Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Magistrex joined the game

This wasn't something RT expected.

One moment, he was just ending his Watching over the Ace Attorney world, next he was on an unfamiliar Minecraft server.

Pain panged his head, causing him to squint a bit. The sunlight beaming above him did not help him out at all.

The ground he was on was mossy, a farm started off to the side. He didn't realize it until a moment later, it was shocking that he didn't even notice the builds towering over him.

He was shocked, a pleasant surprise. It didn't stop his head from aching however. The Irish man stood up, glancing around the spawn area.

He ended up stumbling over the patio set, sitting down on the bed. A feeling of comfort washed over him as his spawn was set.

The shade provided from the trapdoor ceiling was enough to relax for a bit. He thought he heard wings flapping through the air, but he shrugged it off.

"RT?" A familiar British voice called out, an ounce of panic laced his voice as he approached the brunet. An armored man following closely behind the Brit. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not fully sure myself," RT chuckled out. Of course it would be Grian who would come here. He didn't recognize the armored man however. "I don't even know where I am.

"You are in HermitCraft, the ninth season of it," The armored man replied. "I am Xisuma, the admin of the server." The man was wearing the classic doom-guy armor, a dragon skull was around the helmet as well as bone wings on his back. "If you are unsure on how you got here, I can figure it out."

An admin panel floated in front of Xisuma, RT could recognize a bit of the Galactic that was floating around. He couldn't read the binary however.

"That is… bizarre. I can't find why you appeared here." Xisuma tilted his head slightly, the panel disappearing.

RT knew why he was here now. Grian and RT shared a glance. Grian shook his head.

"Well, am I able to stay here until we figure out why?" RT decided to not tell Xisuma how he was here to Watch, not until it was safe.

"Yes, you can stay. I should explain a few things however," Xisuma said. "This is a family friendly server, so swearing isn't common around here. Some of the members may occasionally swear, but it is mostly avoided. Otherwise it is mostly gentlemen's rules."

RT nodded. "Alright, thank you Xisuma." He smiled.

"Let me know if you need anything, just send me a message through your communicator." Xisuma had taken out some rockets, and with a bit of smoke the admin was gone.

"Well," RT blinked. "I didn't expect to be the one to Watch this server. The higher-ups didn't warn me."

"They do that sometimes," Grian shrugged. "You shouldn't sweat it, however I do feel like introducing you to Pearl might be the best course of action." The dirty blond started walking, gesturing for RT to follow.

With nothing else to do, the Irish man followed.

Chapter Text

"Pearl!" Grian called out through the alien-looking biome. The contrast between the regular biomes and this was amazing. RT was in awe over this server, not expecting any of this to have this much development in its early days.

A taller, lighter haired brunette with blonde highlights began to approach them. "Grian? What's up?" She chirped out.

"So HermitCraft may have gotten a Watcher-"

"Oh no… this can't be good we might have to move servers early," Pearl cut him off with a frown.

"We won't have to, let me explain," Grian insisted.

Pearl cocked an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Alright, I'm listening."

"This man, right here-" Grian gestured to RT. "-Is our Watcher."

"What."

"Now wait a moment, I am not going to harm anyone here, I am friends with Grian. If I were to cause any of you harm, I would have most likely done it already," the Irish man chuckled out. He could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

"That's true, plus the Watchers shouldn't be after me anymore," the Aussie replied with a nod. "Alright then, what is your name?"

"RT, yours?" RT held out a hand, hoping for a handshake.

She grabbed his hand with a grin. "Pearl."

RT glanced at Grian, seeing the other's joking "oh no what I do" type of look. This cracked a smile on the Irish man's face.

"So, where is your place then, Grian?" RT asked. Also just wanting to see more of this wonder server.

Grian caught his drift, nodding. "Follow me this way, kind sir." With that Grian began to walk some more, RT following behind.

…

"Pearl? Who was the Watcher and why are they here?" A confused yet concerned cervitaur asked after the pair left, Pearl turning around with wide eyes.

"He won't be an issue, I promise you that. But please, don't spread this around any further. I don't think Grian or RT would appreciate that," Pearl responded.

"And Xisuma?" Gem replied, cocking an eyebrow.

"I plan to tell him myself, so don't worry," Pearl reassured.

Gem nodded, content with that as she went back to her own base.

Chapter Text

It has been a while since RT was made to Watch the HermitCraft server. A king was crowned and he realized something… ominous lurking with the king. It wasn't his big-eyed companion either that was giving him those vibes.

It was as if something tore into the world and was trying to rip it apart from the inside. It felt connected to the king in some way but he didn't know how. It was a mess, a mix of things that didn't seem at all normal. RT felt it in his bones. It didn't help that the admin had been eyeing him suspiciously since his interaction with Pearl. Even though the admin was wearing a red Doom Guy suit, which started to ring some alarms in his head.

