Chapter Text
FalseSymmetry was only out to collect some blocks, hoping to clear out a chunk or two, somewhere far from the other hermits. She flew over ravines and mountains, traces of life slowing fading from view until she found a perfectly good patch of land that called to her pickaxe. She glided down gracefully onto the rolling plains and pulled out her ender chest. Inside were plenty of empty shulker boxes prepared for the grind. She took out her shovel and dug up the first dirt block.
She wasn’t prepared for all the blocks around the loose item to break as well.
It was as if hordes of silverfish had infested the plains. False could only fly up in fear as the dirt blocks continued to break. It made no sense. There’s no way silverfish could inhabit dirt or grass and especially not at this scale. False swooped lower to try and get a look at the damage spreading. It was slower than the initial breakage but it wasn’t stopping. No amount of stone or ore slowed the creep of destruction. The final straw was when she watched as her own ender chest was swallowed up into the fray. That just doesn’t happen.
It was just the beginning.
___
“Xisuma, thanks for meeting me here!” False called out, speeding full blast into the shopping district.
False lands hard, taking far more damage than a professional should take. Her hands fall against his shoulders, steadying her weak legs and trying to catch her breath. She looks up, trying to peer straight into Xisuma’s mind as if just a look could explain everything.
“What seems to be the problem? Are you okay?” he asks, unused to seeing False in such a frazzled state.
“There’s something terribly wrong with the server,” she starts. “I-I don’t know what I did.” Tears started to gather at the edges of her eyes and something in Xisuma snaps.
“I just sent a message to Cub to help gather up the hermits for an emergency meeting. I’ll look through the files to see if there’s anything going on. Take a bit to relax. I’m sure you didn’t do anything to the server but just to be on the safe side we are going to look into this, okay?” Xisuma pats False’s hand which was still being steadied against his shoulder.
False lets out a shaky sigh. If anyone could figure out what was happening it was going to be Xisuma.
___
Not even an hour later and nearly all the hermits find themselves at X’s base. Joe and Gem are on either side of False trying to calm her down as she still visibly shaken. Pearl isn’t too far behind them, ready to step in if False’s state gets worse. XB and Beef are lost in hushed conversation with Hypno and Ren, though no one else could figure out about what. SmallishBeans and Bdubs are the loudest of the bunch, a bit unaware of the severity of the situation. Keralis and Skizz are trying to get the two of them to settle down even as Xisuma is fussing around in the corner of the room with Cub, Tango, Impulse, Doc, and Mumbo.
Wels, Cleo, Jevin, and Zed are sitting politely at the large table clearly sensing the unease pouring out the group of techs. Etho is the only redstoner who isn’t with them. He was sent out to save poor Scar who got himself stuck in a death loop on his way over. Grian is slumped over the table, bored out of his mind. It’s not often he actually shows up to these meetings, especially when it hasn’t even started. There’s a million other things he’d rather be doing.
Crash
All eyes look up as Scar busts into the room, landing as if he’s never used an elytra before. Etho appears behind him far more elegantly. Scar scrambles to an empty seat, wearing what is clearly Etho’s armor and sporting some new scuffs and scratches.
“Whoever decided to set up a spawner to send skelly’s into my base owes me a new set of armor,” he announces to the whole of the server.
“It was actually quite impressive,” Etho adds.
Xisuma pulls away from his work with the others to find his way back to the head of the table. “Well I’m glad everyone is here. Now we can get started.” X waits for a moment for everyone to settle and find a seat. He looks over the collection of his dearest friends and sees a mix of emotions looking back at. There are some who look afraid and concerned, some who are curious, and the rest completely unaware.
“I don’t really know the best way to say this,” he starts slowly. “But the server is disintegrating.” All at once there’s a cacophony of voices calling out for clarification. Even Grian rouses from his boredom, a strange look in his eyes. A small choked sob comes from False. X raises up his hands to quiet the group. “I’ve checked the files but I’m not finding the source of this anywhere. Me and the others are working on some redstone to help slow the deterioration while we are trying to find a real solution. We have a blueprint that is showing a lot of promise but we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. It’ll be all hands on deck collecting supplies, fortifying, and running redstone. Right now the damage is localized but I’ve found a few weak spots in the code where it could spread so some areas are going to be off limits-”
“I’m sorry it’s my fault everyone!” False cries out. “I was mining in a new chunk and everything just started breaking on its own!”
“Now, now,” Doc interrupts. “I saw the files myself. The code is compromised. It could have happened to any one of us.”
Pearl takes up the mantle of comforting her fellow builder, rubbing small circles on False’s shoulders. “How about we have a sleepover today? X and the others have a plan all worked out. Maybe Gem and Cleo want to join us?”
False straightens up and takes a shuddering breath. She takes a look over to Cleo for confirmation and they give False a soft smile and a thumbs up. Gem takes a moment to gather herself before also showing False her support, without any hint of her usual mischief. All at once the weight lifts off False’s shoulders. “That would be nice, guys. Thanks.”
