Hermitcraft 8: Moonfall (to be rewritten soon)

Ghost

(Back to Pearl now)

I woke to a loud conversation between Mumbo and a person I couldn't quite make out. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up, pulling the tarp aside. The morning light immediately blinded me. I cursed, and looked down. Mumbo, Gem, Grian, and a man I didn't recognize stood talking. They seemed to be trying to calm Gem down. Frowning, I climbed down.

"Gem? What's going on?" I asked. Her eyes were wet.

"There you are, Pearl. False and Stress are dead." Grian said, shaking his head.

"What? What happened?" I said, shocked.

"Murdered." Gem said, completely convinced. Mumbo sighed.

"For the last time, Gem, no one would kill them." He said, exasperated.

"Well if you would let me explain—!" Gem started yelling, but I cut them both off.

"Hold on one bloody second! False and Stress are dead? How? And Mumbo, let her talk. She was closest." I said, earning a grateful smile from Gem and a dirty look from Mumbo.

"False had a bullet hole in her chest, the window was broken, and there was a note." Gem said, and handed me a bloody piece of paper. I read it aloud:

'The End of the Hermit Experiments is here. I, An assassin has been planted. I could be a Hermit, or I could be a hidden operative in the wilderness. Good luck finding me ;)"

I looked up, their concern mirroring my thoughts exactly.

"Just a thought, but... Gem was less than a mile away." The man with a scar I didn't know said. We went silent, and everything exploded into chaos.

Gem pulled me aside.

"Pearl, I PROMISE I'm not the killer. Please." She said, a begging look in her eye. I patted her shoulder and nodded.

"I know. How about you stay with us? Who knows if the assassin is around there still?" I said, and she nodded gratefully.

"Scar, did you SEE HER? How on EARTH would it be Gem?" Grian exploded behind us. Scar raised his hands in defense.

"Just a theory. I'm not saying it was her. Just a theory." He said. Gem patted him on the back.

"It's ok, Scar. I would have said the same in your situation. But I swear it wasn't me." She said, and Scar nodded. Grian tapped his watch, and spoke into it.

"Attention all Hermits. This is Grian, reporting a murder. Please meet at the coordinates I'm about to send. Thank you" he said, and sighed.

"What a way to wake up... this has never happened before." Mumbo groaned, rubbing his face.

. . .

It took a few tense hours, but the other Hermits arrived safely. Xsumia stepped forwards, throwing a nasty glare at Grian.

"Who's dead?" He asked. Gem cut in.

"I found Stress and False dead this morning. I have no idea what happened to Stress, but False had a bullet hole in her chest. And there was this note." She said, and handed him the note. He read it over a few times, and turned to the other Hermits.

"This assassin is saying that this is the end of the Hermit Experiments, whatever that means." Xsumia said, and one Hermit piped up.

"It means this is the end. What else would it mean?" A man said.

"Thank you for your observation, Ren. Next time we need a brilliant deduction, I'll be sure to come to you." Xsumia deadpanned, earning snickers from the crowd. The man who had spoken up, Ren, went red and sunk into the crowd.

"Does this mean we get to go home?" A female voice came from the back. I looked, and had half a heart attack. Her skin had turned grey and multiple bones were exposed.

"Yes, Cleo, it might mean we're going home." Xsumia said, getting cheers from the crowd.

"Key word: might!" Xsumia barked, and the Hermits fell back into a grim silence.

"As the first Hermit, I'm putting some new rules in place. 1: no Hermit goes anywhere alone. 2: always bring a weapon. 3: always have a guard. You understand? These are set in place to keep you morons safe. Any objections?" Xsumia said. There were a few mumbles of "yeah" and "sure".

Xsumia sighed. "Alright, now get! Get outta here!" He said with a sarcastic sweep of his hands. Slowly, the Hermits trickled away, except for Gem and Scar. Mumbo raised his brow.

"Ahh... I have nowhere to go. Can I stay here?" Scar asked.

"No. Absolutely not. We all know your chaotic tendencies." Mumbo said sharply.

"Oh absolutely." Grian said at the same time, which was rewarded with a harsh glare from Mumbo. They held each other's gazes in a fierce standoff before Mumbo sighed.

"Fine, Scar. You can stay." He grumbled. I hadn't even noticed, but Gem had crept up by me, seeming to be trying to avoid Mumbo and Grian.

"Looks like we're the babysitters this round." Mumbo sighed, and noticed Gem. "You staying too?" He asked. She nodded tentatively. Grian and Scar were talking in the background, a mischievous look in their eyes. I was immediately concerned.

"Don't even think about it." Mumbo said without even turning around. I cracked up, relieved for the distraction.

. . .

(Xsumia POV)

Xsumia sat in the starting house, gripping a mug of hot chocolate. His helmet sat in front of him. Sighing, he took a deep drink, and slammed it back down.

"Is now a bad time, or..." A female voice came from behind him, making him jump. Once he realized who it was he relaxed.

"Cleo. No, no, nows fine" He sighed, taking another drink. Cleo, a man with a cloak made of moss, and another man with a black and yellow tee-shirt sat in front of him.

"Should we call Mumbo over?" Cleo asked.
Xsumia waved her off, and downed the last of the mug.

"I don't trust his friendship with Grian. And this stays between us, alright?" He said, and they nodded.

"This assassin is gonna be a problem. And before we start throwing names around, I know it's no one in this room. I want us four to hunt them down and end this. No one else needs to know. Cleo, Bdubs, Impulse, we need to get ready. We set out tonight." Xsumia said.

"Wait, X, whoever this is is a professional. We've never really had to deal with this before. And what if it is a Hermit? And what if The Watchers are forcing them to do this?" Impulse asked.

"I know they might be being forced into it, but I don't care at this point. They killed two of us in one night. I'm gonna kill 'em." Xsumia said, and slipped his helmet back on.

"Let's go."