~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 29 (Xayla/Scar/Grian)

wc: 1801

tw: threats

i'm not very happy with scar's part but here ya go! *throws chapter at your face*

"He's back."

Xayla froze, mind racing as she struggled to comprehend all of the separate he's she knew until her mind finally untied itself.

Grian.

She bolted upright, grabbing her spear and slapping her mask onto her face, a determined grimace set onto her mouth.

"Where?" Xayla asked, quickly making her way out of the room, the other Listener following behind quickly.

"In the prison cells," he replied. "Same one."

Xayla tensed. "Okay. Can we do our typical plan of extraction?"

"We don't know," said the Listener. Xali, maybe it was. She couldn't remember. "Xeluph's excited, but he doesn't seem to have any real intention to hurt Grian, so maybe we should go a little more careful."

"Any signals?" Xayla replied, and Xali shook his head.

They rounded the corner of the hallway, entering the meeting room, where several Listeners sat talking quietly.

One turned and noticed the mask on Xayla's face. "Going out?" she asked.

"Grian's back," she said shortly. "I'm going to see how security is."

All of the Listeners in the room were paying attention, so she turned to address them all. "Once we get Grian back, we'll discuss a plan of action for the rebellion."

She turned and marched up the stairs towards the exit, emerging into too-neat city of identical buildings and identical people. Everybody walked on either side of the clean, gray paths, holdings bags and mouths set in grim lines. Xayla joined the group headed towards the direction of the buildings where the Leaders and Elders worked, keeping her cloak wrapped closely around herself. Despite the circumstances and despite the fear that hovered in the air like fog, she was satisfied.

Grian was coming back. And with him would come freedom.

~~~

Scar tumbled out of the portal rather ungracefully, purple swirls still dancing in his eyes as he sat up. His fist clenched around soft bedsheets, and once the dizziness from the teleportation faded, he could tell that he was in his base.

Everything was quiet. He held his breath, but all he could hear was birds and the rustling of leaves. A sudden change from the chaotic atmosphere of Third Life. Scar squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think.

After Grian and Mumbo had gone in...

Scar had pushed as many people as he could into the portal back. He'd been the one who was the least shocked about the reveal, so he'd taken initiative. Besides, it was always Grian who'd taken a leadership role. So the entire server had fallen in (some reluctantly) and now...

...they were here.

Plan, plan, chanted Scar's brain as he ran out of his base, rocketing out into the sky. His elytra opened, catching the wind with a whoosh.

It was all green trees and green grass, wind rushing around him like a reminder that times running out, times running out

And Scar knew that it was time for his magic to return. And he hadn't used it in years, but something told him that it was necessary.

His arrival at Xisuma's base was loud. He stumbled to the ground, tripping and crashing in front of the door before slamming his hands on it. The door opened almost immediately.

"Scar?" Xisuma's voice said, and he quickly scrambled to his feet, wiping off dust and smiling sheepishly. "You're okay??"

"Yes, yes, but Grian and Mumbo aren't," Scar rushed, pushing Xisuma back into the base and closing the door. "They went into a Watcher portal, Grian willingly and Mumbo unwillingly, and they're not safe. We need to rescue them."