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Chapter Text

  He sat in the brightly lit room, occasionally letting his eyes glance across the monitors beside him. Most of his time was taken up by the handheld game he was playing, but it would not do to get caught out by missing something on one of the screens.

  Another hour went by before his rumbling stomach reminded him that his partner had yet to return with lunch. He sat up to look at the time, only to be distracted by the proximity alarm sounding.

  "Capture crew to stations, we have incoming. This is not a drill."

  He radioed out the alarm, listening for the sounds of boots pounding along the walkways. It wasn't often they had anything other than drills these days, their quarry going slowly extinct. Which is why they had this job in the first place - someone had the idea to capture and tame or sell these.. creatures for profit.

  The team was in place as the second alarm came in, they had only ticks now. The trap was an old one but simple enough to upkeep, pulling in only their intended target on world entry. He kept his eyes on the monitors, judging by experience the moment before the rift would open.

  "Ready in three, two.."

  A player has joined the world

  "Voidwalker verified. Capture and contain."

  World hopping was always disorienting, even when one knew where they would end up. Traveling the multiverses along worn paths was generally considered safe enough, but he had been forging his own paths for a while now.

   The new player had spawned on a simple cobblestone platform, white brick walls reflecting the bright afternoon sun back onto his visor. Bringing a hand up to block the glare, he could make out the odd pale yellow sky.

  "Well, this is not the world I was expecting." It seemed peaceful enough, but he had had a particular destination in mind, and this wasn't it. He missed the movement behind him as he conjured out an Admin panel to check his bearings.

  "Shit, it's an Admin, too." He grabbed the radio, nearly fumbling it in his panic. "Abort, abort, it's an Admin." He watched in near horror as the first potions were already thrown, slowfalling and concentrated weakness potions designed to subdue an unaware Voidwalker, but not an Admin with the possibility it would be immune to effects or able to shake it off and fight back.

  The team leader barked back at him. "Negative- potions worked, take it down. We'll make bank on this one!" His voice was tight but firm in excitement. "Containment move in! And don't forget the gloves!"

  The potions hit him with a wave of dizziness and everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. The panel he had been looking at disappeared without his concentration on it. Something hit his back and he was falling forward through molasses even as hands started grabbing him. Slowness, or slow falling? What-

  Figures in enchanted armour were surrounding him, forcing him to his knees and pulling at his helmet. Voices were all around him, making no more sense to him than the assault was.

  "Get the Admin gloves, and someone neutralize the helm, I don't want this one slipping out of our hands. 137, you've got the redstone, get on it. 44, you have the binding."

  His helmet went dark with a fitz; sight, sound, and running programs gone in an instant. His gloved hands were pushed into stiff mitts, fingers forced around something inside until he couldn't move them. He tried to fight back against the hands he could not see, but the lassitude in his muscles told him he'd been hit with weakness as well, leaving him without the strength to break free. Barely able to struggle, his head was tilted up and a stiff collar was fitted  under the helmet, locking his head in place. His arms were bound to his sides against his armor as more hands forced his booted ankles together and started binding his legs. 

  He struggled for a panicked breath, noting distantly that his rebreather still worked, thin air carried easily inside the helmet. Then he was spun around, without sight he felt his stomach drop, unable to tell was direction he was facing, or falling.

  His knees were bound and more hands were pushing him down again to a kneeling position, tightening the restraints, wrapping them around his waist and over his back. He fought again when the pressure moved to his neck, pulling him forward, bending him uncomfortably over until his helmet hit his knees. Then his world tilted again, and everything tightened, locking him into a folded position, unable to unbend. Something was fitted over the crown of his helmet, sending a static feedback through the internal speakers. He tried to flinch, only to find even that small movement arrested.

  He was being dropped, dropped into something that cushioned his trussed body, holding him and further immobilizing him. 

  It had all happened in moments. What in the world did I walk into?

  He sat back at his console, having not dared to look away as the teams worked in case something went wrong. His hand had hovered over the preapproved teleport command, poised to rescue them at a moments notice. Now he took a deep, relieved breath as they confirmed a successful capture, with no losses. Their prize was bound and settled into a padded chest, unable to even twitch a finger now. An Admin! It could have wrecked us all from the start had it been in creative.   He wiped a shaking hand over his face, taking a moment to calm himself before calling the boss. By Notch, I never want to go through that again.

  Sliding over to another keyboard, he keyed in a whisper. The response was prompt, and the pickup team was en route and notified of the elevated threat level.

  The Boss leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers under his chin even as his mind raced through the possibilities. A Voidwalker was a rare enough commodity, servers often willing to fight or enter bidding wars to acquire one of his treasures if they were unable or unwilling to attract a cooperative creature. (It made no sense to call them 'people' or 'players' - an entity with the ability to walk from world to world, and enter any they wished was more a glitch than anything.) Reaching out with an idle finger, he scrolled through his list of contacts, knowing by name the qualities and preferences each one had requested when they'd approached him.

   Ah, but this one is worth so much more. Admin ability and hard-coded armor, separately either would fetch a pretty diamond pile. But together makes it nearly priceless.

  He frowned at that thought. Priceless is useless if no one will pay it. And usually he would enjoy breaking it in, taking the time to provide a blank, willing canvas to his customers, that they could shape and mould to fit their needs. Perhaps it would not be as priceless if it still needs to be tamed.

  Now that was worthy of a business man such as he. And the sooner that he could unload the goods, the less danger his enterprise would be in. Which narrowed his selling field to those who could pay, and quickly.

  Messages were sent through private, untraceable channels, burner accounts ready and discarded as needed as replies came back. Satisfied with the interest, there was just one last matter of business.

  Time was meaningless in his dark prison, unable to move or communicate with his captors. When the potions had first worn off, he had struggled against the bindings, fought and yelled until his muscles cramped and voice cracked. While he was grateful for the armour's protection and breathing assistance, it had been twisted against him and turned into a cage. His only consolation was that as much as he couldn't see or hear out, neither could his captors see or hear him.

  Nearing exhaustion, his world stopped moving for the first time since his helmet went dark. Throughout his struggles he had been aware of movement, rocking, sometimes jarring movement of his prison indicating travel. It was now still, and he could feel again the pressure of his bindings, where they pinched and tightened with every breath and heartbeat.

  Hands were around his torso and knees, lifting and tilting him again, pushing at the mitts on his hands and prodding his body until he was settled onto a cold surface, and more pressure was crisscrossed from his shoulders to lower back. He fought a sob as his knees and back screamed at him, unable to even shift his weight to relieve the pain.

  Then the hands were gone again, leaving him to simply breathe and still wonder what trap he had walked into.

  He looked over his prize, the straining muscles, the battle scarred armour, the unique helmet. He took in the panicked rise and fall of the beautifully restrained back, satisfied that his prize was a living creature and not just an android or cyborg. Someone will need a good codebreaker to remove this armor.  

  He ran fat fingers over the helmet, sending another spark up from the redstone powered circlet set over it. Tilting the display base up towards him, he peered at the visor. He was disappointed at the opaqueness, having wanted a look at the creature. A tap above the visor earned him a minute flinch with no sound.

  "Does it speak?"

  The team leader shook their head. "Not since the helmet was secured, Sir. Also does not react to sound, only touch."

  "So the helmet blocks both sight and sound. What a pity, it likely has no idea what's going on." He allowed the base to settle back to its original position. "Very well, I can work with that. You had a perfect capture from what I hear, and I see no damage on the creature. Payment in full with double bonus for your crew has been deposited into your account." 

  They thanked him and left him to his devices, certainly eager to spend their diamonds and not put themselves in any position to be considered a nuisance. He flicked a lever against the wall, waiting patiently until two bouncers entered the room and silently waited for his orders. 

  "Bring this to the prominent showing chamber, the quartz will show off its armour nicely. I plan to sell it tonight, so no need to change the restraints."

  He received silent nods and prompt movement when he finished speaking. I do love well trained staff.  

  For now everything was in place, invitations sent out and accepted, and the reception hall was ready. This sale would fill his coffers for quite some time.

Chapter Text

  He stared at the message in his inbox, his gut and instincts flaring. That is.. a highly specific description. And one massive appraisal for an "as is" sale. He needed more information before he set off any alarms, and there was only one way to get it. Good thing we're not hurting for diamonds right now.

  [Count us in. Expect my primary contact.  Reserve buy-in will be sent to the usual place.]

  The affirmative came back quickly, along with two screenshots. His heart sank at the recognition of the figure, even as blurry as it was in the security screenshot. 

  He stored the device, and walked away from his desk. He needed a clear head, needed an open space to think about how to handle the very dangerous situation he was about to place himself in. Myself, and a great many people and likely worlds.

