warning its first draft and unfinished and stuff
"Who are you?! Get away from me!"
Well. This was going to be an issue.
"Griba, it's me, Pearl," she pleaded, but he was as relentless as ever. "No, you're not! How do you even know that name?!" He screeched back. Great.
She didnt even know what had happened. All she knows is she got a call from Tango telling her to come pick him up because SOMETHING had happened and suddenly he was his evo self! Its not fair, she didnt get paid enough for this.He wasn't much shorter than current Grian, but you wouldn't tell from how bitey he was. She sighed.
Tango had already gone to collect Jim and Martyn. Maybe he would recognise them better. more likely. he'd trust them because they didn't radiate a watcher aura. Stupid watchers.
She let out an audible sigh of relief at the sight of Martyn in the distance. She waved him over. Grian paused his shouting at the sight of him. He didnt look very different to how he used to. Maybe this would help. "Hey Pearl! Timmy's on his way, but fwipp is asking a load of questions," he explained. Phew. Grian looked between Martyn and Pearl, before standing between them and looking at Martyn. There was a moment's hesitation, before a quiet, "Martyn?" escaped his mouth.
Martyn outstretched his hands and Grian practically flew into them. "Hey mate," he mumbled into Grian's hair. "Thank the gods i recognise someone... I thought i was alone," Grian whispered back.
Eventually, they stepped back, although Martyn kept one hand on his shoulder. They stared at eachother for a moment, and Pearl blinked. Was this some telepathy she hadn't been taught?
"You're in the future, mate," Martyn eventually said. Grian responded with a short mumble. "I figured."
"So it IS telepathy!" Pearl exclaimed, before realising she had said that aloud. She was just jealous she couldn't do it. Martyn laughed, a long boisterous sound that rang through the halls. "Holy lords above, Pearl!" He chuckled, before bringing the topic back to a serious point. "Does Xisuma know?" Before Pearl could answer, Grian cut in. "Xisuma?! Like... THE admin?!" Martyn's smile softened. "Yes mate. You're on Hermitcraft," he explained.
"To answer your question, Martyn," Pearl said to steer the conversation back, "No, he doesnt. And he cant. He doesnt know Grian is Xelqua."
"Oh I see!" Martyn replied with a nod, "I'll let Ren know." A chat box appeared beside Martyn as he began typing the /whisper command. Pearl shoved her hand through the hologram to get his attention. "Wait a moment," she interrupted, "What do you mean tell Ren?"
"Well, he knows about my side of evo, which includes Grian."
"Of course he does..." She grumbled, but there was no real bite to her words. "You're just as bad as Jimmy."
"Hey! At least I only have one boyfriend."
That left both Pearl and Grian speechless. Grian however was the one to break the silence. "Ren? Who? Did I miss a chapter?" Martyn snorted, unable to resist the urge to retort. "Darling, you missed a dozen chapters. It happens when you're thrown the gods know how far into the future." Grian turned to Pearl. "He's atill just as witty?"
"Of course," She replied with a nod and a smile.
It was then that Pearl glimpsed someone approaching. Dirty blonde hair, blue jacket, canary gold wings... Finally. Jimmy. She waved him over, alerting the others to his presence. Grian stuttered for a moment. "Is... Is that..." He began, before Martyn finish the sentence for him. "Timmy."
The moment he was within range, Grian threw himself at Jimmy. "Oh my gods you're so big! Im so glad you guys are okay!" He exclaimed, tightening his grip on the hug. Martyn huffed. "I didnt get anything like that..." Pearl let out an amused snort, mumbling, "At least he recognised you. Plus, we both know how protective he was of our little brother."
After a long moment, Grian let the canary go, taking a step back. He looked between Jim and the wings. Then he just stared at Jim. He took a step back, he didnt like being watched. Grian seemed to realise he was making Jimmy uncomfortable, and he looked away. "Sorry," he whispered. "You're good, a lot's just happened," Jim reassured.
Grian looked between the three of them. Now that he was paying attention, they all looked odd. Jimmy had canary wings. Martyn had siren ears. Pearl... She didnt look ANYTHING like her past self. What exactly had happened?
