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LordPhobos has joined the game
Wait... Who? Xisuma stares at the chat in surprise. He doesn’t know anybody who goes by that name, and he certainly doesn't remember whitelisting anyone recently.
He types out a ‘Hello?’ in the chat, but LordPhobos doesn’t respond. Xisuma sighs, drops what he’s been working on all day, and heads for the nearest nether portal.
Going all the way back to spawn, assuming the strange new hermit must have appeared over there. X crosses his fingers. He just hopes they’re friendly.
He steps out onto the soft carpeted floor, blinking away the purple particles from his vision.
The person he finds there is… well. They’re just standing there, looking around. X peeks from over by the nether portal, the stranger hasn’t noticed him coming through.
He’s wearing some red space-suit-like looking fabric clad to his body, with brightly contrasting golden armor pieces. He’s wearing a helmet similar to the one he’s wearing himself, Xisuma notes. This one matching the gold of his armor, with a stark black vizor. Quite distinct from his futuristic look, he’s sporting a pair of worn-down looking sneakers. If X didn’t know better, he would assume it to be one of Grian’s many ridiculous costumes.
Xisuma approaches the man with his hands up in a defensive manner. He still doesn’t know whether this spaceman is a friend or foe, after all.
“Hello there.” He begins. The man turns his head in X’s direction, stepping back in surprise.
“I’m Xisuma, and you must be-” He checks his communicator quickly. “-Lord Phobos?”
The man with the golden helmet nods hesitantly.
“Nice to meet you, friend. Say, do you know how you got here?” Phobos shakes his head, bringing his arms up in a shrug.
“Do you know what happened to you before you got here?” He shakes his head again. Huh. Curious fellow, he is. Doesn’t seem too vocal. Quite the contrast to all of the other hermits, actually.
“I like your helmet.” Xisuma tries, but he gets no verbal response, as expected.
“You seem to understand me, but you don’t talk, do you?” Phobos nods, and then shakes his head affirmingly. Wait, that may not have been the greatest way of asking a question. Does that mean he understands? Xisuma feels a little awkward being the only one to talk. Oh! He remembers. “Do you have a communicator?” The man cocks his head sideways, as if to say ‘what’s that?’
Xisuma realizes this and takes his own out of his pocket, showing it to the man in front of him. “Something like this. Mine is a bit outdated, actually.” He confesses. Phobos leans in and stares at the little machine, and then shakes his head.
“Alright. Well then…” Xisuma thinks. “We could... We could go back to my base, and I can see if I can get one for you. I can teach you how to use it, and then maybe you can tell me a bit more about yourself. Does that sound good?” Phobos’ eager nod sends a smile to Xisuma’s face. Then he remembers, the other man could not see his facial expressions either. This must look so weird if anyone were to see them like this. Another derp-moment for the counter, for sure.
“We can go by portal, or we can fly. Actually, if we fly I can show you around the server a bit already. I’m sure I’ve got a spare elytra in here somewhere.” Xisuma has already deployed his ender chest, seemingly forgetting that there was one in the building right next to them. Phobos taps Xisuma’s shoulder repeatedly. When X pulls an old pair of wings from the chest he turns around. “It might need some repairing, but-”
Phobos has turned his back to Xisuma, pointing to the jetpack on his shoulders. Well, that solves that.
Xisuma picks up the chest and motions for Phobos to take off in the direction of his base. It takes a couple of rockets to get him up in the air, but soon enough the two of them are flying side by side in silence. Xisuma keeps an eye on the mysterious spaceman who seems to be flying with ease. He appeared friendly enough, but you can never know for sure. The thought of him actually being malicious lingers in X’s mind, but Phobos just follows him quietly, keeping up with the spamming of rockets with ease.
X is careful not to stare at the spaceman too much. He can only guess how confused Phobos must be, appearing on the server with no memory of how or why.
But he’s intrigued by his jetpack, nonetheless. How does it work? What did it use for fuel, and how could it keep him so steady in the air? Xisuma supposes he’ll get to asking more questions later, once Phobos can actually reply with more than just a nod and a shake.
It’s not long before Xisuma swoops around and makes his way to the ground. Phobos follows suit, landing softly next to him. The slight burning smell from the jetpack is unlike anything X has ever smelled before.
Xisuma opens his front door and lets Phobos inside. He gestures towards his bed in the corner. “Make yourself at home,” he says as reassuring as possible. “let me see if I have a spare communicator laying around here somewhere.”
Phobos complies, sitting down on the bed and taking in the sight of all the items that clutter X’s room. It’s the beginnings of a chestmonster. Shulkers and chests stacked against the walls. Item frames with various decorations are stuck to every surface, and different colored pieces of armor on armor stands in all kinds of poses. "It's messy, I know." Xisuma admits, only slightly embarrassed. He’s focused on the task at hand: getting Lord Phobos a tool to communicate with.