  He was used to working in the shadows, keeping his fingers on the pulse of a great many despicable deeds and events in the multiverse  in order to eventually bring them down, or bring them to light. This particular enterprise had been a thorn in his mind for too long, and now had finally stepped over the edge. This was nearly personal, would certainly be personal for those he needed to notify.

  He needed to make the call. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then pulled out his own communicator to send a message.

  [Can you see if we still have a contact with the SciCraft server? I have a message to pass along to the Hermits]

  She made her obeisance at the foyer, presenting her invitation and credentials to gain entrance to the grand hall. Easily milling with the denizens inside, she kept a shaded eye out for the main attraction. She was well known enough at these events, even if her true purpose was never revealed. She nodded to contacts in the room, working her way around to the people she needed to placate or irritate. She took notice of several people placed around the building, some security, some hated coworkers, and several more that would come in to play later in the night. She made no reaction to any of them, watching instead for the reactions around her. The waiting was her work for the night, gathering the intel and marking those that would help or hinder later. 

  Finally, the music changed and food was moved off to the back of the room, drinks handed out and bidders ushered to their tables. She accepted a bouncers proffered hand, slipping her bank voucher over as she was given the bidder’s paddle and auction brochure. Another staff member brought her a drink and accepted her tip, subtly palming the data card with it. 

 Around her, tables were filled and talk was shifting to murmurs as they waited for the announcements.

  "Good server evening, Gentleplayers, and welcome again to the Savage Den. Many of you have been here before, and as we get started tonight, we would like to remind everyone that there will please be no weapons or physical fights allowed during the festivities. As usual, we are here in our hardcore world, and any infractions will be dealt with under the harshest of penalties. Staff will assist with any verbal disputes over the proceedings."

  The music paused, and the jukebox took up a lighter tune, soothing instrumentals floating through the room.

  "Thank you all for coming tonight. While we are preparing for the main event, please do appreciate and feel free to bid on a small selection offered from some of the outlier worlds."

  He led his server-mates through the back corridors, path memorized from the blueprints provided them earlier. Slowfalling potions silenced their footsteps, allowing the armored warriors to take their positions. Allies for the night cleared their path of obstacles. Potions and weapons smuggled in from a modded world knocked out or put to sleep guards and staff members they came across. The diamond focus in his cybernetic eye threatened to give him away more than once as he spied on the main chamber of the building, now filled with “invited guests” for the evening.

   And now you have more guests than you bargained for. You took what was ours, and we’re getting him back. He met the eyes of those around him waiting for his orders, honored that they allowed him to lead their mission. They were all veterans at PvP, volunteers for this mission, armed with their favorite fully-enchanted weapons. The queen of PvP, her blonde hair hidden under her helmet, even as her goggles poked out of the visor, already enchanted for night vision. The server’s knight, who lived up to the high standards of knightly conduct and honour in everything he did. Their resident partner-in-slime, skilled in both one-on-one and guerrilla combat, deadly with any weapon he held and notoriously slippery to pin down. The grey-bearded young warrior who had recently soul-bonded with vex-magic, giving him an extra edge and sometimes mysterious power in a pinch. And their heaviest-hitter, the half-cyborg, part creeper, and always prepared for a rumble mad scientist. One more wild-card was in the mix, but he had his own personal mission.

   And all I am is a part-time redstone codebreaker and former assassin. He gave the signal for them to split up, moving with his half of the team to their final positions outside of the room, barely listening to the announcements on the other side of the thin wall. His diamond eye went dark as he readied his sword, grinning into the darkness. You don’t stand a chance against us.

  “And now, our grand event, what many of you came here to see - and even possibly bid on - tonight. The creature that many believe is only a myth now, the glitch that walks through worlds uninvited, the creatures rumoured to be descendants of Him.”

  The room took on an expectant hush, pistons firing beneath the floor easily heard pushing out a quartz pillar in the center of the stage. A locked and trapped double chest was carried out and placed on top while the auctioneer continued to speak.

  “Many of you here have expressed interest on behalf of yourselves or your servers to own what sits before you today. To have and control one of the rarest and most powerful commodities across the universal worlds.

  "Tonight's special auction is presented much differently than many of you are used to. Extra care has been taken to procure and contain this rarity. I present now for your bidding pleasure, an Admin Voidwalker."

  The chest was opened and disassembled as some guests gasped or voiced their excitement. Staff servicing the tables assured those who asked that its admin powers were currently restrained, and that equipment would of course be included in the sale.

  A figure in green armor was strapped to the base of the chest in a folded position, black and white ropes beneath the straps standing out against the armor. Two handlers removed the top straps while another loosened ropes at the figure’s waist and head. Together they lifted it to a kneeling position, then standing. It swayed in place, barely resisting, dark visor staring at nothing, locked in place by a stiff collar ringed with hoops. Ropes lowered from the ceiling were threaded through those hoops, then fastened at a wider collar along the waist. The handlers stepped clear once the figure was lifted off the floor, on full display to the room.

  There was movement again, disorienting in his darkness. Hands on him again, moving over, around, pulling at him. Bindings were loosened and his shoulders were pulled back, muscles screaming at the sudden alteration in position. Something- someone? was holding him, forcing him upright, and he fought down the rising bile at the pain of cramping muscles and rough handling. Outside brushes against his helmet sent static feedback through the speakers, deafeningly loud after nothing but silence for so long. Pressure moved to his waist and throat again, and then his feet were no longer touching the ground, and there were no more hands on him.

Chapter Text

  He was in his element here, the room enraptured by his voice, hanging on his word and begging for the jewels only he could bring them. He was the most powerful man in the room, his was the favor they all paid court to.

  “Go ahead, take a closer look. The armour is currently deactivated, the creature can neither see nor hear you. As a courtesy, we will provide to the winning bidder a selection of contacts if a codebreaker or tamer is needed. We are all-”

  The sound cut out two ticks before the lights did. He frowned at the microphone in his hands, momentarily puzzled at how it could have affected the entire building.

  Breaking glass brought his head back up, fruitlessly searching in the darkness for the source of the sound. Portal, or windows? But I hear splashing- potions? He stepped back from the balcony edge, listening intently to the confusion below him for sounds of danger, his own heartbeat rising to drown it out.

   Footsteps, heavy armour.. That had better be the damned guards doing their job. If they let someone inside my security I’ll toss the lot of them into the Void.

  It was two more steps to the wall, and he had only a moment to regret that he had stepped so far away from his portable keyboard. He had never convinced his world’s Admin to grant him full access power in the world.

  Lightning struck directly in front of him and he jumped the wrong way in his fright, momentarily blinded but for the negative image burned into his retinas, the Voidwalker he had captured standing before him. He blinked furiously, trying to make the ghost image disappear.

  It took a step towards him, and he realized that the carpet was on fire, that he could see and this was not the same creature. A blood red glow spilled from the visor of the helmeted figure, not quite a mirror image of the one hanging from the ceiling. Another one- but how? It can’t be, it’s just not possible!

  A dark synthesized voice carried clearly from the helmet. “ You stole the wrong world’s Admin. You won’t survive to make the same mistake twice. ”

  “You are not in charge here! This is my home, my claim!” He pulled himself up, already shaking with adrenaline, determined to hold his own until his guards arrived. “I can have you thrown out of the world, don’t you know who I-”

  The diamond sword in his chest was.. unexpected. There was no threat, no stalling banter, he didn’t even see him draw it. There was just a tickle in his throat, and a wet cough, and then darkness.

  She froze at the first splash potion breaking against the floor, listening carefully for the tables around her. A silent hand pressed on her arm and then a potion was pressed into her hand. She sipped at the night vision potion, just enough to slip from her seat and relocate to the outer wall with a few others and retrieve their armour, joining the raid.

  Hefting her shield, she tucked herself into the line of raiders, a weight lifted from her shoulders knowing that after tonight she would never have to witness the atrocities committed in this room again. Even if I did have the chance to rescue many of them from fates worse than permadeath.

  When the yelling from the balcony ceased, the emergency redstone lights started flickering on. The skewered body of the former master of the house was visible from the floor, fires burning out around him.

  Someone in the room screamed, startling several of the roughest patrons into action, jumping from their seats and drawing weapons. More followed them, trying to equip weapons and armour pieces in the growing confusion.

  She moved forward with her allies of the evening, enchantments gleaming on expertly-forged armours. These warriors fought with the experience of forging paths in wild worlds, their strikes swift and efficient against those who had learned PvP in lazy, structured arenas. 

