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Hels sat perched above the nether portal that would take him to the spawn of Hermitcraft, watching his communicator - or rather Wels’ communicator that he’d…borrowed - intently. Every muscle was tensed to jump down and slip through the portal, all he was waiting for was that one small message to appear on the screen.
He’d heard from Badtimes that it would happen today, and because he was on better terms with his counterpart than most, Hels believed him. The only issue was he hadn’t said when it would happen, so the knight had been camped out in his position all day, the low nether light making his head hurt and his stark still position causing his legs to cramp.
But he didn’t care.
He didn’t care about any of it, not if he could get them back.
He swore he could feel each tick as it passed by, surmounting into hours with nothing but the occasional ghast shriek for company, but he didn’t give in to his aching bones. It was close, so close, he could feel it. And then, he was proven right, all that waiting made worth it by a name on the screen he never thought he’d see again
[EvilXisuma joined the game]
He jumped to his feet, almost stumbling in his haste to get through the portal. There was that thick, swirling feeling through every inch of his data as he was transported but he pushed away the nausea and dizziness.
And when he stepped out onto the stony ground of the overworld spawn he was there - armor and helmet nowhere to be found, curled in on themselves, a scream building in the back of his throat as they were hit with the onslaught of colors and feelings and sounds, things he had long since forgotten the sensations of.
Hels wanted to give them the time and gentleness he needed but as the sound of firework rockets drew near he knew this wasn’t the place for it. Three hermits - Hels recognized them as Keralis, Ex’s brother, Xisuma, and his own brother, Wels - touched down on the beach, clearly surprised to see the knight there.
Before they could say anything, or even move towards Ex, Hels was stood defensively in front of him, sword drawn.
“Don’t you fucking touch them,” he snarled, unconcealed hatred saturating his voice.
Wels’ hand drifted almost automatically to the hilt of his own sword as he stared at his brother with an unreadable expression, “Since when were you so interested in our affairs?” he questioned, eyes remaining impassive as always, “Ex is for us to handle, this doesn’t concern you.”
With this, he took a step forward, as did Xisuma, whose reaction to all this was well hidden behind a purple visor. Hels growled and swung his sword in a wide arc, successfully making them stop for a moment and a moment in all he needed as he retreats to drag up Ex - anxiety flickering in the back of his mind at how rail thin he is, weighing no more than a sack of flour. With quick, practiced movements he loaded and fired a rocket from his crossbow at the three, and just as he hoped it explodes in color and a loud bang.
Ex whimpers at the noise and Hels feels guilty for being the cause of more pain for them, but the desired effect is there, with the hermit disorientated long enough for him to more or less carry his friend through the portal, he destroys it once they’re out, praying it might buy them a precious few seconds.
He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally made it back to the overworld and the hideout he had set up, undetected, but the relief was short-lived as he quickly realized he had no idea exactly how to help Ex. He had been completely quiet and barely able to move on the way here, and even now was unresponsive as Hels gently laid them on the bed tucked in the corner of the small room.
For now, rest was probably what he needed the most, allowing themselves to passively become accustomed to their surrounding while regaining sleep. In any case, they sure looked like they needed it.
Ever so softly and ever so hesitantly Hels rested a hand on his shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring action, “You can sleep now, Ex, you’re safe,” he murmured quietly, remembering how they had reacted to noise before.
Ex made no response but after a few minutes his breathing leveled and Hels could tell he was asleep. He realized, not for the first time, and not without some prickle of uncomfortableness just how many new and alarming emotions Ex made him feel.
There had been a spark of something deep in him before they were banned, and a swelling tempest of grief and anger when they had been. He’d never stopped thinking about them, never stopped missing him. And now, now that they were here again, he was afraid - not for himself but for them - and protective, he really cared. He didn’t understand why but it didn’t matter, he did understand that he would never let anyone hurt Ex again, not while he had breath left in his lungs.
Sighing softly, he crossed his arms and rested his head on the edge of the bed, watching the steady rise and fall of Ex’s chest as he slept - and, despite his best efforts, Hels felt himself slip away into unconsciousness.
The first thing he became aware of as he woke up was the sound of a soft, strained whimpering. In an instant, he was up, wide awake and fussing over an obviously pained Ex.