"RT, can I speak with you privately?" 'Xisuma' asked, his voice hushed. This wasn't that odd of an admin to ask a player to do. So, RT followed the admin.

Eventually, they ended up near Impulse's starter base. The amethyst on the room glimmering with the sunlight beaming down on it.

In a sudden moment, RT was pinned against the wall by the red-suited admin's sword. The brunet's back now pressed against the spruce wall.

"You are going to explain to me why you are here, Watcher. I tolerated Grian because he was already here, but what do you have to say about yourself?" 'Xisuma' hissed. "You clearly don't know when the server is already being Watched."

Shit shit shit shit shit. RT thought to himself, trying to figure out a strategy to get out of the mess. Going along might up my chances of not needing to respawn.

RT threw his arms up in defense. "I don't fully know why I was brought over to watch! Maybe because the Watchers found the server and knew it needed to be Watched," RT replied. "I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking."

'Xisuma' glared. "Likely story, Watcher. I-"

The red-suited man was cut off by being knocked to the ground by… Xisuma? Green Doom Guy suit and all. "Ex, what did I say about trying to harm your fellow Hermits?"

"But- he's a Watcher! Who knows what he could do!" Ex countered, glaring at the proper admin.

"And Grian can do the same things, plus, have you seen how much Grian- the man actively running away from Watchers- is all buddy buddy with him?" Xisuma insisted. "Now, we can talk later." The admin turned his attention to the Irish man once again. "I'd like to apologize for Ex, they aren't on the best of terms with Watchers."

RT just chuckled and gave a small shrug. "It isn't much to be concerned about, X, I knew I would have respawned anyways."

Xisuma nodded. "We will be off now." With that, Xisuma was now dragging a glaring Ex off.

RT sighed, deciding to head back to Grian's base for now.

…

"I'm sorry, X," Ex sighed.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, you should be apologizing to RT," Xisuma replied.

"Oh, not for that. For this." Ex stabbed the admin with an enchanted, green sword. "The Listeners need to dispose of some of the people on your server, I am sorry."

Xisuma passed out as his body went limp. A leaving green wound that quickly healed over.

A green Wi-Fi symbol appeared over Xisuma's eyes as Ex left.

Chapter Text

Xisuma had called a server-wide meeting, bringing all the Hermits together. RT felt nervous, if his wings were visible he knew they would be poofed up.

"I would like to apologize for calling the server wide meeting, but we ended up having a new hermit join in this season a bit late!" Xisuma smiled. There was a green glint to his eyes, and it immediately sent a chill down RT's spine. "I would like to introduce Magistrex, also known as RT!"

The Hermits had clapped as RT moved closer to the front. "It is such a pleasure to be joining you guys for this season," RT started. "I can't wait to see what-"

"Too bad he's a Watcher though." Xisuma stated, the unnatural green glint still there. "He may not be exactly a threat but… watch out. Who knows what he could do to you all."

"What the fuck?" RT hissed out in response. A lot of the Hermits also began to protest. The few notable ones who didn't seem to protect were a cervitaur girl, a moss covered shapeshifter, the king himself, and a big-eyed lumberjack. All of them had that green glint to their eyes.

"I have to agree with Xisuma," the cervitaur stated. "Who knows what this Watcher could do?"

"Gem..?" Pearl spoke up from the crowd. "You do realize Grian and myself are also Watchers… right?" She approached Gem, being a bit cautious as she did so.

Gem took out her sword, making Pearl stop dead in her tracks. "You don't wanna move then, scum."

The other few took out their sword, the king standing close to the admin as he whispered in the other's ear.

"RT, Grian, Pearl, you all run!" Impulse hissed out, taking out his sword. Doc- who RT had met before- joined in alongside Impulse with a sword.

RT grabbed Pearl- who was the closest- and let his wings come out finally. The two massive purple wings began to lift him and Pearl up, from there he just tried to get them out of there.

The pair landed at Pearl's main base. RT immediately just flopped over when he put Pearl down.

"What the fuck is going on? I can't deal with this right now…" RT groaned, now just laying on the sands ground. "What's up with the others? Since I know Xisuma just… won't do that."

"I'm not sure… I'll tell Grian to come over here, though," Pearl sighed as she took out her communicator, attempting to whisper to Grian where they were. She now just had to hope that the other would find the pair in time.

…

We need to be smarter. A voice echoed in the dark dungeon. Catch those damn Watchers.

"I know," Ren replied. "I will try to get more of them on our side, they just need convincing."

Good. Now leave.

Ren bowed, then left. He needed to make a better plan.

Chapter Text

Grian was falling.

He was falling and failing the simple mission that he was told.

He was sent to the world of HermitCraft after he ran away from the Watchers. From there he occasionally saw green glints in people's eyes. Always listening.

The first run in he had with a Listener when he met with Martyn after his friend's banishment.