They turned to face him. Oh. He had said that aloud. There was silence for a moment, before Jimmy began, "As I said, a lot." Martyn looked at Jim for a moment. "Well, its mostly just the life series." Both Pearl and Jimmy flinched at the mention of that. "And that is?" He asked, only to be cut off by Pearl. "Hell."
Martyn sighed. "A death game. 3 lives, on your third youre hostile and have to kill everyone else. Last survivor wins," he elaborated. Jim continued, "Different seasons had different gimmicks. Third life was the first, and just had the basic gimmick... Last life had 2 to 6 lives, and another... feature. Double life-" Pearl flinched- "Sorry. Double life had a soul mate mechanic. Limited life-" Now it was Martyn's turn to flinch- "Sorry again. Had a time based mechanic, and had the Last Life feature. Secret life had tasks-" Martyn cut him off abruptly, not looking happy, "And a watcher." Jimmy sighed. "One, dont cut me off. Two, a lot of seasons had watchers." At this, Grian paled, exclaiming a "WHAT?!" which echoed through the base. Jimmy sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Its complicated... Anyway. Wild life had a different gimmick every few days, and Past life-" His breath hitched and Martyn froze again. Pearl looked more confused than anything. "I thought you were only meant to remember seasons you won and beyond," she said. Jim scoffed, one wing flaring up in demonstration. "Well im the canary, so of course im cursed."
"Curses... Canary... What's with that anyway? Why do you have wings?" Grian asked. Jimmy and Martyn exchanged a look, before Jimmy sighed. "I have to tell him at some point," he said, and Martyn didnt look pleased.
"Grian... The games are led by watchers."
The silence after that was deafening. It was as if the very world had refused to breathe for fear it would shatter something. Then, Grian let out a small, quiet noise.
"Hey, hey, it's okay!" Jimmy began to reassure, as Grian looked like he might cry. "I-I thought we'd get away from them! I-I-"
Before anything else could happen, Pearl muttered, "shit." This made everyone turn around. Xisuma was on the horizon. Martyn snatched Grian's hand, beginning to drag him away. "Let's get you changed," he mumbled, as Pearl smiled innocently at Xisuma.
"Hey Xisuma..." Pearl said with a lilt to her voice. "How are you?" Xisuma looked confused, and a little suspicious. "I'm... fine," he answered, his words distorted slightly by his mask, "I just saw Jimmy and someone else were on the whitelist and came to check it out?"
By now Pearl was swearing bullets. "Well, you see, we were-" Jimmy began, before being cut off by Martyn, who walked back in with a Grian currently dressed in Pearl's spare, oversized clothing. Grian lit up upon seeing Xisuma, and Martyn took it to his advantage. "Well, we had a friend! He's a fan of yours, so we wanted to introduce him," he said, the lie coming as smoothly as his others. Xisuma smiled, waving at the very exited Grian. "Hello there, what's your name?" Grian was about to answer before Pearl interrupted. "Griba," she said, messing with something behind her. Martyn glimpsed watcher magic, and wondered what it was for. It turns out he wouldn't have had to wait long. Xisuma pulled up the whitelist, saw the name "Griba", and nodded. "Well, good to meet you, Griba!" He exclaimed, holding a hand to be shook which 'Griba' shook very excitedly. Xisuma then smiled at Jimmy and Pearl, before turning to Martyn. "And you? I dont believe we've met," he said.
"Oh! Martyn. Martyn Littlewood," Martyn responded.
Seemingly content with his answers, Xisuma left. Grian was still shaking and looking at his hand like he had just been personally given a million pounds. Pearl smiled. "Same old Grian..."
Either way, he seemed happy, so she was happy. It was then that Tango appeared, tail literally between his legs. Grian saw him and gasped, hands flapping slightly as he jumped. "Are you- Are you a nether hybrid?!" He exclaimed excitedly, practically beaming at the poor blaze. However, Tango took this in stride, straightening his posture and smirking. "Why, of course i am! Tango Tek, the best redstoner this side of the hermits!" Martyn laughed at that.
"Its only this side because Mumbo and Etho are on the other end," he retorted between chuckles. Grian's head whipped around so fast you would've thought Martyn had just announced the monarch had died! "Mumbo?! Etho?!" He exclaimed. Pearl groaned. "Of course, Martyn, you couldn't keep your mouth shut for 2 fucking minutes..."
