The Ones Who Survived - An MCYT fanfic

Ch 18: Mumbo

As much as Grian told me about the Watchers and his time with them, nothing compared to seeing them in real life... Wings, mask, evil. And Iskall muttering translations for the conversation deciding the fate of the whole world isn't helping my nerves.

Then everything turns to chaos. Iskall drags me with him as he starts to run, ignoring my yells of protest. I don't even know if he can hear them over the screams and explosions... We duck behind one of the buildings and he starts fiddling with a setting on his bionic eye.

'We're getting out of here and not coming back.' Is all he tells me, before a portal appears next to us. Iskall grabs my hand again, and drags me in after him.

For a moment I don't know where I am, shaking off the vertigo. I look up, vision blacking for a moment while I try to stand. Iskall's there, lending me a hand... It takes me seconds to know where we are, even without the blue and grey ConCorp posters on what seems like every building.

'Season... Season 6.'

'Safety.' Replies Iskall. 'I hope.' I'm still shaken from the Watchers... What's going to happen to hermitcraft? Is anyone going to survive?

'Let's get to Sahara, buy some food and supplies... And settle down here until we find a better option.' Iskall breaks me quickly out of my thoughts, and I run after him as he begins to navigate the streets of the shopping district. We reach the familiar white building quickly, and I can't help but smile. Iskall can't either.

'It's been so omega long since I was here...'

'Yeah... You think the redstone still works?"

'I hope so...' Iskall enters before me, trying to remember how the system works, and entering an order for golden carrots, sending it off, and waiting.

And waiting some more.

About 10 minutes of staring at the unchanging redstone lamps, Iskall leaves, saying he has another idea. I stay waiting, and as time continues on, find nothing to distract me from thinking about The Watchers.

Did anyone else make it out? Did Grian make it out? The Watchers wouldn't kill him, but did they capture him? If anyone survived, what are they even doing? Are they hurt? Will anyone in other worlds find out?

Will the Watchers find us?

'Any progress?' I jump as Iskall enters again, holding a box of golden carrots.

'Iskall, don't do that!' I scold. He passes over a couple stacks.

'You know what?'

'What?'

'Concorp's better than Sahara.'

I almost choke at the words, even though I have to agree with Iskall. Cub and Scar were a million times better than me, Grian and Iskall.

'Yeah... I think you're right.' The next lamp of Sahara still hasn't turned on. 'I think it's broken again.'

'Probably...' Iskall laughs, and I laugh back. 'We knew from the start that this was gonna go omega badly...'

'Yeah... We're not good at creating mega shops and corporations, are we?'

'No...' Silence. I stock the rest of my food in my pockets as Iskall gives over more stuff he's brought... Armour, weapons, redstone from Cherry Computers, elytra... I remember Grian's surprise still that people here can fly, and then him slowly flying more and more until he was one of the best fliers on the server. I smile, and then realise with a sudden jolt that I might never see Grian again.

I might never see any of the other hermits again.

Oh my goodness.

'Iskall?'

'Yeah?' He notices my uncertain tone with a frown.

'What if this is the end of Hermitcraft? And... We're the only survivors?' I ask. He stops, trying to reply before just walking over and hugging me. And then... 'What if we never see Grian again?'

Before I realise I've got that upset, tears blur my vision. I start crying, and can't stop, hugging Iskall because, for all I know, he's the last Hermit I'm ever going to see again. Stuck in Season 6 in a broken mega shop admitting that ConCorp is better than us... I want to tell Grian that. I want to tell Cub and Scar that. They'd all find it hilarious, and never let go of the fact... Like me and Grian voting for Scar in the mayor race.

'We can't be the only survivors...' I think Iskall's certain, until he repeats it, and keeps on saying it, trying to convince himself too. My heart sinks as I realise. 

There's no way of knowing if anyone else is alive.

Silence falls, I look at the lamps again. They still haven't changed. I don't know if it would've helped if they had.

'What do we do now?' I eventually ask. 'We've... decided Sahara is rubbish... got supplies...'

'I don't know. We don't have to do anything...'

'I... I think I'd like to see my base again.' Is all I decide. 'Alone. I can meet you back here later.' 

Awkward, I hurry from Sahara, taking to the air. My base appears in seconds, as round and laggy as always. And in the distance from it, Grian's.

I land on the roof of my base, unable to stop staring at Grian's base, longing for contact with him.   He'd be able to make this situation better. Or even just bearable. 

I blink away, deciding I should find some of my old tools and food as well, try to remember where everything is... There'll be a lot to explore in this world... including the new area with the village and the build battle, and Area 77... and the Civil War area. Other bases, shops... well, we've analysed the shop situation already... and then it starts to sink in how lonely this world is... there should be hermits flying past, random messages in chat, Scar dying constantly, base progress, traps, pranks, games, wars... 

I jump off the building, flying back to Iskall. We can't stay here forever. We need to find a completely new world, so we can properly pretend.

'I had an idea.' He decides instead. 'We can get back to the Season 9 world.'

'But the Watchers destroyed it.'

'There must be other survivors and we can find them there... We need to get to the infinity portal.'

'That's... A long way away.'

'We've got enough fireworks... and it'll be quicker via the nether.'

'Can't you do what you did to get us here again?'

'I want to see the Season 7 world again.' Admitted Iskall. 'And what's left of Season 8. We might as well take this time to explore...' 

'Alright then... should we start by exploring here first then?'

'Yeah, sure.' I smile at Iskall and he smiles back.

'Well then... there's only one question left to ask.'

'What?'

'Where first?' 

Just had to finish this chapter without making it a billion words long.