Mumbo's heavy eyelids managed to flutter open, his consciousness slowly becoming his own once again. He couldn't seem to recall much, most things a complete blur to the mustached redstoner. It felt like he had woken up from a fever dream, but it was most certainly real, Ancel was just in control. Mumbo glanced around the dim room, his eyesight slowly returning, within seconds he realized that he was not alone, glowing eyes staring at him. The redstoner could see the watcher's eyes, as they had entirely black scleras. Tango was easy to spot as well, his eyes were always one simple color, and Mumbo could spot the blue glow of his swedish friend's robotic eye, not to mention Jellie, who sat in one of the watcher's arms, and Ancel's glowing blue eyes, who continually slithered through the darkness.
"Hello MumboJumbo.." Enzo said, a glowing mist escaping from the palm of his hands, small stars appearing in the room and illuminating the area. Much to Mumbo's dismay, Tango and Iskall stood loyal to the watchers, their empty eyes glowing in the starlight. The redstoner tried to stand, but someone from behind grabbed his shoulders, forcing him back onto the ground. Mumbo looked up nervously at the admin, who stood behind the mustached man, holding him in place, his gloved hands gripping tight to Mumbo's shoulders.
"Wh-what--? Why am I--?"
"It will all be explained, Mumbo." Celeste said with a small smile, gently stroking Jellie before setting the cat down onto the ground, who's tail slowly moved back and forth, tilting her fluffy head as she looked at the redstoner with an unblinking stare. Mumbo couldn't help but notice how empty and sad the small cat's eyes looked, along with Tango and Iskall, as if they could see what they were doing, forced to sit and watch as they hurt their friends, no control over themselves. Jellie slowly approached Mumbo, before she walked right up to the redstoner, rubbing her head against Mumbo's hand. The redstoner shakily began to pet her head, trying not to panic as the brainwashed cat crawled into Mumbo's lap, looking right at the redstoner with her glowing eyes.
"Now now, keep him calm, Jellie." Celeste said, approaching the mustached redstoner, who couldn't seem to notice them, too entranced by the cat curled up in his lap. Celeste had a small smile on her face, as she cupped her hands around one of the glowing stars in the room, crushing it in the palm of her hands. The watcher opened her hand, a glowing silver dust in her hands. She took a small breath, blowing the dust into Mumbo's face, the redstoner closing his eyes, barely reacting to the glittering dust on his face, which soon disappeared, an eerie purple glow surrounding the redstoner. Enzo stepped forward, snapping his fingers. Mumbo groggily opened his eyes, rubbing his head in pain, his mind calm and tranquil.
"Now Mumbo.." Enzo said, smiling at the confused redstoner."Tell us what you know about Grian."
~~~~~~~~
Grian was in the back of the group of hermits, his ear slightly twitching from nervousness. He and the hermits silently walked through the tunnel, no one speaking as they trudged through the muddy passageway. His purple robe dragged through the sludge on the ground, dirtying his silk cloak. The ex-watcher let out a bothered sigh, his mind too clouded with stress to worry about the bloodstained cloak that he kept wrapped around him. It was the first thing the watchers gave Grian when they found him, the warm silk comforting the small evolutionist after the loss of his friends.
"Grian? You alright Luv?" Stress asked, placing a hand on Grian's shoulder, watching as his face went pale from shock, as he was deep in thought. The ex-watcher put on a weak smile, nodding his head. He wasn't alright, not even in the slightest. Xisuma was in danger, Tango and Iskall were under the watcher's control, and who knows what's happening to Mumbo? Grian had never trusted the watchers, even when they showered him in gifts, treating him like royalty. The small hermit always knew the watchers were horrible, they made Grian's fellow evolutionists fight one another, chaos bringing the server to its knees. They did the same thing here, Xisuma had made everyone paranoid so that no one would try to band together to try and defeat the otherworldly beings.
The only difference was that the hermits didn't kill each other, they didn't often fight, and they're sticking together. So why didn't the hermit's fight, but the evolutionists did?The small hermit slammed into Doc's back, stumbling back while holding his nose in pain, he hadn't been paying attention when the hermits stopped walking. An old ladder was at the end of the tunnel, leading to Hermitville. TFC went first, poking his head out and scanning the area to make sure it was clear, his eyes going wide in shock as he studied the grey landscape. Black ash flew with the wind, a dark smog making the air dirty and filled with smoke. Hermitville was completely demolished, piles of burned wood and rubble almost in every corner. The older hermit was dumbfounded, exiting the tunnel and trying to find anything that hadn't been destroyed, the world seemed to be drained of color.
"Tin? Tin! Is it safe to come-" Scar climbed up the ladder, stopping when he noticed the destroyed village. It didn't look like hermitville, it looked like another world, the air barely breathable. Stress and Doc crawled out of the hole as well, the four hermits, (not including the unconscious cubfan resting in Doc's arms), all studying the burned village. Scar held his breath as he found the rubble of his old house, large chunks of his beanstalk still aflame, slowly wasting away. Stress managed to find a puddle surrounding the ruins of her ice house, Doc and TFC looking around for the spot where the old portal tower used to be.
"All my hard work.." Scar mumbled, kicking the rubble while pulling his hat over his face, struggling to hide his tearful expression. Stress walked over to the terraformer, saying nothing, only standing by his side, her eyes glued to the burned materials. No one spoke, their lungs burning from the blackened air, things seeming to turn worse and worse by the second. Grian pulled on his cloak, still hiding away in the tunnel. He didn't know what to say to the hermits, he didn't know how they would react. The ex-watcher didn't want to see the rubble, as he leaned against the dirt wall, his cloak soaking in the muddy water.
Echoing footsteps splashed through the water, Grian raised an eyebrow as he peered down the dark tunnel, two figures slowly approaching, one dragging an axe through the mud, the other loading an arrow in their bow. The small hermit turned to run, but the one holding the bow was much faster, managing to shoot the end of Grian's cloak, the arrow lodging into the ground. Grian pulled on the fabric, trying to rip his cloak in order to escape the approaching figures. They didn't move any faster, the figure's eyes glowing through the dark passageway. Grian couldn't think straight, the only thing he could think of was to run, but his legs wouldn't obey, shaking as Iskall and Tango revealed themselves through the shadows.
"Hello Grian." Iskall said, holding their axe to Grian's neck, small beads of sweat dripping down the side of the ex-watcher's face, as Tango grabbed his shoulders, the two watcher servants smiling as they seemed to tower over Grian, the small hermit seeming even smaller than before. Grian was shaking, no idea what to do, his lungs gasping for breath. Panic flooded Grian's mind, causing him to hyperventilate, Grian unable to scream for help. Iskall just laughed, their evil smile clearly not their own, which couldn't help but remind Grian of the watcher's very own sinister grin.
"We need to hurry. No need to keep the watchers waiting."
YOU ARE READING
The Fourth Star (COMPLETED)
Fanfiction~~~~~~~ Xisuma was an admin appointed by the Watchers. He is stuck under their control, and he hates every second of it. He's forced to let the watchers look through his eyes, use him like a puppet. But when a new watcher appears, Xisuma may have a...