He digs through chests, shulkers, and even command blocks. He doesn’t quite remember how to retrieve a communicator if someone’s lost theirs. Let alone getting a whole new one. The last person to get one was Grian, all the way back when he first joined. The server’s been updated quite a few times since then.
Phobos perks up at the sight of something, and he excitedly points to a corner of the room. Xisuma looks up from a command screen, the sight of red and gold catching his attention. He follows Phobos’ gaze, landing on a pile of musical instruments and other knick knacks. One item in particular stands out in the midst of the mess.
“Oh, that’s my guitar! I know it doesn’t look like it, but I actually do take proper care of it.” He laughs, and makes his way towards it. Phobos points towards himself. “You want to try?” He nods enthusiastically.
Xisuma nods and carefully frees his instrument from behind different kinds of tangled cables and note blocks. He hands it to the spaceman, who seems to take to it instantly.
He brushes the strings with his left hand, testing a couple of chords. He strums it softly at first, carefully. Then, he picks up speed, not hesitating a moment before delving into a crisp solo. Xisuma can’t help his mouth falling open. Good thing he can’t see behind my helmet .
Phobos plays for a good minute before he slows down, surely feeling Xisuma stare holes into his armor. He looks up, playing a softer melody. It’s almost like he’s... embarrassed?
Xisuma shakes his head. “No, no! Dude. Just. Whoa! That was amazing! I didn’t know you could play! You should’ve said so sooner!” Phobos plays a lick in response, upbeat with an edge of metal influence. Exactly the type of music X likes to play in his spare time. How does he know? Xisuma stares in awe at how Phobos handles his guitar. And it’s not even plugged in!
“Wait, let me get you set up properly.” Xisuma lifts a small speaker, along with all the other necessary contraptions and note blocks attached to it. He plugs the guitar in. Phobos plays another sweet lick as if to say thanks. Xisuma doesn’t know how, but he feels like he can understand what Phobos is trying to tell him. Without any words. It’s like he’s communicating through music.
“Something tells me,” Xisuma begins. “that you won’t need a communicator as long as we get you set up with your own guitar.” He sits down next to Phobos on the bed, who hammers on a few notes affirmingly.
----
Xisuma listens to his new friend play for what feels like hours. Losing himself in the story that Phobos creates. Minor chords, plucking at the strings in a slow rhythm. Something about his playing indicating a great loneliness, having traveled immense distances through space, but becoming separated from his friends along the way. The rhythm turns frantic, Phobos’ left hand hitting the frets and notes with precision. Xisuma gets a feeling of confusion, of not knowing where he was, or how he got here.
Then the music stops briefly. A chill runs down Xisuma’s spine. Emptiness. A new beginning.
When Phobos begins playing again, it sounds hopeful. A buildup to something big. Something greater than the entire server.
Xisuma closes his eyes. He can feel relief. It’s what Phobos felt when X found him this morning. Relief and comfort. Receiving help from a complete stranger who seemed to know everything. A stranger who took him under his wing, and offered help and reassurance.
Phobos ends in another solo, projecting a sense of hope. That they would figure out what happened. And find a way to get back to his crew. His friends . Xisuma can’t quite understand their names, but he can feel how important they are to Phobos. They’re out there. Somewhere in the vast emptiness of space.
Xisuma opens his eyes again, and he wants so badly to hug this lost man. A new friend, he hopes. Driven by Phobos’ story, he is more than eager to help him find a way back. He was going to figure it out. Anything it takes , he thinks. Even if I have to work day and night, programming and building. I’ll find a way.
Phobos drags him out of his thoughts with a concerned melody. It’s like he’s saying ‘Hey man, don’t push yourself too hard now.’ Xisuma sighs and smiles. “You’re right. But you can count on me and the other hermits to help.”
Xisuma can’t see behind the black vizor, but he knows that Phobos is smiling.
Xisuma digs up another guitar from one of the many shulkers, and plugs it into another speaker. The two men play together all night. Not many words are spoken, but they share tales and memories and feelings until their hands feel sore from the iron strings. Some stories heavier than others, and sometimes just jamming out for the sake of it. It’s been a while since X could unwind like this. Venting his own frustrations and feelings to someone he only just met today. Not having to say a word, yet being understood perfectly. It’s nice.
He has so many questions. He wants so badly to know about his equipment. Where exactly he came from, and what his friends are like. How his jetpack works, and why his shoes looked so out of place. What purpose his helmet serves, and where he learned to play like he does. But those are questions for another time.
Xisuma doesn’t ask about his helmet, and Phobos doesn’t ask about his, either. A mutual kind of respect. A promise, unspoken, between the two of them.
Xisuma looks at his new friend again, now finally understanding him a little better. Lord Phobos , a strange man, who seems so familiar in a way. His abilities are definitely not from around here.
He can’t let Doc know about him, that’s for sure.