Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 Revolution wasn’t happening fast enough. Impulse knew that well enough when one of the royal guards left a massive banner in front of his shop. First, it was the diamonds, then the sudden influx of new laws, then the royal emeralds. Don’t even get him started on the way the royal guards acted, from Scar killing everyone over a party to Cleo and Joe with their signs.

Revolution needed to be faster. He needed someone who had experience and practice in something like this. And sadly, he knew who he needed to ask.

Sending a message to the rest of the Soup Group, Impulse waited in his base for their replies. They showed up by the sword, and Impulse smiled as he saw them perk up. His heavy boots thudded against the tiles and once within earshot the two of them began pestering him with questions.

“Impulse, are you okay? Your message seemed kinda serious and urgent.” Pearl stood, still dressed in her cleaning lady uniform. She was eyeing the dwarf worriedly as she fiddled with the overall straps.

“That’s ‘cause it is. Revolution is not happening fast enough.”

“So what are we gonna do?” Gem’s ears twitched as the question filled the air. Impulse could see Pearl start to fidget as the two of them waited for his answer.

“Well. I know what we need. We need more help. We need someone who knows what they're doing when it comes to resistance.” He said he could only imagine how they’d react when they hopefully got the person he was looking for. “Follow me. We kind of have to corner them for this to work.”

With that Impulse took off into the air. Within seconds Pearl and Gem followed behind him. He could see them in his peripheral vision and it didn’t take long to guide the two over the shopping district to a certain avian's oddity of a home. As they neared the base, he could see the blonde messing around with something on the bridge of his base.

Grian noticed them first, however, and fight or flight must’ve kicked in because before they were within earshot the pesky bird shot up into the air. He soared high above them and Impulse could only barely keep track of him. 

“I see why you said we needed to corner him,” Gem mumbled as her eyes followed the red blur. 

“I always forget how speedy he is,” Pearl grumbled before shooting off after him. Gem and Impulse followed suit as they chased after the avian. They flew around his base and over The Perimeter, narrowly avoiding death as Grian dive-bombed to the bottom and flew up the tower Doc had built.

Following Grian through that they went through ScarLand and Impulse couldn’t help but be impressed by how many sharp and quick turns and direction changes Grian made. Annoying as it was when trying to follow him, it was still impressive. It was only when Grian had dived under his base did Impulse get worried. 

They landed inside Grian’s rift room and began to look around for the man. The dwarf's eyes scanned the area and for a quick second, Grian’s name tag appeared before disappearing again. They rushed to the location and found a long passageway just slightly hidden in the wall. 

The man of the hour stood defensively at the end of it, watching and waiting. Pearl began to stalk down the hall and he could see Grian step back slowly but surely. There was only a wall behind him so why would Grian do that…? 

If he was really worried he would’ve stayed in the air where he had the advantage, not corner himself like this. Unless… unless this was a trap. 

Impulse grabbed Pearl by the back of her shirt, yanking her back to him and sticking an arm in front of Gem. Impulse had figured it out just in time because Grian had jumped back onto a pressure plate and suddenly the floor opened up to reveal a deep hole that would surely kill. 

“Tch... Why’d you figure it out so soon?” Grian asked, stepping off the plate and letting the floor come back together. 

“Well, G. I’ve got a favor to ask of you.”

“...What kind?”

“The kind Mother Spore would accept in a heartbeat.”

“Damnit..” Grian glared at the ground before looking back at the Soup Group. He begrudgingly let the trio catch him and soon found himself flying over Tango’s base with them until they landed in front of Pearl’s alien-infested base. 

The sound of shriekers under the floorboard announced their entrance into the cozy home and Impulse couldn’t help but feel a bit bad about how they had Grian in between the three of them like a prisoner.

Once inside the meeting room, Impulse and Gem got to work helping Grian settle in while Pearl disappeared downstairs to make them some soup. Grian sat with his back to the window facing Impulse who sat directly across from him. Gem was to the left and to the right, one seat for Pearl. Grian’s wings lay limp and low as he sat there tense. To know if he was waiting for Pearl or something else was hard to tell, but it was clear though that Grian would be ready to dart outside at a moment's notice.

Pearl’s quiet footsteps filled the room as she placed the bowls down. Impulse and Gem with practiced ease downed the suspicious stew letting the potion effects wash over them. 