"Hey!" He retorted. "Its not my fault!"
"It literally is! now we have to rope mumbo and Etho into this..."
"Guys..." Jimmy muttered, although the others didn't bat an eye.
"No! We dont have to rope them into shit, they dont know I mentioned Grian!" Martyn scoffed.
"Um... Martyn? Pearl?" Jimmy tried again, to be met with the same answer. Grian looked at him now.
"You're acting just like double life! You avoid responsibility and shift the fucking blame!" Pearl growled.
"Well you know i don't even remember double life!" Martyn spat. Jimmy gave up speaking, but Grian had seemingly had enough. "SHUT UP! Both of you! You wouldn't think you're eachothers' siblings! Jimmy has been trying to speak for the entire conversation and you've just talked over him!" He snapped. Martyn and Pearl looked guilty, muttering apologies at Jimmy, who looked embarrassed. "You need to stand your ground, Tim," Grian mumbled.
"It's fine, its not a big deal," Jimmy muttered back.
A silence fell between them. It felt charged. It was broken not by a retort or mutter, but by a quiet question. "So... is seeing Etho and Mumbo off the table then? Or..." Grian mumbled, blinking innocently at his older 2 siblings. Pearl ran a hand down her face and sighed. "Get all of Hermitcraft involved at this rate!" She snapped. Grian practically deflated. "So it's a no?"
"That's not what I said... Tango, can you contact them?"
Before she had even finished her sentence, Tango was messaging people. Jim was sat with his head on Tango's shoulder, his hair precariously close to the other's fire. Martyn scoffed. "Keep playing like that and we'll have to bring out firewoman Pearl," he retorted, making Jim pull his hair back. Grian looked between them. He felt left out, so much time had passed.
Eventually, there were 2 figures on the horizon. Both much taller than he remembered, but... Even as a teenager, Mumbo had had a mustache. It was good to see it grew out properly. And he recognised the 2 tailed kitsune... Wait. Etho had three tails.
Nonetheless, the moment they approached, Grian flung himself at them. Mumbo glanced at the clothes, then at Pearl. "These are your spare clothes," he stated, his posh British voice clear. Pearl nodded and Grian blinked, letting go of his friends.
Etho was looking between Grian and Mumbo and back again, before glancing at Tango. "How are you involved here?" He asked genuinely. Tango sighed.
"Long story short... Jimmy."
At that exact moment, the arctic kitsune seemed to notice Martyn and Jimmy. "Wait a minute! Who are you?! You're not supposed to be on Hermitcraft!" He remarked, his hands waving obscenely, "I dont even know you!"
Pearl, Jimmy and Martyn exchanged a look. The other two then stared at Martyn with a "Dont you dare" expression, but it was too late. "You recognise us, dont you?" He questioned. Etho blinked. Turned to Mumbo, who looked back and they both turned to Martyn. Etho hesitantly confirmed, "Yeah, I recognise you... Where from?"
Martyn smiled. Jimmy grumbled, "I cant believe youre not a watcher... Not even Grian is this bad..." Etho looked at Jim.
"Am I gonna get an answer, or..." He reminded. Jimmy looked up. "Ah, yes. Empires crossover?" That sparked a recollection. Etho's ears perked up. "Ah, yes, correct! You were the sheriff, correct? But what was he? My memory is failing me." He pointed at Martyn.
Jimmy went to come up with an excuse, but Martyn was 3 steps ahead. "Swamp. I had the swamp. Had cod ears and tail to match and everything," he lied smoothly. Jimmy was seething. Pearl snorted.
Grian however? He was staring at Jimmy. Jimmy eventually noticed, looking at him. "What's wrong, bro?" The silence stretched for a moment, an uncomfortable gesture, before Grian responded. "You called me a watcher. Does that mean..."
"Yes," Martyn answered before Jimmy could, yet again. Jim still didnt look happy. Pearl however? She had... Where was Pearl.
Pearl and Martyn fighting, talking over Jimmy, Grian standing up to Jimmy by yelling over them...I love it! It's very similar to what I did with the Winners meeting, except it was Scar being talked over and Pearl standing up for him. I love Jimmy being a doormat because he thinks he doesn't deserve better and it's "fine"
