingers underneath his chin to lift his head towards her, causing their gazes to meet. Xisuma stared at her for a minute, the silver on his mask slightly glowing, before he finally nodded.

"Yes, of course. We can eliminate them. They'll only continue to create problems for us in the future."

Sylvia pat his head lovingly, before returning to her full height. "Good boy. I'm glad you agree. We'll have everything back to normal in no time at all, then we can continue to expand the empire. You and your brother shall be a great help, once Xanthus begins to cooperate."

"He's stubborn, but I can try to talk to him." Xisuma offered, though the watcher shook her head.

"No, I'm afraid that won't do much. In a way, you and your brother were created as reflections of myself. You were created as an undyingly loyal servant, as I was undyingly loyal to the watchers. Your brother was made out of spite, rebellion, as I was disobeying my superior when I created him. That is how it will always be, and it will not change I'm afraid. Xanthus may not join us willingly."

"Such a shame—" X shook his head. "—but I understand. He will cause too much trouble for us otherwise."

Sylvia nodded, turning her back on Xisuma as she took a few steps forward towards the throne. "You should help those hermits of yours with their search throughout the castle. It is a long search, they'll need all the help they can get."

"But I—"

She held up a hand, causing the admin to quiet himself. "You are needed elsewhere. Go."

He reluctantly nodded, turning towards the door to leave. The watcher waited for the door to close before her attention turned towards one of the large columns in the grand hall. Her fingers snapped together, which caused Ex to suddenly appear from out of thin air. The man in red armor gasped for breath as if he had been deprived, coughing blood from his throat. Despite that, he had no visible wounds on his body. He was on his knees, chains made out of glowing silver and magic wrapped around his wrists to keep him in place.

"Your brother has always been so obedient." she said, dragging her cold fingernails across his cheek. "Even when he still had no memory of me, he came straight to the castle with all of his little friends, with barely a plan in mind. And now that he remembers, he has made it his goal to serve me like a queen."

"Well, he's always been a brown-nosing suck-up." Ex sneered in response, though Sylvia didn't respond to his little outburst.

"You won't join me willingly. It's rather frustrating, really. I don't want to hurt you, my child, but you haven't given me a better option yet. You've just been so difficult."

Ex shrugged, saying nothing else. The watcher frowned at him. "If you won't join the silver sun, I will have to force you, just like I did before."

"Then why even free me? Just to talk to X? Seems stupid if you ask me." He said cockily, though Sylvia was patient with him.

"You are my children, you should have a choice to join your mother. I just wanted to wait until I had you both together once again." She said, snapping her fingers together once more. A mask appeared in her hand, which she placed in front of Ex.

"I hope you'll make the right choice."

Sylvia turned away, walking a few paces before stopping. The ground beneath Ex turned to the consistency of quick sand, sucking him into the ground before he even had a chance to touch the mask. He flailed helplessly, his body weighed down by the chains around his wrists. Within moments he was completely submerged in the floor, before the ground suddenly returned to its normal state.

"Don't be afraid." The watcher said calmly, turning to the darkened corner of the room. "Xanthus will be just fine. He just needs time alone to consider my offer."

When there was no response, Sylvia let out a 'tsk' of disappointment. She tapped her foot against the marble flooring, which caused a shockwave of energy to suddenly release throughout the room. The magic washed over the three surviving hermits, suddenly revealing Stress, Grian, and Joe as it negated the effects of the invisibility potion. The survivors had been watching in the corner since Xisuma walked into the room, barely even breathing to stay as silent as possible.

"Did you really think you could hide from me?" She asked, cocking her head to the side while she towered over the group. "You've been wasting your time. Running and hiding, playing these little games. I've let you try, but I believe that I've encouraged you all enough."

"S-stay back!" Joe warned, holding out his iron blade with arms that shook from pure fear. The watcher smiled, tapping her fingertip against the tip of the sword. The strong iron weapon seemed to rot before their very eyes, a black rust quickly overtaking the shining silver. Within seconds, the rust crumbled and turned the entire blade to dust.

"You know, I was really expecting a better show than this. But you tried your very best. Because I'm kind, I'll give you the same option that I gave Xanthus: either join me, or suffer the consequences..." She said, raising an eyebrow in wait for their response. Joe, Stress, and Grian stayed firm, their eyes filled with determination. The watcher gave them a smile. "Very well then. You tried your best, but—"

The entire room suddenly shook at the sound of a deafening blast, causing the three hermits and the watcher to shake and nearly lose their balance. Sylvia's throne exploded into hundreds of pieces of rubble and debris, flames burning the surrounding area. Mumbo coughed into his elbow, his eyes watering from the smoke. His TNT duplicator was completed, built entirely behind the throne to stay out of sight. It was compact, as well as an adjusted design to double as a TNT launcher, though it seemed to work so far.

"Well, what a surprise." She growled at the interruption, "But this little plan of yours is a hopeless attempt. All your friends who were patrolling the halls should be on their way here now. Soon you'll be outnumbered."

"Then we better make this quick!" Joe yelled, causing Mumbo to repeatedly pull the lever of the machine over and over again. Ignited TNT was thrown forward out of the contraption, flying through the air and towards Sylvia. The first block exploded, leaving a dark cloud of dust over the throne room. Other blocks of TNT were detonating everywhere, most being thrown around by the other explosions.

When the noise began to die down and all that was left was the soft crackle of fire, Mumbo glanced towards the large cloud of smoke and particles. Unharmed, the watcher stood without a burn or scorch on her body. She now wielded her staff, which was emitting a faint glow. "How creative. You truly are a brilliant mind, Mumbo. But I'm afraid these shenanigans are over."

She pointed her staff at him, the single TNT block in the duplicator suddenly sparking. The redstoner's eyes widened in shock, Mumbo jumping off of the build before it exploded. He landed atop the shulker boxes of supplies that the group had collected, spilling out the contents of the box. The blocks from the machine collapsed on top of Mumbo, burying him in a pile of slime and pistons and other debris. No movement came from the pile, causing Sylvia to turn back towards the three.

"Well, now look at what you've done. Your friend gave his life to try and help, and yet you've continued to fail. This rescue of yours has gone on long enough. I believe it's time you all join us, or suffer."