“Pearl. What kind of soup is this?” Impulse had gotten blindness so he couldn’t see what Grian or Pearl looked like at the moment but he could tell that Grian was concerned about the soup. 

“Griba don’t fret the little details. Just know it won’t kill you.” Pearl said. The sounds of slurping replaced the concerns. The bowls hit the table and he could hear Grian whine a bit and the soft patting of his sweater. 

“Alright, now that we’ve all had soup. Let’s start discussing what I wanted to talk about.”

“Better be good if you had to get a team to catch me.” Grian quipped. 

“Haha funny funny. You know just one of us couldn’t catch you alone. But anyways, what I brought you here for is I- We need your help.”

“Help with what exactly?”

“Revolution.” 

“No. No no no I said I wouldn’t join or start any resistances or revolts.” Grian said the words hastily, pushing himself out of his seat. He wobbled a bit as he stood, the soup effects still on him. 

“Grian you have to.”

“I said I wouldn’t.” Grian gripped the table, dark eyes staring hard into Impulse’s. The avian seemed shaky and unstable. 

“G… Do you know what new laws Ren’s put in place?”

“...No… Why? What did he do?”

“Ren’s gone mad! He’s banned AFKing, mining for diamonds, and partying. And now, he's saying everyone has to eat GigaPies and only GigaPies. He doesn’t care about the people anymore.”

“We need your help G. You’ve won just about every war you’ve been in. You beat Team S.T.A.R, managed to steal a time machine back with flower power, and swept HEP in the Turf War. We have to have you on our side if we want Ren out of power.”

“Tch… Impulse… I-”

“Mother Spore, have you forgotten the principle?”

Silence fell across the table. Pearl and Gem watched as Grian and Impulse stared at each other, the tension growing thicker and thicker as the seconds passed. Grian’s fingertips turned to talons as he balled up his fists, before slamming them down on the table. 

His wings flared out as his gaze went back to that signature smug Grian smile. “Oh of course I remember the principle. Impulse I made it!”

“So you’ll help us?”

“It’d be my pleasure to resist with you again.” Impulse grinned wide as he stood up. Gem and Pearl smiled to themselves as they watched Impulse and Grian shake on it. Grian went to the windows around the room and only after swiftly closing the blinds did he settle down in the chair. 

“So Griba? What’s our first move?” Pearl asked. Grian looked at her with a sly grin as he settled his chin into his palms. “Grian?”

“Well… I’ve got a few ideas…”

Chapter Text

Grian’s demeanor completely changed as he looked over the Soup Group. With the blinds closed shut, Grian basked in dark shadows. Pearl found herself slightly unnerved as she looked at Impulse in the corner of her eye. 

“First plan of action is one of my favorites. We’re gonna steal every diamond possible from Ren.” 

“And how exactly will we do that?” Gem asked, her fluffy ears twitching as she fiddled with the empty bowl in front of her. 

“This will be a multi-step plan, I won’t lie and there’s a lot that can go wrong. But I’ve worked with smaller teams. We can absolutely do this.” Grian sounded almost dazed as his wings flexed behind him. “As we all know, Ren used our diamonds as decorations. So what we’re gonna do it we’re gonna raid the Crastle, The Arch Of Champions, and The Server Quest island for any diamonds used as decoration.”

“Does this include the Royal Vault too? What about the diamond towers in the Arch of Champions?” 

“The Royal Vault will be the final thing we touch. And the diamond towers will be untouched, those belong to the Hermits that worked to build the towers. The raid on the Crastle will be the first. We’ll break in when Ren is either offline or out of the Crastle. Then we’ll do a full sweep of it, any diamond ore, blocks, or diamonds, in general, will be removed from the Crastle and replaced with those emeralds our ‘king’ is so fond of.

There are a few things I need you guys to bring though. One, as many emeralds as you can possibly find. Two, five shulker boxes. Three, all your best armor and weapons of your choice. And most importantly, a silk touch pickaxe. Other than that your inventory should only have food and be near empty.” Grian’s list was thorough and it was kind of worrying to think about how many times this happened. 

Impulse leaned back into his chair nodding along to Grian's words. "Quick question. Why are we stealing the diamonds and what are we doing with them?"