  The figure in red equipped his own diamond armour and jumped from the balcony, bringing lightning and fire with him when he moved, rage seething behind his visor as he crossed swords with a man she hated. When he fell to a punch backed by lightning, she let herself smile, knowing that his peculiar perversions would no longer haunt her dreams.

  A curtain caught fire, filling the room with smoke and floating ash, adding to the chaos in the room. He lifted his weighted trident and blocked a sloppy sword swing easily, smirking at the poor fool before tossing him aside. He refocused his robotic eye to see through the smoke, picking out his next target. Somewhere redstone fired, and he paused a moment, until water started pouring from the ceiling, making it rain indoors.

  He let out a happy growl, his trident sparking in the downpour. Now comes the fun. Two very upset patrons in some kind of dark, modded armour were coming his way, spitting curses at him. 

  “Bring it on, suckers.” He knew what he looked like, how his skin inspired a primal terror in players, and he knew how to use it. “You sought out the monsters, now we’re here for you .” He gave them a toothy smile, and watched them hesitate before charging him. His channeling trident flew true, lightning cracking their armours easily, leaving them stunned and wide open for a well placed punch from a metal arm. He looked around for the next fight.

  A silver glove set down on his flesh arm, calm blue eyes meeting his a moment later. “Good work, my friend. The server’s enforcement group is on it’s way.” He nodded towards the center of the room, where a figure hung in the darkness above. “We have to finish what we came for.”

  He stood back from the fighting with his invisibility potion, watching warriors take on the bouncers and hired muscle always present at these events. His own fighting skills were nothing to sneeze at, but this- this was personal and they fought like demons. He shivered at the thought, eyes glancing up at the balcony where the red armoured figure was cutting through the upstairs staff.

   Could they actually have two Voidwalkers on their server? The resemblance is just uncanny. He shook himself as the sprinklers opened up, pouring water across the hall in response to the fires. Not your job to think about it. Your job is to not screw up their rescue.

   As the fighting moved away from the stage he crept forward, aiming for the redstone switches at the base. He pulled off a glove, holding onto the first lever and following the redstone circuit. It took him several ticks to untangle the map in his mind and trace it back to the switch he wanted.

  Another glance around him, checking that the coast was clear, then he flipped the lever. Ropes suspending the Voidwalker to the ceiling rolled downward, lowering him towards the stage. This would be the difficult part - trying to get the Voidwalker free without either of them attracting attention. Just a few seconds left on the potion, gotta make this quick. A handful of shuriken, it was a practiced flick of the wrist to send them into the ropes at the right moment, dropping the Voidwalker the last few feet into his waiting hold.

  One of the warriors in diamond armor was beside him a moment later, helping to take the weight. 

  Several explosions rocked the building, indistinct yelling coming from the front entrance. Debris and bricks fell from the ceiling, knocking them from the short stage onto the floor, now struggling to hold onto their slippery rescue. 

  "Are they trying to bring the whole building down?"

  He shook his head. "Doesn't matter, we have to get going. Grab his shoulders, I'll get his legs." They struggled a moment with the Voidwalker, who twisted against their hold when they lifted, spilling the three of them back to the floor. "Hey, we're trying to help you." The figure managed to nearly headbutt the knight, and he had to scramble back when the Voidwalker caught the table leg behind him with his ankles, managing to kick it forward and roll away from them.

  A metal arm reached out, stopping the momentum and scooping the bound man up easily, slinging him over his shoulder. A glowing metal eye glared beneath the diamond helmet. "My Admin. Lead us outta here."

  “You need to go, now.” A slim figure in an evening dress under her armour pressed a command block into the knight’s gauntlet. “Server Authority will detain you if they don’t bring the whole building down first. This is for the portal, my partner will lead you to it.” Her gaze fell on the open double chest, still standing at the base of the stage.

  The warrior that looked like a half creeper straightened up to his full height, metal arm braced to hold the man still. “Never again. Let’s go.”

  His filters were bringing in smoke, and the damp smell of wet cloth. He vaguely wondered if someone was trying to light a campfire in the rain. If he focused, he could feel dampness starting to soak through his armour, chafing sodden clothing against his skin and soaking into his boots. Raining.. outside? He flexed his arms, but they were still stuck to his sides, bindings tight.

  A pressure from above him and he was falling, crying out inside the helmet as he fell against a yielding surface, hands on him again, pulling at the bindings and tightening them painfully. Something lifted his feet and shoulders and he twisted in panic, adrenaline racing as he hit the ground and kicked out. Not again, you lost your chance now. His boots caught on something, something that slid with the pressure. He hooked his ankles around it and pulled with his core, rolling away from where hands were tugging at him. He had leverage now, had to find something to catch a rope on, to loosen or tear it-

  His back hit an unyielding object, knocking him back into grasping hands, rolling him in an instant and lifting him back into the air. No! No! He kicked out as much as he could, trying to force them to drop him again. Instead something slammed into his stomach, dropping his head hard against the stiff collar, bruising and then slipping to press under the helmet, against his throat until he couldn't breathe. A hard band held against the back of his thighs, holding him in place when he shifted. Please, no. No. Not like this. He couldn't hold his chest up enough to clear his airway, tried to roll away from the pressure against his side. Then there was movement again, the rise and fall of a long stride, and not enough air to stay awake.

  "Portal in the back bunker, this way." He led the group through the courtyard, around the far side of the hedge maze as the sounds of yelling and authoritarian commands from the front gates grew closer. He never had to tell them to be quiet, even in heavy armour they were nearly silent beside him.

  Iron doors blocked their way into the bunker, and he fumbled for the access key he was given earlier.

  " Move. "

  He jumped to the side, startled by the glowing red visor appearing next to him. A bolt of lightning hit the doors, incinerating them.

  "Good grief, we could have just broken the lock." One of them hissed at the figure. 

  He ignored them and entered the bunker, securing the room. He blocked up the entrance behind them as the knight set up the command block in its spot in front of the portal. The half-cyborg tried to set the Admin on his feet, catching at the convenient bindings when his legs buckled under him. 

  "Tch, we need to get these stupid ropes off." He turned the Admin around, half carrying- half dragging him towards the open portal. He stepped into the portal first with the Admin clutched against him.

  The Voidwalker flinched and somehow lunged from his grasp, and the portal shattered with the sound of breaking glass. He hit the ground helmet-first, anyone else too stunned to catch him in time.

  "What the hell was that?!"

  " He sensed the portal and shut it down, what does it look like?" Red armour hunched over the oddly matching figure, trying to turn him over, sending up sparks from the circlet over the helmet. " Oww! What's that? "

  The man with the diamond eye looked between his Admin and the portal. "I can check one or the other, but I don't think we have time for both."

  "Help me with the portal." Grey eyes met his from the doorway. "You- do you know the coordinates this was set to?"

  He stepped away from the door, nodding. "Would go to the transportation hub. I know the coords."

  "Come here then, we'll have to reprogram it on the fly."

  His assistance was only needed for the coordinates, but he watched in amazement as they disassembled and rebuilt the teleportation block, easily manipulating the complex redstone inside.

  "Stop pulling at it, you're just making the knots tighter."

  " Am not. Just let me cut them off. This is stupid. "

  "Why is everything always stupid to you?"

  " Is not. " He had a knife out anyway, pulling and sawing roughly through sodden ropes.

  A blue hand pressed against the red shoulder armor, reaching out to pull the knife away. “Dude, you have to calm down first.” While he didn’t always trust the man who had threatened to destroy their server over and over again, no one could deny the bond he held with their Admin. Even if we don’t really understand it . He squeezed the red shoulder pad, pulling him back just a step as another took up the knife, parting the ropes much more easily with steady hands. “Take a breath, he’s passed out again. I’ll help you carry him, we’re about the same height.”

  He took one arm as his partner took another, lifting their Admin between them, helmet still dark and heavy  locked mitts held over their shoulders. Someone relit the portal as a round of explosions started up. They stepped up together, red visor keeping a steadying hand on his mirror’s chest. The portal held and they were whisked away.

  A jolt and he was sure that he passed out for at least a moment, a jarring stop bringing him back. Hands were all over him, tilting him, grabbing his chest and the ropes when his boots hit the ground and he couldn't stand. He was pulled back against someone, an arm around his chest as they shuffled back a few steps.

  He felt when they entered the portal, locking his muscles and thrashing, aiming to knock them out of it. This, this he could prevent. Where ever he was, whatever else had happened, he could stop them from taking him anywhere else. He barely noticed the fall, his head already splitting from the outburst of undirected power, but the portal was destroyed. He didn’t care about rough hands on him again, choking as they pulled against him.

