It was a long way from home. Thousands of blocks, in fact. But if that was what made this possible, then that was what he'd do.

Grian looked around, checking one last time that no one was there even though they wouldn't be, before placing his mask on his face gently. He felt an increasingly familiar buzz of warmth and security fill him, and he flapped his wings. They still felt strong, if a little less so than they had been before he ran away. This was going to be the first time in years he'd really moved them, and he was really looking forward to it.

He sucked in a breath before launching himself off the sandy ground of a small, isolated island. He wobbled slightly, his usual way of flight being very different from this. For a second, he felt like he was falling (and realised he should've set his spawn before doing this before remembering that he'd most likely fall in the sea anyway and wouldn't take fall damage) before managing to spread the feathery wings and glide.

He regained his balance and then pushed himself back up into the dark sky, remembering how to fly again. It was like riding a bike, once you could do it you never forgot, although if you came back to it after a long time you might wobble a bit before getting back into the swing of it.

After a few minutes, he felt himself grinning as he flew down towards the island and pulled to the side in the last second, before gliding up and doing a loop-the-loop. Then he glid down and circled the island again before going off in a random direction and gliding above the sea, reaching his hand down into the water.

He laughed as he flapped his wings and went up again, going as fast as he could. It was much faster than an elytra could ever go, even with a hundred rockets per second. He'd forgotten just how much better wings were.

He let out a "Woooo!" and another laugh as he flew upside down momentarily through a cloud. The evaporated water felt cool against his face.

A couple of phantoms spawned, but he killed them within seconds using the purple fire. There was nothing to worry about, nothing to threaten him. For those few hours he spent flying around in circles, his mind was clear and he was happy.

When the sun began to rise, Grian teleported himself back to his starter base since it was quicker and easier, before taking off his mask and placing it back in his Ender chest. The cold washed over him like a bucket of water, but he simply bit his teeth together and tried to ignore it.

* * *

Each night, Grian went to the island in the middle of nowhere and either practised flight or magic, or both. He was getting stronger, but he still felt clueless about why.

Why had the Watchers chosen now to make an appearance if they'd allegedly been there the whole time? Why was he so cold without the mask? Why had they not done anything to him yet? Why had they told him the hermits were dangerous? Why had they chosen his friends, of all things, to lie about? Because they had to be lying, right?

On Hermitcraft, all days were equal - in the aspect of having no weekdays or weekends - and although they did have the names Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc. none of the hermits really kept track of them. Grian didn't, at least. If there was any important event, such as the monthly server meeting, it was always announced on their communicators anyway, so it didn't really matter if he didn't know the date.

He was pretty sure it had been four days since he had last spoken to the Watchers.

That evening, when he went to the island, he put his mask on, but didn't light his hand with fire or take off into the sky. Instead, he muttered in Galactic;

"I want to talk."

It was his only real idea, so he was lucky it worked. Instead of falling unconscious like last time, the Watchers came to him. They appeared without any fiery effects or puffs of smoke, because they weren't a human's idea of a magical entity. They simply were there, like they were always there but hadn't been visible a second before. They weren't there one moment, and were the next. A bit like when someone respawned, but more solidly and neatly.

Grian stared up at the dark figures that were one and a half times his size. Anyone else would've been intimidated, but he knew their size was not the thing about them to fear.

Go ahead. T∴𝙹 said, expectantly, replying to his earlier request. Grian's wing twitched slightly as he thought about his words.

"I... I just want to know more. Why did you choose now to let me know that you're here, if you've been here the whole time?" He asked.

We can show you. Oリᒷ suggested.

"Okay." Grian agreed. Oリᒷ's hand came alight with flame and a portal constructed itself in a matter of seconds behind them.

We'll return you back here afterwards. They said, and both of them stepped into the portal. Grian thought for a second, but followed them. He could always get back to Hermitcraft with his own power if needed, although part of him was still screaming at him not to go.

They came out into a different server.

The air tasted different and the scenery seemed positioned differently to the way Hermitcraft's was. All the blocks looked slightly off, with textures just a bit too firm or soft or smooth or spotty or cracked than they should be. They were still recognisable but looked slightly weird on second glance.

Yet it felt oddly familiar.

He looked around at the mismatching buildings that surrounded them, all a lot smaller than the builds on Hermitcraft, yet kind of charming or endearing in their own way. Like although they weren't finely detailed or skillfully built, they were personal and engulfed by memories and fun. They were also suspiciously nostalgic.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking down at the sandstone ground and noticing the Watcher symbol constructed in obsidian.

Evo, the server you lived in before coming to us. T∴𝙹 said. Grian's eyes widened and suddenly he felt glued to the spot. This was where he'd spent his life before the Watchers? Before Hermitcraft?

Come. Oリᒷ said and they started walking, but he stayed in place. Did they not realise what this meant to him? Did they not realise that this was years of his life that he'd forgotten because of them? Did they not realise how important this was? Did they not realise they were making even more questions fill his head than before by showing him this? Xelqua. They said firmly, like a parent calling their child when slightly annoyed at them for falling behind.

Grian remembered his place and followed them. He was lucky they were showing him any of this, and he didn't want to push it because although he had his magic back they were many times more powerful than him.

After a few minutes, they came up to some much bigger buildings than there had been in the spawn area. He could see the back of some city-style ones and a couple of large circular structures with dome roofs made out of several shades of wool. The Watchers opened their wings and they all flew up and landed on a dirt scaffold platform attached to the circular building. Everything felt familiar and on the edge of his memory, like when a word was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite name it, or when he woke up from a dream and could vaguely remember some parts, but not fully.

Then he saw why the Watchers had brought him here; further along the platform was one PearlescentMoon, filling in part of a wall with wool. She looked younger but it was undoubtedly her.

You understand now? T∴𝙹 asked, and Grian nodded. He didn't understand all the details, but some of them seemed to click into place.

"She knows about Watchers." He said, because there had been the portal symbol at spawn, meaning the server was probably heavily involved with them.

Yes. Oリᒷ confirmed.

"Is she a danger?" He walked a bit closer, since they were clearly invisible, and looked at her. She looked slightly different, but also similar, like an old photograph of someone before you met them.

Yes. Oリᒷ said. He stepped back and turned to the dark figures.

"I'd like to go back to Hermitcraft now."

They flew back to the portal and stepped through.

"Thank you." Grian said, genuinely meaning it. He had been scared they wouldn't let him back.

Just before they left, though, they summoned a large piece of black fabric and handed it to him. His cloak, from his days as a Watcher. He looked down at it and up at them. Did they think he was coming back to them?

Keep it, in case you ever need it. T∴𝙹 said.

"What? Why would I need it?" He asked, but they simply teleported away and he was left alone on the island. He looked down at the dark garment, taking the grey and purple toggle that held it together around the neck and holding it still in his hands to look at the Watcher symbol on it.

One question had been answered, but another was now wanting to be asked; why were they helping him?

They'd treated him nothing short of terribly in the Watcher's End, and yet now they were being nice. Honest. Understanding. Helpful. Caring. All the words he would never associate with Watchers.

He took his mask off and looked around. The sky still told him it was early night time, so maybe he hadn't been gone as long as he had thought.

He blinked, a small realisation occurring to him. He wasn't cold. His mask was off, but he was only slightly chilly. He felt like he was near a campfire, warm on one side (which happened to be his front) and cold on the other. He looked down at the cloak in his hands, feeling the heat radiating off of it.

Yeah I had no idea how to describe Pearl's Evo base lol you might be able to tell.