"I'll tell you that after we've got them. Let's work on one thing at a time, ya?" Grian’s light tone and smile felt almost calming as Pearl watched Grian write down coords, a date, and a time for them to meet up at. 

He opened the blinds letting the light shine in. The setting sun cast Grian in a blood-red light and for a second, Pearl couldn’t say she recognized the man in front of her. He looked different as the shadows and light cast his face and wings with such intense shadows. The only thing that was seen with clarity was the whites of his eyes and his teeth. 

He looked terrifying and maybe at the moment Pearl just imagined Grian’s manic laugh that filled the air but what she didn’t imagine were the chills that followed. He disappeared out of the window and the meeting room was still in his absence. The only sounds were the whistling of the wind in the air and the subtle breathing of the three.

“Welp,” Impulse said, clapping his hands together and standing up, “That went better than I expected. He must’ve been thinking about this for a while now.” 

“That went well?!” Pearl almost shrieked at the thought of what a failed meeting would sound like. 

“Yes? We got what we wanted, didn’t we? Now we have an experienced well-known revolutionary on our side fighting to stop the king. At this rate, we’ll remove the king’s claim to the throne in no time.” Impulse’s lax smile seemed out of place, why was he so cheery and happy about this war leader side of Grian?

“Impulse. What exactly has Grian been up to during his time on the Hermitcraft Server?”

“Oh Pearl… He’s been a force of nature.” Impulse’s voice had a floaty feel to it. And yet Pearl couldn’t find it in her to push harder. Instead, the Soup Group split and got to work getting the things Grian asked of them. 

Pearl found her gear with minimal hardship, most of her things unlike her life were organized. She grabbed an ax and wings and left her inventory just as Grian requested. Going to her shops she found emerald after emerald in the place where diamonds should rightfully be. 

It was disgusting to see. It was trash that needed to be rightfully cleaned up. And before she knew it, she was excited for the time of revenge. 

Checking her communicator, Grian left a single message in chat. With that, she was off. The Crastle was empty when they arrived, the large build giving an ominous song to the Soup Group and their temporary resistance leader. 

"How has the man been in power so long?" Grian muttered as they walked through the halls of the castle. They passed piles of diamonds, all recklessly scattered about and left as a mere sign of power. 

They began the plan with speed, collecting and replacing the diamonds and hiding them inside the shulker boxes. Piles of deep slate diamond ore and diamond blocks were removed and the Soup Group’s pockets were definitely a bit heavier than when they started. The once chilling blue was a brilliant green by the time they were done. 

“G, you sure you don’t want to raid the vault?” Impulse asked. The four stood around the opening to the underground vault although Grian’s back was toward it. 

“Yup. I don’t even want to look at it until we’ve done everything else.” Pearl threw a glance at the avian only to see him turn with the dramatic flare that seemed to encase him.  “Now there’s one last thing I want to do here.”

“And that would be?”

“Blow up the king.” His blank stare and dead tone made the world still in Pearl’s eyes. Not even the wind could be heard as everyone let the words settle. Impulse bounced back first, nodding and agreeing with ease and moving to stand beside the shorter. 

“...Pardon?” Pearl asked, looking over to Impulse. She could see Gem doing the same, concern painting the ginger’s face.

“You can’t send a message with a bang. And Ren’s gotten a bit too cocky in my opinion. Impulse get the redstone together, I’ve already got the TNT.”

Impulse nodded and the two of them walked to the throne room. Grian led the group and Pearl watched as he broke apart the throne and began to rig the TNT. Impulse funneled the supplies to the avian and it was clear to her just how easy this came to Grian.

She couldn’t help but wonder just how many times Grian had rigged a TNT bomb. That and just what kind of tactics he’d use in the future. With the bomb set up and everyone having replaced their royal emeralds with diamonds, Grian left through the window.

The Soup Group flew back home and reconvened in the meeting room in Pearl’s base. The soup was passed around to members who all did indulge in the cursed food. As bowls hit the table, Impulse gathered the girl’s attention and the day’s events were ready to be discussed.

“So… How’s everyone feeling?”

Chapter Text

“A little stressed to be fair.” Gem squeaked. The deer hybrid shifted around in her seat, her hands braiding the hair around her horns. Her eyes darted around the room seemingly avoiding Impulse’s gaze. 