X scans over the group before locking eyes with Impulse. “Okay Impulse. Me and Cub will be at the set coords. You gather up what you need to and meet us there as soon as possible.” He casts one more gaze across the collection of his dearest people, releasing a breath to calm his nerves. “Everyone, you’re free to go, just please be ready to help if you’re called. If you have any questions Doc knows a lot and should be free to answer.”
“I didn’t sign up for that,” Doc whines.
“Well I just now decided that’s your job,” X answers seamlessly before putting on his own elytra and heading towards the launch window that Scar fell through not ten minutes prior. Cub and Impulse follow after him, leaving the rest of the hermits to ponder the severity of the situation.
A few hermits leave the premises to handle the situation in their own way. Ren immediately traps Doc before he can escape to get as much information about the deterioration as possible, a couple others hanging around to hear more. Pearl, Gem, and Cleo lead False out of the meeting room carefully as everyone starts to amp up again.
“Well that’s not the news I was expecting to hear,” Bdubs pipes up and jabs a finger at SmallishBeans, “but that doesn’t mean Mr. BigBeans is escaping my clutches. I know you stole my donkey!” He pulls out a glinting bow, aiming directly at Joel who merely cackles at the threat.
“Calm now, Bubbles,” Keralis pulls at Bdubs carefully. “We can’t start a civil war in Shashwammy’s base. The arena is in the gaming district.”
Even so, an arrow rips through the air but it passes by Joel without a single scratch. With a satisfying tink it bounces off Scar’s borrowed helmet. “Augh! I’m gonna die!” Scar cries out. He pats his chest as if checking to make sure he’s not bleeding out. “Oh that’s right. I’ve got some armor!”
“Yeah I’m going to need that back,” Etho deadpans.
Scar smirks. “If you wanted me to undress for you, all you had do is ask me, Mr. Slab. I didn’t realize we were that far into our relationship~”
Etho crosses his arms. “I still forget who you even are.”
“You WOUND me, Etho!”
Scar and Etho continue to poke fun at each other but Mumbo notices his dear friend, Grian, staring at them, uncharacteristically quiet. “Hey, G-Man what’s going on in that waffle of yours?”
Grian nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound of Mumbo’s voice right next to him. “Mumbo! How can someone who’s the size of a tree move so quietly?”
“You didn’t answer my question… wait. Are you the one who rigged Scar’s base with skeletons?”
Life finally springs into Grian’s eyes. “I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations, Mumbo of the Jumbo variety. But clearly the one who did it is a genius and surely wouldn’t set something like that up to your base as well.”
Mumbo grabs Grian by the collar of his shirt. “I swear if you set skeletons loose at my sugarcane farm I will bring the Void down on you-” Mumbo’s threat gets cut short as the soft ping of the comms sound.
<Xisumavoid> Mumbo I sent you our coords. I think we might need your help
“Oh…” Mumbo opens up his comms as the message from X comes through. The joy fades from Grian instantly when he sees the message as well.
<MumboJumbo> I’ll be there in a jiff
“I do hate to cut our conversation short but I think I need to go.” Mumbo starts to make his way to the elytra platform. He pauses just as he pulls out his rockets and turns back. “Don’t think I’m done with you though. I do swear if there are skeletons…” He takes off before finishing his threat.
Grian tamps down the panic welling up in his chest. This isn’t the first time the server has had some sort of trouble but it’s definitely a different sort of caliber. Xisuma wouldn’t be so wound up if that weren’t the case… and what does he mean by deterioration? A morbid sense of curiosity spikes but it’s interrupted when the sound of a rocket blasts from the center of the meeting room.
[BdoubleO100 experienced kinetic energy while trying to escape SmallishBeans]
“HA!” Joel hoots. “He will NEVER find that donkey!”
Skizz punches Joel on the shoulder. “Want me to help you set up a trap for the tiny man when he comes looking for her?”
“You took the words right out of my mouth.” The two troublemakers launch themselves away from X’s base, ready for the mischief.
Grian finds his attention drawn back to Scar and Etho. The two have seemed to come to terms with the armor debate. Etho graciously let Scar keep his elytra, though. Etho makes his way towards Doc and Ren, leaving Scar to himself. Instantly the accident prone man locks his gaze with Grian’s as if he could tell he was staring.
“Grian!” he calls, sending a shock through the other. “Is there any chance I could crash at your place today? I’m afraid I’ll end up in another death loop if I go back home. I’ve had enough of getting skewered like a porcupine for one day!”
“How do I know you aren’t just going to lead them back to my place? You’re planning on getting revenge on me, aren’t you?” Grian responds, slipping into the banter easily.
“What is it with everyone assuming things of me, today?”
“What? Did you think Etho really wanted you to strip for him?”
“Well I can’t say I would blame him if he did!” Scar smirks and flexes a bicep. “Just look at these arms! I could wrestle a bear bare handed, pun intended!”
There is a sudden sting in the pit of Grian’s stomach. How odd. Perhaps those potatoes he ate earlier were poisoned. He pushes the feeling to the side so it doesn’t distract him, though an annoying piece of it lingers at the edges. “If you really could wrestle a bear than those skeletons wouldn’t have sent you into a death loop earlier.”