  He was overloaded, the panic, the adrenaline, the lack of air.

   And then his bindings were falling free, limbs that had been locked in place for so long falling loose like dead weight, blood rushing into muscles in excruciating swiftness. He didn't have the chance to even moan before passing out again.

  Their contact hurried them again through the well trafficked area. A transportation hub of industrial builds created an island of its own, surrounded by trains, airships, boats for land and sea, and a myriad of businesses offering portal services to various linked worlds.

  They made for a plain building with "business closed" signs obscuring the windows, spreading out to secure the interior.

  “Who has the obsidian? They’ll be shutting down the portal systems by now, we need to go.”

  Obsidian blocks were passed to the center, along with potions and food for those who needed it. Someone handed a bottle of milk over to the figure in red armor, who stared at it in disgust.

  “Then would you calm down with the lightning already? We don’t need to set the whole server on fire.”

  “ Don't give me any ideas.” he bit back. “ I would be more than happy to burn it to the Void. ”

  “Stop it you two.” The gruff voice was strained beside them, trying to study the locks on the few bindings left on the figure they supported. “Bicker once we’re home.”

  The flick of a flint & steel was loud in the room and the next portal snapped into place. His gloved hand was on it a moment later, lightning striking the open portal, adding a red swirl to the glowing opening.

  “ Everyone in, we leave now.” The red visor turned towards the only one who would not be traveling with them. “Destroy it when we’re gone, no one will be able to follow us.”

  They covered their shock well, nodding once. “Of course. Take care of him. And yourselves.”

  “Of course.”

  The last Hermit stepped through the portal, each praying they never saw this particular world again.

Chapter Text

  "This isn't HermitCraft. Where have you taken us, Evil X?"

  "Shut up and gather ender pearls, unless someone has a stack on them." He brushed by them all, ignoring their questions. Calculations ran along the bottom of his visor and he paced out a path eastward, counting endstone. 

  Doc growled. "We need to get Zizuma home, what are you playing at. And how did we end up in the End?"

  Iskall shrugged, sheathing his sword finally. "I've got ender pearls, where do we need to go?" He passed a half stack to iJevin to distribute.

  Evil X was placing obsidian in a three dimensional star shape, breaking extras away until he had the shape of an end gateway. He turned back to the group, stalking over to stand before Doc.

  "It’s not just the End, this is the Wild End. I’m taking Xisuma home, his original home.  Anyone who doesn't want to come with I will build you a portal that will take you back to the server. Choose now, I won't take the time to coddle your indecisiveness later."

  Everyone exchanged glances, but they were all in agreement. False spoke for them. "If we can follow you safely, we stick together. What do we do?"

  A bolt of lightning struck the obsidian gateway, flaring the tiny portal inside to life.

  "Throw the pearl as you usually do. On the other side be sure to stay inside of the structures. Even if you can breathe the air there are creatures out there I do not want in my home ." He glared at the group, then shook his head. " I'll probably regret this later. Get going."

  He let Doc carry Xisuma through the portal, throwing his pearl as he summoned one last lightning bolt to destroy the portal behind them.

  On the other side, the Hermits found themselves standing in a glass observatory, the open blank sky surrounding them. Another endgate portal hovered to one side, along with a more traditional world portal across from it. The air was thin, but no worse than they usually dealt with in the End.

  Evil X pulled off his own helmet, throwing it carelessly into a corner. Salt and peppered hair spilled from a low ponytail, falling over his shoulder as he discarded his chestplates as well, leaving him in a maroon tshirt. He frowned at the portal, then shook his head. "Forgot about that one.” His voice was oddly quiet without the synthesizer. “Portal there is one-way, but will take you to the HermitCraft spawn if you want to leave. Doc, follow me."

  Doc carried their Admin, form still in his arms as Evil X led them through a maze of hallways, rooms connected sometimes haphazardly as they seemed to overlap or grow out of each other. Evil X eventually stopped at a closed door, looking over the group behind him.

  "Everyone won't fit in the room, and the fewer people the better." He seemed genuinely regretful, though his voice fell to a mumble.

  False stepped around the group to place a hand on his arm. "You'll want Doc, and keep Iskall in case you need his code breaking skills. If you have a kitchen, the rest of us will keep ourselves busy."

  He gave her directions to the kitchen area, then opened the door into the room as the rest of the Hermits filed past.

  Doc barely took in the room, settling himself on the floor in front of the bed, Xisuma in his lap and braced back against his chest. "Leave the lights off, this isn't going to be pretty any way we handle it."

  Iskall was already accepting tools from him, tiny, delicate devices for cybernetics and redstone that Doc kept stored inside his mechanical arm. "Where do we start?"

  "Get- get the collar off."

  Iskall looked up at the low rasp, and found Evil X still in the doorway, looking lost. His eyes were on the dark helmet laying still on Doc's shoulder. Evil X met his eyes and looked away, scowling as he entered the room and moved to Doc's side. 

  "Collar first so I can get his helmet off." he repeated brusquely. 

  Iskall shook his head. "But it's hard-coded to him, he'll have to remove it. I should do the gloves-"

  "I'm coded to it." He refused to meet their eyes, kneeling down to hold onto Xisuma's wrists above the stiff leather mitts. "I fully expect him to fight again, so make it as quick as you can."

  Doc turned the figure in his arms to the side, keeping his mechanical arm free and allowing Iskall access to the lock at the back of the collar. It took him a few ticks to adjust his cybernetic eye, then nimble fingers were working the lock open, pieces of it falling away and spilling redstone. 

  He was being held again, a warm body against his side, rumbling occasionally beside him. Not bothering to open his eyes, he focused on the sensations around him - cold air against his damp clothes on one side, and a heavy weight in his lap. He shivered as something brushed along his back, then there was pressure against his wrists. His hand spasmed painfully in its confinement as he tried to draw it back, finding it caught and held.

  A hard band circled his chest at the small movement, wrapping around to his back as hands put pressure against his neck. He bit his lip, closing his mouth on a sob, nearly choking himself as the collar tightened briefly. Then it was pulled away, allowing his head to roll forward unsupported. He didn't think he had the will to fight anymore, but still flinched when hands were back at his throat, flicking at the latches to his helmet.

  He wasn't expecting it to actually open. Fresh clear air, static, and blinding light smashed at him like an anvil to the face.

  Doc tried not to tighten his hold too much as Xisuma shuddered in his arms, his heart breaking as they could finally hear the broken cries beneath the helmet.

  Iskall leaned over and snatched a dusty blanket off of the bed, tossing it over their heads, blocking the little light that was in the room as Evil X removed the helmet and hurled it into the hallway, spitting shocks as it bounced.

  Xisuma curled over Doc's arm, eyes tightly closed but still leaking tears as he shook against Doc's support. Doc kept his voice to a whisper, reassuring him over and over that he was safe, that they were home and they were getting him free.. He rearranged his arms into more of a hug than a hold, letting Xisuma bury his face into his lab coat.

  “We need to get the rest of his armor off.” Evil X reached around to Xisuma’s side for those latches, only to startle him into lashing out, catching the side of Evil X’s head with the oversized gloves as he flailed. Doc ducked another swing, taking the blow to his chest instead.

  In the confusion Xisuma rolled from his lap, trying and failing several times to stand on his own. The last attempt took him to a corner of the room, falling against the wall and sliding down, rubbing the gloves across his wrists, across his legs, as if trying to slide them off. His movements got more uncoordinated and frantic, finally slamming his arm against the wall.

  Evil X was there a moment later, stumbling himself as he tripped on the discarded blanket and nearly falling into the same wall. He held out his hands, palms up as Xisuma stilled at his presence.

  "Let me help, Xisuma." 

  "Don't touch me." his voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper, breath hitching. "Don't.."

  "I'm right in front of you, I'm going to unlatch your chestplate, okay?" Evil X reached out a hand, careful not to brush against anything else. "Your left side, top latch." He ignored the tiny whimper when his fingers made contact and pressed the release. "Bottom latch now."

  Doc watched in silent amazement as Evil X carefully talked Xisuma through the process, the low, calming voice steady and compassionate. And something I never, ever thought I'd hear. Did he always have it in him, or is this only for X? He glanced at Iskall, who was also enraptured by the scene. Doc gave his knee a poke, and Iskall turned to look at him, hastily wiping a gloved hand across his regular eye.

  Doc pointed silently at the dropped tools, and nodded to the two against the wall. Iskall retrieved them, staying on his knees to move over to the X's.

  He kept his voice low, following Evil X's lead. "Let me help with the gloves, X." He clinked the tools together, letting him hear the sound. "I have to unlock them so we can get them off.”

