Hermitcraft Randomness - S7 Oneshots

I'm Glad You're Evil, Too

(WC: 1272
Category: Fluff, soft angst
Warnings: A bit of swearing

"Two lonely and broken souls leaning on each other's sides"

Little NPG and Ex fic! I think their characters would blend really well together, considering the fanon lore with them being abandoned or forgotten

This isn't actually a shipfic, it's just two friends messing around

*stares at fic again*

Okay, maybe it is romantic shipping. Though they would be cute together let's be real here

Enjoy!)

Ex hated the term "evil". Especially when it was used to describe him.

He had moved on from that part of his life. You know, the destroy-Hermitcraft, overshadowed-brother part. Or, at least, he was trying to. His brother recognized that and had freed him from his void exile as a way of showing his forgiveness. (Even if he was the one that put him there in the first place.)

But he was one of the only Hermits that let him forget his past.

Some, like Grian, didn't do it on purpose. They just remembered him as "Xisuma's evil twin", and let the word "evil" slip every now and then. At least they had the decency to look apologetic afterward.

Others were more deliberate. They didn't quite respect X's decision to give Ex another chance. They went out of their way to avoid Ex, not forgiving him in the slightest. They even nicknamed him "Evil X", even though that wasn't what "Ex" stood for.

Finally, there was a small group that treated Ex normally, how they would for any other Hermit. They did their best to include Ex in conversations and make him feel welcome, even if the larger group of people that resented him didn't like that.

And Ex appreciated that. He really did. He just couldn't help but feel...a bit left out. Like he was crashing their party. Even if he was free from the void, he was still alone.

But that wasn't something he felt with NPG.

NPG was different. He was an alter, just like Ex, his main counterpart being Grian. And, just like Ex, he was a loose cog in an otherwise functional machine--no pun intended. NPG was a robot clone of Grian--he was designed to be just like his counterpart. But he never quite lived up to Grian's expectations.

In the end, he'd ended up tucked away in the back of the closet, forgotten and collecting dust. Until recently, when Grian had pulled him out and fixed him as best as he could. Ex guessed that was his way of showing forgiveness. He'd arrived in Hermitcraft a bit before Ex did.

Their friendship was an unlikely one--the overshadowed brother and the broken robot clone--but they were inseparable from the day they ran into each other. Ex felt much better now that NPG was at his side. He didn't feel quite as alone.

Ex teased NPG constantly about little things like how his old motor made him slow. But, whenever he had problems getting around, Ex was there to lend a hand. 

For payback, NPG pointed out that Ex was allergic to flowers, and got into the habit of wearing a flower crown when they were hanging out. But, whenever the pollen was too much for Ex, NPG always took it off. They had that kind of "I-make-fun-of-you-a-lot-but-you're-still-my-best-friend" dynamic.

They also talked about their similarities--how they were left behind, how they still felt left out, how crappy their main counterparts were to them. They wanted to move on, but the world wouldn't let them. The list could go on.

(The two of them had a game ongoing: "Whose counterpart did the shittier thing?" Ex was currently winning with "brother left me to fade away in the void before growing a conscience and freeing me".)

Their conversations were usually very lighthearted, but there was one topic that constantly came up that wasn't.

"You do deserve a second chance," NPG scolded Ex on one occasion. "Stop self-deprecating like that! Your brother freed you from the void because he, too, thought that you deserved another chance! And so do I!"

He was silent for a bit before continuing. "Y'know, I don't think I've ever said how much I appreciate you." 

When he saw Ex's surprised expression, he quickly added on, "Not that I ever needed to or anything!  Behind all the insults and jabs at each other...It's always been there.

"So I won't say it out loud. Just in case you use it against me one day or something."

NPG glanced up at Ex, and he must have misread the other alter's expression, because he got defensive. "Uh, what are you looking at me like that for?"

"...Thanks," Ex finally said after a few moments of silence. His expression was a sheepish, almost bashful smile. NPG was a bit amused by it. "I didn't know you felt that way about me. It means a lot, y'know? Things suck, but at least you're here by my side."

"I know the feeling," NPG replied. "I thought I might as well be there for someone else, since I've been alone all these years."

"And—hey," Ex added on quietly. "If you ever need someone, I'm here, too."

NPG pulled him in for a side hug.  "I know."

Things weren't all fun and games, of course. Every once in a while, NPG's old battery caught up to him. Over the years, it just didn't function as well as it used to. Because of that, he would never stray too far from a power source, for fear that he would run out of battery and shut down...again. 

Whenever one of his "episodes" happened--his battery would cause him to glitch out occasionally--it was always a bit of a scare. Most of the time, it was minor, but every once in a while there were some big ones. They never made any lasting damage, but Ex found himself staying a bit closer to NPG after an episode happened. 

"You know, you can't prevent the inevitable," NPG groused after one particularly close call. He always got a bit sullen after a glitch, which was a bit jarring to Ex. He was so used to his friend being the upbeat one, comforting him, not the other way around.

"I'm gonna shut down one day," he continued. "Permanently. No repairs. No do-overs. You're just prolonging it."

"Just say 'thank you', you stupid junk of metal." Ex connected two wires together, booting up NPG's right arm again. He'd picked up a few things over the course of NPG's glitches. 

NPG sighed, but Ex could tell he was grateful. "Okay, okay. Thank you. I do appreciate it."

As the months went by, Ex and NPG's friendship grew stronger. At that point, they'd made so many fond memories together, it was almost hard to keep track of all of them.

Like that time where they'd found themselves trapped in Decked Out. NPG hadn't liked the claustrophobic rooms and had almost had a panic attack because of what had happened in his past. 

"I don't want to feel trapped again..." he had repeated over and over again. Ex had comforted him and made sure he felt safe until they could find their way out.

And then there was the time when they had fallen asleep, one earbud set between the two of them, blasting music. Grian and Xisuma had found them the next day, cuddled in one corner of NPG's rustic house. 

Speaking of rustic houses, Ex had helped NPG gather the resources for that build. It was a simple build, not too big. It was farther out than where most of the Hermits had resided, and they liked the solitude. It was just the two of them, and that was enough.

They were evil. But not in the way the other Hermits would think. They couldn't move on from their past. They were mislabeled as just "this Hermit's evil alter". They were forgotten, misjudged, lonely, broken. 

But...at least they had each other. They could always look forward to the day starting anew, because they would spend it with each other. 

Because, at the end of the day, Ex was glad NPG was evil, too.