“Hey that’s not fair! There had to be thousands of them there! And they were swarming my respawn point! I did defeat probably a hundred of them with my fists. You should’ve seen it, Grian. You would have swooned at my sheer strength!” Scar goes on to describe his valiant feats of battle as if Grian couldn’t go back in his comm history to see the many mentions of Scar dying before having to be rescued by Etho.
Still, Grian could picture it clear as day. The man spawning in his bed, surrounded by an inescapable swarm of bony mobs, screaming and punching wildly to try to escape. He would try jumping and running and still end up running into the walls of his own base. Scar is just too prone to getting into trouble
“-sure I can’t stay at your place, Gri?” Scar asks sincerely, breaking him from his thoughts.
“Are you and Brian having a lovers quarrel?” the smooth tone of Keralis asks before Grian can even form a response. He wraps a gentle hand around Scar’s waist, a gentle form of familiarity. “If that’s the case, you can stay at my place for the night, sweet face. Actually, a bunch of us are going to stay together tonight. A lot of hermits are kinda scared. Not that they’ll say it out loud.”
<Xisumavoid> Tango we could use you’re help. Bring some comparators too
<TangoTek> You’ve got it boss
Just like that, another hermit exits the meeting room and the distinct feeling of fear swells for everyone who remains. Doc, who is still trying to explain the situation to Ren and Wels stares at where Tango was standing just a second ago. “I guess I should go help them. I am the Goat after all.”
<Docm77> I know you’ll never get anywhere without me X I’m on my way too
<Xisumavoid> Thank you Doc
Doc says a quick goodbye to everyone who remains before launching out the window, the sound of rockets in the distance invite more of the ominous feeling. It has suddenly gotten too quiet in the meeting room. No one moves. No one breathes. Time stands still for what feels like hours. It’s starting to feel a bit too real…
[Xisumavoid fell out of the world]
“Shashwammy!” Keralis cries out, letting go of Scar. He scans the room as fast as possible, looking for a bed hiding somewhere as if Xisuma will respawn safely nearby. He darts around like he just took a potion of swiftness but X is nowhere to be seen. Those big eyes somehow grow even wider, an unfamiliar look of panic hinting around the edges.
[impulseSV fell out of the world]
[MumboJumbo fell out of the world]
“AH!” Grian exclaims as a sharp pang slams into his chest at the comms alert. In an instant he knows exactly the type of anxiety that Keralis is feeling. It’s all consuming. The Void has filled his throat and no amount of effort can bring enough air into his lungs. What’s happening out there? Are they in the End? They are respawning right? They wouldn’t dive into danger knowing they couldn’t respawn… surely?
Scar grabs Keralis by the arm as he charges past him in a panic and takes Grian with the other even though he hasn’t moved yet. With a single motion he pulls them both close to his chest, not letting them go. “It’s okay. They’re okay,” he assures despite a lump forming deep in his throat.
<GoodTimesWithScar> You guys need anything?
There is a long moment as they wait for a response. Grian is pressed side to side with Keralis and pulled in tight to Scar. A strong arm is wrapped over his shoulder and pressed to the center of his back. Scar’s pulse pounds from every direction, betraying his calm facade. It might be smart for the both of them to stay with Keralis tonight… for Keralis’ sake of course.
There’s a series of hushed voices from the remaining hermits in the meeting room. Time seems to stretch infinitely long while there’s still no response from the hermits who, by all means, should not have fallen out of the overworld.
<xBCrafted> X?
<Xisumavoid> Sorry just trying to gather my wits. I think we’ve stopped it for now
<TangoTek> Me and Doc got it under control. It’s hardly got a chance to move now. You should have reached out for us sooner.
Scar could feel the entirety of Keralis melt in his arms. He and X sure do have a long history. A small part of him begins to wonder what exactly their relationship entails. While all the hermits are close, many leave personal information pretty near to heart especially when it concerns the others. The only ones who could ever know what sort of intimate relations exist are those who are in it. There are theories out there of who could possibly be with someone else but nothing is confirmed. Scar steals a glance down at his dear waffle headed friend.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t drawn to Grian. He has been a close friend for a long time and they’ve bonded over building and terraforming and causing mayhem where it was clearly needed. Somehow the surface level affection feels petty. He loves his company. Loves how angry he gets when things don’t go his way… but Scar can’t help but to wonder if he’s mixing up those signals. After all, Grian’s close to Mumbo too. What could their relationship look like under the surface?
“Scar?” Grian’s voice snaps the taller man out of his spiral. “You’re smothering us.”
“Oh! Shoot! Sorry, you two!” Scar relaxes his grip. “Hey Keralis, does the offer still stand to stay at your place?”
“Of course it does, sweet face,” he answers, if a bit distracted. “I think I’ll go make sure I’m ready to host such a big party.”
___
Far out in the nearly untraveled lands, a sand duper lines up against a patch of emptiness slicing into the overworld. The pistons push and pull tirelessly and the redstone hums with power. For every block threatening to fade out of existence a block of sand is forced into its space, keeping an uneasy peace. An unstoppable force versus an unmovable object.