  Xisuma started shaking his head, swiftly turning it into a whole body shake.

  “Xisuma,” Evil X’s voice turned to coaxing. “Xisuma, I’m right in front of you. We’re home, you’re safe. Let us help.” He held out his hands again, even though Xisuma wasn't looking. "Give us your hands, X."

  Xisuma cracked his eyes open, face down turned towards the mitted hands in his lap. His breath hitched again at the sight, turning one of them to the side, smooth leather encased by a redstone lock around his wrists.

  Iskall slid around to Evil X's side, holding out his tools. "X?"

  A shaky arm held it out. "Get it off." His voice wasn’t any steadier.

  Evil X supported the glove as Iskall went to work on the last locks on the mitts. He swore under his breath when Xisuma flinched, but kept his hands steady on the redstone until he could break the circuit and release the lock. The second was easier, water having gotten inside and already damaged the redstone. He tried to slide the mitt off, tugging as gently as he could when it wouldn't release. "X, I'm-"

  He looked up to find Xisuma staring at his hands, violet eyes glowing in the dark room with no tinted visor to hide them.

  "Take it off. Please. "

  Evil X had his knife back out, slicing open the back of both mitts and gloves  to release his hands, the scarred fingers stiff and swollen. Xisuma closed his eyes and jerked his hands back to drop into his lap, shaking again.

  Doc stood, easing stiff muscles from his position on the floor. “I’ll see if the others managed some food.  Does anyone want anything else?”

  Iskall handed his tools back, picking up the discarded blanket. “X?”

  Evil X answered him. “There are more blankets down the hall, second door on the right. Give us a couple of minutes.” He frowned at the command, ducking his head. “Please.”

  Doc nodded and they exited the room, closing the door behind them.

  Evil X lunged for an end rod a moment after, wincing at the small noise that came from Xisuma. “Shit, sorry. Watch your eyes a tick.” Familiarity with the room let him move about in the dark, placing two end rods in their niches to provide a dissipated light. He turned back to Xisuma and froze in place.

  Xisuma had slid all of the way into the corner, hands clutched to his chest and head back, face scrunched up in discomfort, sweat-slicked hair framing his shoulders.

  His neck was a mess of angry red bruises, visible under his chin in the light. Rope burns and welts were already darkening on his arms, and Evil X was certain there would be more under his clothes. 

  “Xisuma.”

  Xisuma opened his eyes, meeting Evil X's gaze. "Why?" His shoulders shook, his bright eyes were full of tears, but he didn't look away. "What did I do?" 

  " Void , no, X. You did nothing wrong. Except maybe traveling without a partner, but that's not the point!" He held his tongue when Xisuma gave him a watery smile at that, wanting so badly to yell at him, tell him that what he did was so stupid and almost got him killed . But Xisuma was breaking and he couldn't handle that.

  Xisuma blinked, and he found himself blinking back, the both of them simply taking a moment to breathe. Breathe and not break... Evil X shivered, suddenly reminded that his clothes were still damp from the earlier fight, the cold air of their current world not helping to dry it out. Which meant that Xisuma was probably also in wet clothes, and probably chilled. Should probably get us both into dry clothes before anyone comes back to check on him.

  So of course his mouth opened before he could think it through.

  "Take your clothes off."

  He actually got a choked laugh for that. “W-what?”

  Evil X slapped a hand to his face, feeling it heat up. “Shut up. We both need dry clothes. Preferably before your nosy Hermits come back.” He turned away, crossing to the small chest in the corner and pulling out shirts and trousers, and a pair of old sweaters discarded years ago. He tossed them at the bed, then turned back to Xisuma.

  Who had barely managed to get to his feet, propped against the wall and staring at his boots.

  “What.”

  Xisuma shook his head. “My boots are squishy.” He made a face, but no effort to move further. “And I don’t think my legs will hold me.”

  Evil X was at his side a moment later, reaching out but pulling back at the last moment. “I- Can i-”

  Xisuma grabbed at his arm, practically falling into him. Evil X shuffled back, a hand falling to Xisuma’s waist to support him, not missing the flinch but not wanting to let go, either. Xisuma’s steps steadied as he brought him back to sit on the bed, kneeling down to remove his boots. Even the leather had been creased by the tightness of his binding. Evil X tossed them behind the door, with a vengeful hope that the next person to enter would trip over them.

  "Come on, wet clothes off." He turned away from Xisuma, stripping out of his own and donning a dry set. His wet clothes joined the pile in front of the door.

  "EX."

  "That's your name, not mine."

  "And it's my room, would you not leave dirty clothes all over the floor?"

  Evil X turned to stick his tongue out, holding it for a moment too long. Damnit, I hate being right sometimes. Xisuma had gotten his black shirt off, more welts and bruises covering his stomach and sides, easily showing where the armour hadn't protected soft flesh. A noise caught in his throat, and he turned away before Xisuma looked up.

  "You're gonna need potions for those. Be right back."

  Evil X ducked out of the room for a moment, checking the hallway and then coming back with two dusty potion bottles. "Still have a couple of old fashioneds stashed in my room, pretty sure all of your newer potions are still in the second kitchen." He took the damp tshirt from Xisuma's hold, offering one of the potions instead.

  "Which one?" Xisuma accepted one of the bottles, pulling the nearly dry rotted stopper out and pouring a few drops into his palms before setting it on the chest beside the bed. "The purpur kitchen, or the red sandstone?"

  "The red one, I think." He shrugged, almost spilling his. "Kinda lost track over the years. Turn to the side, I'm gonna get your back."

  "Its not like they won't blend in, EX." But he followed his direction, sliding forward so that Evil X could sit behind him. He worked the thick potion into his wrists, focusing on flexing his fingers into the goo to take his mind off the hands on his back. "Jeez, remember when potions were just for wounds? I don't even remember who came up with the idea of drinking them."

  Hands stilled on his back, over a heavily knotted scar. A weight pressed between his shoulder blades, hair tickling the back of his neck.

  "Evil X?"

  " Void , do you know how scared we were for you? I have no idea how you can be so- so calm right now. I still want to go back there and raze the entire world into dust."

  Xisuma took a deep breath, holding it until he could let it go without tears falling. "EX, I have no idea what even happened." He stared at the potion bottle in his hands, cupped by fingers that until minutes ago hadn't been able to even twitch. "I had just entered a world along my path, I never got the name of it. There was just a platform, and then yelling, and then everything went sideways." He pressed a hand to his knee, an ache growing when he thought about being forced into that tight position. 

  Evil X shifted behind him, reaching a hand out where he could see it. He took it, and slowly turned back to face him. Face carefully blank, Evil X held up the dry shirt, helping him into it, then adding the sweater over the top.

  "Did you hear anything going on around you?"

  Xisuma closed his eyes, shaking his head and opening them a moment later. "Something on- they put something on my helmet, fried all of the circuits. I had nothing but the backup air filter, and that's hard-coded."

  "Well at least you listened to me for something." Evil X swallowed heavily, not meeting his eyes. "Nothing else? They didn't.. you weren't.."

  He shook his head. "I couldn't move, couldn't hear, couldn't see. Anything. Probably was moved once or twice, and then a lot of chaos at the end. I fought where I could." His hand went to his chin where the worst of the bruising was. "Something broke, in the fight, I think. Pretty sure I passed out a couple of times. Woke up the last time here…" he trailed off, Evil X now the one looking like he was going to-

  Evil X stood and left the room, running into and past Wels and Doc in the hallway. Doc called after him, but he didn't respond, disappearing into the building's maze.

  Wels knocked on the doorframe, politely waiting with a tray. "Okay if we come in?"

  Xisuma nodded, feeling off-kilter by Evil Xisuma's abrupt departure. "Of course. Mind the mess- sorry."

  Wels sidestepped the discarded clothes and boots, too polite to snicker when Doc didn't manage the same. 

  "Brought some food, and potions, wasn't sure what you wanted. Or the last time you ate." 

  Xisuma frowned at that. "Actually, I have no idea. With the world hopping I was doing I don't.. I have no clue." He picked up the regen potion, studying the color absently. "Why did we come here? Why not back to HermitCraft?"

  Doc snorted, leaning against the wall by the door. "Evil X didn’t exactly give us a choice. He opened the last portal with that crazy lightning of his."

  Wels watched him turning the potion bottle. "Are you okay to take that? They didn't drug or poison you, did they?"

  "What? No, I- I was just having this conversation with Evil X. I-" he struggled for the words. "I don't know what happened. He got all worked up about it, but I don't know why, why they.." He was frustrated, he couldn't even put a face or a reason to what- "Fuck. I don't even know what I did ."