His friend had a crazed green glint to his eyes, preaching about how the Listeners saved him from the death games the Watchers put him in. After being accused of helping another Watcher escape.

Grian felt a heavy weight of guilt on his shoulders ever since Martyn told him this. But he didn't expect them to be the ones behind this.

He had a buzz of recognition in his head as Gem had that same glint. So did Ren, Bdubs, Keralis, and of course the server admin.

This day couldn't have gone any worse.

Now he was falling out of the sky after a few arrows successfully hit him, slamming into the harsh mossy stone of his own base. A loud squawk escaped from him as he attempted to get inside. He knew he was as good as dead.

"Oh Brian~" Keralis grinned, entering Grian's base with a crossbow in hand. He grabbed the light haired brunet by the hair, picking him up. "I seemed to catch myself a little birdy~" Keralis purred in Galactic, the green glint had fully corrupted his eyes.

A rush of raw primal fear filled Grian as the king slowly approached the pair. Grian letting out some distressed thrills as he tried to get away from Keralis.

"Now, Grian. We can do this the easy way… or the hard way," Ren smiled. "You simply turn yourself in, join our side. Or we torture you until you spill everything we need." Ren hummed. "It's a fair deal, Grian."

"No, it really isn't!" Grian hissed out, trying to get out of Keralis' strong grip.

"You will be freed ev-" A yelp came from the king as Etho knocked the king down, Iskall taking down Keralis and letting Grian go free.

"Grian, run while you can. We can try to deal with them," Etho stated.

Grian nodded and just booked it, letting a pair of transparent purple wings expand from his back as purple eyes now surrounded him. With that he flew off, mentally thanking Etho and Iskall for saving him. But he was worried about their fate.

…

Pearl and RT's attempts in finding Grian have been unsuccessful, not being able to find their pesky bird friend.

A voice caused Pearl to perk up, however. A sense of content and relief washed over her as she noticed the zombie approaching her.

"Hey! Pearl! RT!" Cleo yelled out to the two Watchers, approaching them with Joe Hills walking with her. "Come with us, we have a bunker ready." Cleo gestured for the two to follow her and Joe.

So, the two Watchers did follow them, Joe following behind to make sure nothing bad happened.

Cleo didn't even notice the green bladed knife Joe was holding and the green glint in their eyes.

Chapter Text

The group discussed their plans on what they were going to do to possibly help the people on the server. Talking about the possibilities and what could be the cause of this.

Cleo suddenly turning around and shooting Joe with an arrow caused both RT and Pearl to flinch and put their arms out.

A distorted noise escaped from Joe as they dropped the green blade on the ground, clutching their arm and looking up at Cleo. "Now Cleo, you don't want to shoot me again, I am still your friend," they chuckled out, flinching constantly as olive green swirls were around them.

"Why not, Listener," Cleo hissed. "I'm not letting you take over my partner." She shot Joe again, this time in the head.

Joe's body fell limp to the ground, then disappeared with a poof.

JoeHillsTSD was shot by ZombieCleo

<ZombieCleo> be careful, Joe became a muse for the thing trying to kill Grian, Pearl, and RT

<ZombieCleo> lock them up if any of you are at the location

"They'll respawn back in the bunker so don't worry about that. Now, come on." Cleo gestured for the pair to continue to follow them.

"How did you know it was not Joe?" RT asked.

"I could just feel it in my decaying flesh. It was the same with Gem and Ren," Cleo chuckled. "Plus, I had talked to a Listener a while back, I know what they do."

RT just nodded. "I guess that makes two of us." He picked up the blade before continuing to follow.

…

"You've failed your mission," the voice hissed in Galactic, glaring at Ex.

"What? No I haven't! I got Xisuma," Ex glared.

"You didn't kill the Watcher! You didn't open his heart to me!" The voice hissed.

"No, no I am not going to let you push me around like this, Apocalyptic Winter. I have been dealing with you for too long, and I just… can't!" Ex hissed out. "You keep telling me that after I do one thing, I am free to leave. However, you never let me leave!" They snapped out. "I am done. I work for myself, got it? I hurt my brother and his friends. I'm done." Ex threw the sword in the ground, leaving and not letting the Listener finish.

Apocalyptic Winter chuckled. "Have it your way, you won't be able to make things better."

Chapter Text

The bunker was deep underground in Cleo's ruins. The diorite tower stood strong nearby as the three entered the bunker.

"This doesn't seem completely protected," RT pointed out.

"Not at the moment, but Mumbo and Doc have plans to set something up soon," Cleo hummed.

"What happened afterwards we ran away?" RT asked as Pearl trailed behind the pair.

"Well, we had to flee due to them quickly overtaking us. Keralis is shockingly strong, that paired with everyone's strength means we couldn't take them down," she started. "And from there, it went to chaos. The meeting quickly broke out into further separation. We lost Beef, one of the ones who could have helped us out greatly. Thankfully, most of the redstoners got away so they are helping fortify the bunker."