“Hm? Why’s that?”

“Well… The first time we’ve… Well, I’ve done this. Pearl, I don’t know and you… You’ve certainly done it before haven't you?”

Impulse didn’t respond to that, only looking at Gem with a slight smile. Gem didn’t like that. “You’re not wrong, I've done my fair share of wars. The only thing is I haven’t been so close to the front. Leader or right-hand man.”

“But you were close enough to know Mother Spore right?” Pearl quipped.

“Yea about that… Why have you been calling Grian, Mother Spore?” Impulse leaned into his palms, a dazed look in his eyes as he sighed at the name ‘ Mother Spore’ . Gem couldn’t help but notice the shift in body language, and to say her curiosity wasn’t piqued would be a lie.

“Mother Spore was… from a different time. They’re from the same world that the original Grumbot was from. Season 7.”

“What were they like?” Gem asked, questions dancing on her tongue as she and Pearl watched Impulse.

The man in question leaned back in his chair reminiscing hard. He looked at them and smiled fondly. “Do you want the full story? The full full story?” The girls before him nodded eagerly and suddenly Gem felt like she was back in her village.

She was a little girl again, surrounded by fae and animal hybrids. She could see the blurry form of the village elder sitting before the group of children. In their hands, a book that held the legends her village was built on. The faded voice of the elder could be heard as they cracked the book open. 

The feeling of Pearl’s hands on her arm brought her out of the memory and she turned her attention back to Impulse.

“Back in Season 7, there was the mayoral campaign. There were a lot of diamonds in the shopping district with no one in charge of them so Grian suggested a mayor handle that.”

Gem couldn't help but be surprised by that. Grian? Suggesting an authority to be in charge? The same resistance leader she had come to hear about? Gem’s confusion must’ve been written on her face seeing as Impulse bit back a giggle. “Yeah, shocking I know. But yeah Grian suggested a mayor of the server and then the Mayoral Campaigns began. False, Stress, Scar, Doc, and Mumbo were all running. I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of all of it but in short, Scar won and became mayor.

Then everything went kind of downhill. After Scar became Mayor he set in motion a beautification mission for the shopping district. And Grian, wanting to be petty, decided to undo it. It started with one block of Mycelium. Just one block by his shop, which grew into a patch. Scar saw it and immediately started to quarantine it. From there it just continued to escalate until There were two opposing sides.” 

Gem watched as Impulse described the Mycelium Resistance and The Hermitcraft Environmental Protection Group. The Resistance was made up of Grian, Etho, Impulse, Stress, Ren, Doc, Jevin, and XB. They had multiple underground bases and would spread mycelium throughout the shopping district. HEP however was made up of Scar, Cub, Bdubs, False, Tango, Mumbo, Xisuma, and Keralis. There was a third party, the Podzol Party but they weren’t in the war much.” 

Gem could just imagine the tension between the two sides. Impulse continued to speak, his words spinning together an image of chaos, confusion, and war. From simple pranks to violent escalation. His voice shook a little bit when he mentioned getting jumped by HEP security, though it didn’t stop them. He spoke of how they raided Town Hall and stole every last diamond inside there, holding them hostage before replacing them with mycelium. 

Scar’s declaration of war sent chills down her spine. Gem’s imagination created a most likely, much grander thing than reality. But she couldn’t help it when Impulse described every plot and retaliation in such detail. She found herself amazed at the Resistance’s ingenuity from the sheep in the shopping district to the multiple fake bases to hide from HEP. 

“Whoa… Season 7 was a lot.“ Gem mumbled. Impulse only nodded. “And now we have Grian on our side…”

“Frankly I’m wondering what new alias he’ll give himself this time. Seems like he had one for every war.” Pearl said, a relaxed posture taking over as she leaned back into her chair. Gem, herself felt the nerves and fear for the future fade as Impulse answered whatever questions they had about the previous seasons' wars. She found herself somewhat excited and knew that the next ballad she’d make would be a war song. The chilled-out mood however was soon disrupted. The beeping sound of their communicators going off made them jump and check it. 

Gem could feel the smile grow on her face as she read the latest log. She looked up and she knew that they knew change was coming.

Rentheking was blown up by Remove The King