  He buried his face in his hands, taking in gulps of air to fight down the rising feeling of panic? failure? loss? The bed dipped beside him and he flinched away from a touch on his knee, pulling his head back up. "Don't." He bit his tongue, swallowing the rest of his command, Welsknight's gaze gentle on his.

  "Xisuma, what do you know about what happened."

  " Nothing. " He spat the word, angry that he didn't know what emotions he was supposed to be feeling right now, upset and sad that Evil X had run away from him, and he didn't know what happened .

  Welsknight was hugging him and he was crying, sobbing his frustration and fear into his hands and into Wels' shoulder, and he was pretty sure he'd just screamed at his friends and...

  He heard Doc's rumbling voice, and felt Wels' response, too overwhelmed to make out what they were saying. A blanket was draped over his shoulders, but he was already warm, already tired, already too everything.

  He fell asleep, tears on his face but safe in the hands of his friends.

Chapter Text

  Cubfan rewound the footage one more time, before finally shutting it down in disgust. "Eighteen hours . Tied up and stuck in a voidbedamned chest for eighteen hours." He crossed his arms, glaring at the jury-rigged playback device. "I wish I had let Evil X burn the place down."

  iJevin pulled the copied data card free, packaging it for transport. "At least we found out about it right away. And someone with connections already could get us in. I can't think about what could have happened otherwise."

  "We would have never seen him again."

  He made a face at Iskall. "I said I didn't want to think about it."

  They sat in a little oak and stone brick kitchen, half filled with four Hermits sitting around the little oak table. One wall held a couple of food storage chests and a small counter with a coffee pot. Beside it was a simple oven with a kettle on top, and a cauldron set under a window, fed by an outside infinite water source.

  Cubfan was still ranting. "Voidwalkers are supposed to be protected! Before 1.6 was released, they were already classified as a protected player, and guaranteed rights by the Multiverse Council. Any world is within their rights to ban a Voidwalker, if they wanted. Who would try to kidnap one?!"

  Iskall shrugged, reaching over for the sugar in front of Cub. “It could have been worse, in a stack of horrible scenarios.” He started ticking them off, stirring the sweetener into his coffee. “They could have moved him off-world. They could have had a code-breaker on staff and gotten his helmet off. They could have tortured him to get access to our world. They-”

  iJevin slugged him. “I don’t need more nightmares, quit it.”

  Iskall laughed humorlessly. "Run into a lot of sickos in the 'verse, guys. Just be happy you don't understand it, it means you don't think like they do."

  Cubfan let out a huff, staring back at his own drink. "I just. It makes me so mad, you know? We weren't even expecting him back for a week."

  "Why do you think we keep our world closed, Cub? How many worlds accept mob-hybrids, or allow personal magics in a vanilla world gen? We're damn lucky with what we have here, and a lot of that is due to Xisuma. Hell, no one blinked when Evil Xisuma showed up one day, and I don't think any of us yet know his damn backstory." Iskall cackled some more, and downed his drink. "Best damn wild card I've ever fought with, though. Can't imagine why he didn't destroy any of the HermitCraft worlds if he really wanted to."

  False chuckled at that. "Easy- because what he wanted was the attention. He's just as lonely as Xisuma, but with worse coping methods."

  "You shouldn't gossip about people in their own home."

  “Not gossiping if they’re listening in the doorway. What’s wrong?” Her teasing faded to concern at his pale face. “You okay?”

  He shook his head. “I need to leave for a while, just letting you know so nobody goes searching for me. You know where the portal is if you need it.”

  Cubfan stood up from the table. “I’ll go with you, could use a break myself.” He snagged a couple of baked potatoes on his way to the door. Evil X was still standing there, watching him. “Lead the way.”

  “I didn’t ask for company.”

  Cub patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, I’ll join you anyway.”

  Evil X shrugged, and turned away from the oak and stone kitchenette. Cubfan followed a few steps behind, making note of twists and turns and side passages. They had taken a different route, but ended up back in the glass observatory. Cubfan looked up to regard the still-night sky while Evil X retrieved his discarded armour pieces.

  "How is the atmosphere here?"

  Evil X shrugged again, gesturing to an iron door along the wall. "Safe enough for me, first time having visitors, so. Try it and find out.  Waystone outside the door if you know how to use it." 

  "I'm familiar with them. Respawn here then?"

  He tugged on a diamond helmet over his visor. "Yes. Spawn would be back where we entered the world, respawn is near instant. I need to go kill things, you don't have to come."

  Cubfan opened the iron door, stepping outside and testing the air. Satisfied, he plucked a respawn gem from its pedestal and activated it, storing it safely in his inventory. His armour was equipped and then he was nodding at Evil X.

  "Just tell me if there's anything I shouldn't kill."

  He followed Evil X out along crafted bridges connecting large islands, until they reached a wildly overgrown end. New plants with health bars, and strange creatures he didn't have names for attacked them or fled, and they lost themselves in the basic battle for survival. It wasn’t long until they were both pulling out all of the stops. Lightning flew along with summoned vex, fire spreading when they needed a breath, and ice slowing those too quick to run. Evil X called out weaknesses or pointed out attack formations as they came across mob packs. They worked out their anger and frustrations through the elation of swords and damage, grouping up to fight side-by-side and then separating to forget about anything other than swinging a sword and staying alive.

  Once their bloodlust had cooled, they made their way back, ending up on a short tower at the edge of the eclectic build. Cubfan shared his potatoes, the both of them taking off helmets to eat.

  "Pretty cool build style you have here." Cubfan finally offered, health topped off and belly full. "Did you add areas as updates came out, or just rebuilt?"

  Evil X looked across the sprawling area and shrugged. "Mostly built out when we would come across blocks we liked. Did a lot of traveling when we were younger, brought materials back from all over. Some we had to replace when they broke down, organics don't last as long out here." He pointed out a short tower above an endstone brick roof. Purple netherbrick was mixed in with brown mushroom blocks, some showing obvious signs of decay. "Xisuma built a reading nook over there when the mushroom blocks were introduced, but they keep rotting in the open air."

  "I like the dome on this side- with the red and black bricks."

  "That's all nether brick- I found a recipe for dyeing them on a modded world. Floor inside is nether wart blocks, nice and squishy for working out or training on."

  "Didn't want to go with slime blocks?"

  "Too green. And I didn't want to get thrown and end up smacking my head on the ceiling after."

  Cubfan chuckled. "Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem." He sighed softly, admiring the unspoken history built into the different sections. "So how are you feeling now?"

  Evil X flopped back onto the sandstone. "Really, we're going to do this?"

  "You looked like you were ready to throw up back in the kitchen, instead we threw swords for several hours." Cubfan pulled his knees up, resting his chin on them. "So what's up?"

  "He doesn't know what happened."

  Cub glanced over at him, but Evil X was staring at the stars. "Which part?"

  "All of it." He let it sink in a moment. "He knows he got jumped and trussed up, but they fried his helmet. Heard nothing, saw nothing. He doesn't know that he was kidnapped and nearly sold off to be a mindless meat sack of power."

  "Does.. I mean, he- Damn."

  "Yeah. Fucking derp has no idea what he got tied up for, and thinks it's his fault somehow. He remembers fighting at the end, doesn't know he was fighting us trying to rescue him."

  "Stars above and Void below us. Of course he would think it's his fault." Cub ran a hand over his face, tugging at his beard. "I love the guy, but he's got one helluva martyr streak. And the truth is no better."

  "I mean, it's not out of the realms of possibility that someone would try to get back at him, and Void knows I've pissed off enough people that would take it out on him, too. But no one in that room recognized me, so it wasn't personal."

  "It wasn't." Cubfan sighed, leaning back. "I went through the data that iJevin pulled from their systems, before we made copies for the Council. There was a whole operation there, all set up for kidnapping several types of 'special' players, rerouting their spawns to spaces where they could disappear them. Very efficient, and a long-standing trafficking ring."

  "With, or without the approval of world Admin?" Evil X's voice was dark, nearly as low as his synthesizer usually was. "Nevermind, I don't care. I want to burn it to the Void and delete the backup."

  "Can you? Cause I'm on board."

  Evil X turned to meet his gaze. "Fuck I wish I could. Destroy parts of it, sure, unless their Admin already locked me out. The rest is just wishful thinking, honestly."

  "Nice thought though."

  "Yeah. Should have considered someone would turn that into a profession."

  Cub tilted his head, watching Evil X sit up stiffly. "Have you run into that?"

  "Not exactly, something similar before. Not the same world, but," he shivered, running his hands across his arms. "Bounty hunters looking for a specific Voidwalker."