They were curled in on themselves, tears slipping from eyes screwed tightly shut, still making that near inaudible whimpering, as if that was all their atrophies vocal cords could muster.
“Ex, what’s wrong? Are you okay - wait - fuck that’s a stupid question,” Hels fretted, mostly to himself. He turned to dig in a chest, relieved to find that past him had thought to stache a few healing potions.
Returning to Ex’s side he searched what skin was visible, but could find no injuries, “Ex, you have to tell me where it hurts,” he instructed.
For the first time, Ex seemed to register his presence, shoulders untensing slightly as he mouthed what Hels assumed to be ‘back’, still unable to speak, and still not opening their eyes.
Hels craned his neck to look at the back of his shirt, and was alarmed to find it being rapidly stained by some fresh liquid, too dark to be blood, “I’m going to have to take this off, is that okay?”
Ex nodded slightly and tried to move into a sitting position, though even this small movement made their muscles tremble with exertion. The knight steadied him, trying not to focus on how close they were, turning his attention to instead easing off their shirt.
He was barely able to hold back a gasp at what he saw.
Between his shoulder blades and all the way down their spine where there had once been pale skin, crisscrossed by scars, there was now a deep, black, oozing rivet. Not quite a cut, but more like the pure, malicious void had cracked the skin and burrowed itself inside, spreading its sickly branches through Ex’s veins.
Not having any bandages Hels ripped off part of his shirt and soaked the cloth in the healing potion, before beginning to apply it to the wound, cleaning away the encrusted black liquid with as much gentleness as he could.
Ex let out a hiss from behind clenched teeth and his hands gripped what was left of Hels’ shirt tightly, but they remained still. After a few moments the effects of the potion set in, stronger and more effective as they connected directly with his bloodstream, he relaxed slightly against Hels, letting out a long breath as the pain was alleviated at least a bit.
Hels tore off one more strip of fabric and used the last of the potion, laying it on their back best he could, so that the healing effect could continue to seep into him. Then, ever so reluctantly, he detached them from him and got up, disposing of the empty bottle.
The other watched silently, though his red eyes were narrowed as if even the low light was too much for them. Finally, though, he tried to speak, “Why..?” their voice was barely audible and uneven from disuse but Hels understood what they were trying to say.
“You’re one of us, Ex, I wasn’t just going to leave you there to their mercy,” he replied, pressing a bottle of water into his hands - telling himself that it wasn’t a lie, just not the entire truth.
Ex downed the water gratefully, feeling relief as it ran over their damaged and parched throat, and placed it on the side table.
He started at an invisible point just past Hels for a long while before doing something that the knight never expected and had never seen happen before.
They started to cry.
Hels was frozen in shock for a moment, watching as tears he almost certainly couldn’t afford to shed rolled down their cheeks and dripped from his jaw. When their shoulders started to shake, though, he finally snapped out of it, kneeling next to him and hesitantly laying a hand on theirs - too afraid of aggravating his wound to actually hug them.
“Ex?”
Even just that slight contact seemed to make him cry harder, touch-starved skin desperate for the warmth of another living thing, “It was so- so dark, I never thought I’d see the sun again,” they said between tears, “I was so close to losing to the Void, I thought- I thought I’d never see you again.”
Hels’ eyes widened and he could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat, he hadn’t known he meant that much to Ex, “It’s okay, you’re here now and I promise you’re never going back,” he assured them, rubbing his thumb over their knuckles in a comforting motion and moving to sit next to him on the bed.
“You can’t promise something like that Hels.”
A small smile tugged at the knight’s lips, “Don’t underestimate me, I swear on whatever the fuck rules the three dimensions I will protect you,” the words slipped out with a little more passion than he had meant them to but he wouldn’t take back what he had said even if he could.
Ex glanced at him, and maybe he was just imagining the light dusting of pink on their cheeks, still shining with tears. Then, he rested his head on Hels’ shoulder and let out a long breath, “Maybe just this once I’ll allow it.” they said quietly, and though Hels couldn’t see it, the first smile - even if pained and tentative - in a very, very long time came to settle on Ex’s face.