  "Are you..?"

  "What? Oh, no. Of course not. I was with one though. When we ran into the hunters. Helped fight them off. Stupid bastards." He stared back into the sky, lost in the memory of it. "He broke his own code after, went insane for a while. Not supposed to hack your own code."

  Cub thought about it, little things starting to add up. "You traveled with Biffa for a while, I remember X mentioning it."

  Evil X nodded. "Traveled to consult with master codebreakers about it first, he couldn't stand the ability. Never learned to control it. He asked X once to take it away from him, but that's not how it works."

  "I'd heard the rumors, but never managed to get close with Biffa."

  "He's a damn good fighter, taught me some tricks here and there, how to access codes and weapons on modded worlds. He's amazing in a fight." 

  Cubfan laughed as he smothered a yawn. "Careful there, your fanboy is showing."

  "Whatever."

  "Come on," he stood, offering Evil X a hand up. "We should go inside, check on everybody. Maybe send someone home to let them know what happened."

  Evil X stood beside him, but didn't move yet. "Still have to tell Xisuma what happened."

  "Let's talk with the others then, and figure it out together." Cub offered him a hopeful grin. "Unless we got really lucky and someone else handled it for us."

  Evil X scowled at that. "Nevermind, I'm gonna go throw up now."

  Cubfan slung an arm around his shoulders. "Time enough for that later, my friend. Now we take care of each other, like a family does."

  "When did I become part of this family thing?" He tried to sound surly, but it came out a little too pleased, and Cub was happy to hear it.

  "From the moment you joined our server, Evil X. And especially after today, there is no getting rid of us."

Chapter Text

  He woke from bad dreams with a headache, feeling dehydrated and achy. His hair was plastered against his face, and a warm arm was a comforting weight across his chest. He fumbled for his communicator with stiff fingers, mildly surprised to see it reading 'no signal'. Brushing off Evil X's arm, he rolled out of bed.

  And ended up on the floor, his legs buckling under his own weight.

  "Mmph?"

  Xisuma took in the room, events from.. yesterday? coming back to him. The Wild End, my room.. and that .

  "Go back to sleep, EX."

  Another mumble came from the bed, along with a pillow. He waited a few moments until he heard the breathing even back out, smiling softly. 

  He tried again to stand, taking his time and holding onto the edge of the bed until he could make sore knees lock into place. It was a couple of unsteady steps to his clothes chest, but  a fresh set of clothes made him feel marginally better. He remembered  to grab a pair of compression gloves, then slipped out of the room and into the hallway. He worked the tight gloves onto his hands, massaging stiff fingers as he navigated the hallways, absently heading for the nearest place to find a cup of tea.

  The kettle was where it always was, so he went through the calming motions of filling it and settling on the old oven to heat, then placing loose tea into his favorite cup, one he often wished he could bring to HermitCraft but was too afraid of losing. He was feeling much more centered by the time the kettle was ready, pouring steaming water over his tea, just shy of boiling.

  "Morning, X." False brushed by him, heading for EX's coffee pot, dumping grounds and refilling the carafe.

  "Good morning, False." He brought his mug over to the small table, halfway to setting it down before his brain caught up. The cup rattled against the table as he nearly fumbled it. "False?"

  Her hair was back in a loose ponytail, and she covered a yawn as she turned towards him. "Hmm, is there still hot water? I started the coffee for Wels, he'll be up in a few minutes." Without waiting for an answer she prepped and poured her own cup of tea, joining him at the table. "Your eyes really do glow without the visor, I didn’t believe Iskall when he told me. Did you sleep well?"

  Xisuma blinked down at his tea, feeling like he was two steps behind.. something. "Odd dreams, but I think I slept okay."

  False smiled, sipping at the hot, barely steeped tea. "That's to be expected. Evil X was worried that you'd have too many nightmares. Is he up?"

  "No, he's rarely up before noon. And it's only," he paused to check the world time. "Jeez, its barely dawn. He'll sleep for hours yet."

  "I wouldn't be surprised if he was up before that." She gave him a little smile, as if sharing a secret. "Would you like breakfast? I can get something started."

  "I- thank you, but the tea is good for now." He sipped at his cup, deeming it nearly hot enough to drink. "Um."

  "Good morning, False, Isuma." Welsknight entered the kitchen from the side door, usually neat hair slightly damp and mussed. "Thanks for making coffee, False." He helped himself to a cup, barely pausing before sipping at the scalding drink.

  "No problem, I figured you wanted to finish your workout first. Did Jev head back already?"

  "Yeah, he took off first thing with the copies and evidence to hand over. I wrote up our depositions, that should be good enough for the Council."

  "That's a relief." She filled another mug for him. "Think Iskall will sleep in?"

  Wels laughed and added a heaping scoop of sugar to the second cup while she topped up his first. "He was just heading for bed an hour ago, I imagine he was up all night working on reverse engineering that redstone. I'll bring this up to Doc, but I don't expect to see Iskall before lunch. Thanks again." He saluted her with his cup, taking another sip as he left the kitchen.

  False placed a couple of pies into the still warm oven before coming back to sit at the table. "Your tea is getting cold, X."

  He picked it up automatically, taking a sip, then another before setting it down. "How- how many Hermits are here? And why ?"

  “Well, there were six of us before iJevin left this morning, not including you and Evil X. As for why, well, we’re here for you.” She drank her tea, savoring the comfort of it, taking her time answering him. “Two days ago, you left to visit some friends, and instead managed to walk into a trap specifically crafted against Voidwalkers, and uncovered a player-trafficking ring of epic proportions. We were passed the notification of your kidnapping through friends of SciCraft, and set out on a rescue mission with operatives working under the Multiverse Oversight Council to bring the illegal operation down. And bring you home, of course.”

  “Of- of course.” He stared at her for what felt like forever, chest tight and stomach aching uncomfortably. “I think I’m going to be sick now.”

  False took his hand, her grip as tight as his, giving him a grounding point. “Just breathe, X. You haven’t had anything more than a couple of sips of tea, you have nothing to throw up.”

  He rested his elbow on the table, supporting his head, breathing through his nose as he tried to process the loaded TNT minecart of information she had just dropped on him. It wasn’t enough, and he found himself bent to the side, vomiting what little he had drunk into a convenient bucket. Someone placed a blanket over his shaking shoulders when nothing else came out, pulling him up and back into a warm embrace, letting him catch his breath again.

  “Coffee? It’s too early for this.” Evil X sounded tired, but kept a comforting arm around him, holding him tucked to his side. 

  A glass of water and a regen potion was placed on the table in front of him. False poured Evil X a mug of coffee, and he added his usual three scoops of sugar, before downing it in one go.

  Low grumbling came from the doorway. "This place is worse than a stronghold, I swear I've found at least two other kitchens and one of them leads into a dead end hallway." Doc wandered into the room, his creeper eye only half-open. "Who builds like this?"

  "Don't like it you can leave." Evil X glowered over his empty coffee cup, barely as awake as Doc. " If you can find the portal."

  Doc refilled both of their cups with the last of the coffee. "Found two more of those as well. Do you just forget you had them and build another? One of them was through a water closet- that doesn't even make sense." He pulled a pie from the oven with his metal hand, not bothered by the warmth.

  "Makes sense to me, that portal goes to an ocean monument. Water closet is for washing off the stink after dealing with guardians."

  "And the room full of magma blocks and wool?"

  "Mm." He took another slug of coffee, shuddering at the taste before remembering to add his sugar. "That was a prank I don't think X ever found. It's covering up his hideous attempt at building with that glazed stuff." He squeezed Xisuma's shoulder a bit, retasting his sweetened drink. "Was kinda hoping the wool would catch fire and burn the whole room."

  "Good grief." Doc paused to eat half the pie, washing it down with coffee. "You could have stuck to one color at least. My eye still hurts from seeing that."

  "You didn't see what was behind it, that would have blinded you."

  Xisuma protested at that. "Come on, jeez. I was just trying them out. You didn't even let me rebuild it."

  Evil X let him sit up, sliding his hand back to his mug. "That's what your build area in the overworld is for. So I don't have to see it."

  "The colors are different there, it's not the same." He took the potion in front of him, waiting for his stomach to settle before sipping at the water. His Hermits and EX casually chatting over coffee helped calm his nerves more than he ever thought it would.

  "So you still have an overworld and a nether here?" False added a couple more pies to the table, as well as a warm loaf of bread she placed near Xisuma. 

  Evil X sighed, finally realizing what they were doing. Xisuma kept his smile to himself, tearing off a small piece of bread.

  "Yeah, just flipped from normal gen. Nether portals take you out to the overworld." He slowed down on the coffee, helping himself to a pie. "Of course, half of our portals go straight there and skip the nether. Perks of a resident Voidwalker."

  Wels stuck his head around the corner, taking in the full table for a moment. "Hey, EX? Cub is asking if you have a redstone lab, or any tools he can borrow. He thinks he figured out part of that redstone circlet."

  "Umm."

  Xisuma answered him instead. "Evil X doesn't play with redstone, except in building. I have a lab on the far west side, and there is a larger sitting room nearby, if we would like to move over that way."

  Wels nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

  "We have a sitting room?"

  "Around the corner, two halls down, past the prismarine room."

  "Your base is so weird. I like it." False grinned. "One more round of tea and coffee?"

  Evil X grumbled, standing up from the table. "Probably have another kitchen over there anyway."

  Xisuma had to think about that. "Could be, but I don't honestly remember. We can always bring it with and build something in."

  "Great, just what we need. Another kitchen." Evil X shook his head, fighting down a smile. "I'm gonna grab a pillow, if you all are gonna play with the magic dust I'm gonna nap."

  "Or you could learn a thing or two." Doc eyed him from where he was refilling the coffee pot. "Like maybe how to disable a redstone lock in a hurry."

  Evil X waved him off. "Nice try, but that's what TNT and lightning is for." He left the kitchen, trailing a yawn behind him.

  Xisuma waited for a fresh mug of tea before carefully standing from his seat. His legs steady this time, he followed Welsknight to where Cubfan was holed up, redstone, quartz, and gold pieces scattered around him on bone block counters.

  Xisuma stopped in the doorway, careful not to disturb anything. "Is this stuff moveable? I have a bigger lab with resources, if you'd like to spread out."

  Cubfan met his gaze, ice blue fading from his eyes. "I have most of it labeled, it should be good to move. And I could probably use Iskall or Doc to put an eye on it as well to check my work." He tugged his beard lightly, seeing Xisuma's eyes drop to his partially dismantled helmet. "Aaaand you may need a new helmet."

  Xisuma turned it over in his hands, running gloved fingers over melted and scarred divots. Pieces of redstone had burned out over partially exposed circuits, even now sending the occasional feedback static through the speakers when he brushed against them. "Pretty sure I would need a new one regardless of you, Cub." 

  "Still, that can't be easy to make." He was working to gather pieces into specific piles for carrying. "I tried not to break anything else."

  Xisuma shrugged. "I have a few extras, older builds. They're stored near the lab, so I can grab parts on the way."

  He helped Cub and Wels gather up the piles and lead them through the maze of corridors, meeting up with the others in a drab oak hallway. Iskall had joined them, still rubbing sleep from his eyes and also carrying a pillow like Evil X. He found the correct doors, bringing the group into a well-lit space full of acacia logs and its wood variants, the orange set off by blue trim and decorations in the room. Xisuma entered first, locking open a set of iron doors on the far side. A stack of chests lined that entryway, then opened into a larger area of simple quartz and iron, lighting hidden in the ceiling and walls behind iron trap doors.

  Doc gave a low whistle, following him in. "Well this is nice, Zizuma. Very clean."

  "More like blast resistant and easy to replace. Redstone resources are in the chests, help yourself to whatever you need."

  Cubfan started unpacking the pieces, spreading them out over the flat counters. Xisuma went back to the acacia room, opening a hidden redstone door to the closet where he kept spare armour parts. False peeked in over his shoulder.

  "Is this where you hide your secrets, X?"

  He chuckled, pulling an older helmet out of a frame, along with the shell of a partially built one. "No secrets, just old and spare parts."

  "Uh huh. What's with the fuzzy one?"

  "Fuzz- oh." Xisuma fought down a little bit of embarrassment. "Um, just a silly idea I was working on." He pulled the white and blue helmet down from its stand, shyly showing her the fur-covered helmet with blue faceplate. "Its based off of a mob I came across on a modded world, the yeti. They live in snow and ice biomes, I kind of thought it could be fun for a winter look."

  False grinned at him. "That's really cool. Are you planning on a whole outfit for it?"

  He warmed at her praise. "Well.."

  She reached over to pet the fur. "You're going to have to, now, I want to see what a whole yeti looks like. An Xisuma-yeti.”

  He smiled and replaced it. "I'll think about it."

  She backed up so they could exit the closet, taking a seat on the couch beside Welsknight and an already asleep Iskall. Xisuma took a few minutes to explain some of his helmet functions to Cubfan and Doc, who were already engrossed in unraveling the redstone circlet.

  They pushed him out of the lab when his yawns overtook their explorations, shutting the iron door in his face.

  "Kicked out already?" 

  Xisuma turned back to the sitting area, finding False and Welsknight looking at him. "I don't think they want my help anymore."

  Evil X rolled his eyes. "Then come over here and talk to your friends so they stop grilling me."

  Wels just smiled at him. "Oh, we're just getting caught up with our friend , Evil X. And you didn't finish your story."

  Xisuma waved him to continue, leaving a space between them as he sat at the far end of the couch. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, listening to EX finish his tale of the End Thorn Woods. He left out the part about falling into the witch's basement . Amused by the thought but too comfortable to insert himself into the narrative, he let himself doze off.

  He woke with a jerk, a sinking feeling in his stomach like he had been falling without being able to catch himself slowly fading. Someone was talking, but a warm hand was guiding him down and rubbing his shoulder, so he buried his head back into the pillow and ignored it.

  "He said he slept okay last night?" 

  "Sure, if you count waking nearly every hour 'okay'. I even tried the void blanket he usually likes, but that made him- it didn't work." A questioning sound. "Void blanket? Uh, soak wool in an end portal, it absorbs weight and damage, stays cool. Handy for fighting shulkers and endermen, minimizes the knockback and levitation nonsense."

  "Ah." And the voices faded out again.

  "Got it!"

  The boisterous voice was followed by a round of shushing “I’m awake. What-?” A pillow was dropped over his head.

  Iskall bounced with laughter as Xisuma batted the pillow away and sat up, proudly displaying one of his helmets. "Time for sleepy beauty to wake up anyway. Here," he tossed the item into Xisuma's lap. "Try it on, make sure we still have the fit right."

  "We added a quartz lining to the audio and visual inputs." Cubfan explained, taking a seat next to Xisuma. "It should boost the power and give some insulation against both stray and directed redstone overloads." He pointed out a circuit in the back. "Here we created a second relay as a backup, fully insulated from the first. We didn't want to interfere with your power tree, but it should be easy enough to create a reserve or battery for it."

  Xisuma ran his fingers along the lining, knowing by feel what they had changed. It was a good setup, and one that he had never considered needing in the past. "Thank you, this means a lot to me." He had to look away, the dark interior making the queasy feeling return. 

  Doc leaned his elbows over the back of the couch. "You mean a lot to us, so it's the least we can do."

  Evil X made gagging noises beside him. Xisuma hit him with the helmet, dropping it into his lap.

  "Thank you, again. Did you have a lot of trouble with the, with the circlet?"

  Iskall tilted his head, watching him. "Figured it out pretty quick, actually.” He said slowly. “ Looks like it was intended for disabling modded armours, which your helmet is not. Caused a connected feedback loop, which fried both its circuit and yours."

  Evil X was inspecting his helmet now, fingers searching out the same changes Xisuma had. "Wouldn't be a bad idea to incorporate some of this into my own." He elbowed Xisuma without looking at him, handing the helmet back. "Unless I can build a better version," he turned back to Doc and Iskall. "Do you think Impulse or iJevin can do a better job? I'll bet they can improve the design." He picked a casual fight, turning their attention to him.

  "Do you want to check the fit while we're here?" Cubfan offered, quietly. 

  Xisuma faced the opening of the helmet towards him. "I should." But he didn't lift it from his lap.

  "You don't have to force yourself." His voice was gentle.

  Black gloves plucked the helmet back out of his lap, and still arguing with Doc, Evil X booted up the processes inside. Glowing text ran down one side of the visor waiting for a login, tiny status lights highlighting the interior. 

  Xisuma was chuckling in relief when it was handed back to him, no longer just a black cage to stick his head into. He pulled it over his head, making adjustments to the sound and visor brightness, and meeting Cubfan's smile through the visor with his own. He rolled his head to check for tight spots, the latches still open under his chin. World data scrolled in the corner as he logged in, reassuring him that everything was as it should be.

  False waved at him from across the room, a grin on her face, and Wels smiling beside her. Iskall and Doc were arguing with Evil X about redstone, and Cubfan was grinning beside him, a devilish, happy grin.

  They were his Hermits, and he was so glad to have them.