As Cleo walked around, an elf in a wheelchair approached them. The elf had many scars across his skin, including his ears and hands. The most notable was the one across his nose. "Hey, Cleo. Doc is having some issues with Joe… they aren't back to normal like you said they would have been," the elf started. As RT focused, he could see vex wings on the back of the elf. "Now, at the moment Joe is locked up in a cage surrounded by obsidian to make it harder to break. They are gonna be there until we find a way to save them."

Cleo had a frown on her face, but nodded nonetheless. "Alright, thank you for telling me. Let's hope we can chase the Listeners out of the server soon."

The elf nodded, then noticed RT. "Oh! You must be the new Hermit… RT if my memory serves me right. I'm Scar, the current situation isn't the best, but it is great to meet you anyways!" Scar held out a hand.

RT smiled, shaking it. "It is great to see someone who is optimistic in these times."

Scar nodded. "Have a look around, introduce yourself to anyone you don't recognize. Have an ahmayzing time." With that Scar wheeled off, leaving RT to look around the bunker.

The bunker had blackstone walls, the lanterns set in clever places so then there were some darker hallways to seemingly hide some things at first glance. The soft light from the glow lichen kept various mobs from spawning, and RT appreciated it quite a bit.

…

Grian didn't feel safe as he glanced around. He ended up taking a rest stop at Pearl's starter base, he noticed Impulse poking around and decided to get the human's attention.

"Impulse! Hey!" Grian whisper-shouted. Which thankfully, Impulse picked up on. His brown eyes went wide as he approached Grian.

"What are you doing here? We need to get you to Cleo's bunker." Impulse glanced around as he told the Watcher this, making sure to stay aware for then no one could sneak up.

"I was trying to find Pearl and RT- wait Cleo has a bunker?" Grian blinked.

Impulse nodded, he soon signaled for… something, or someone since Tango and Zedaph came out from hiding.

"It is better to travel in groups, Tango and Zedaph snuck up on me, Zed told me about the bunker Cleo so that is where we are going now. Care to join us?" Impulse smiled.

Grian nodded. "Yeah, of course."

With that, the quartet started to make their way to Cleo's bunker.

Chapter Text

Their voices echoed in her head. Insisting she joined them. To sacrifice herself and her little friends to them and then everything would go back to normal. That wasn't how it ended, right? It couldn't be.

Pearl didn't know what to think as she glanced around the bunker. She had drifted from Cleo and RT, deciding to look around in her own time. The words Gem said to her still tore apart her heart. She had never seen that much hate in the Cervitaur's eyes.

The Aussie let out a defeated sigh, finding her way to the beds and immediately plopping down on it. She wanted to see the stars dotting the beautiful night sky, but she knew how dangerous it was to leave. The thought clung to her mind, not letting it out of its rough grip.

"Knock knock," a cheery American said. He soon wheeled his chain in. "Pearl? You seem upset," the vex pointed out.

Pearl jumped at Scar's sudden entrance, hitting her head on the bed above her with a groan.

"Oh- Pearl? You okay?" Scar frantically asked, now beside Pearl as he reached a hand out to comfort her.

"I'm fine, Scar," she chuckled out softly. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to tell you that four more people came to the bunker. They all passed the check, and you might want to see one of them." The vex couldn't hide the smile on his voice as Pearl clued into who was here.

"Oh- oh my goodness. Thank you Scar!" Pearl smiled, shaking off her injury as she went to find the avain. She passed Cub on her way out, but thought nothing of it.

Scar turned his wheelchair around, now looking at the black-haired vex. "Heya Cub! Whatcha doing?" Scar smiled.

"Scar. I have some bad news to break to you. There is a chance that we might need to ask the vex for help if things get worse," Cub started. "However, for the meantime I'll try to make sure we won't need to." Cub reassured.

"I would rather not talk to the vex thank you very much. So finding another option is very much appreciated," Scar chuckled dryly. "Now can you move out of the way? I have some decorating to do." Cub moved out of the way. Scar wheeled on out once he was able to, leaving Cub alone with his thoughts in the bedroom.

…

Ren wasn't having any of it. The Listeners were starting to demand for the Watchers to leave the server, but the king wanted his friends to stay.

So, they had to make a compromise. Find a way to put them in spectator mode so they are still here, just out of the way. Of course, the two main threats were Grian and this newer Watcher.

He knew that this could help them out, he also knew he could draw a moth into a flame with the idea he had in mind.

The king knew he could deal with them, one way or another.

Chapter Text

Pearl's eyes widened as she saw Grian, he was currently with Tango, Zed, and Impulse but that didn't mean she couldn't pick out his red turtleneck.

She tackled the other down in a hug. "You're okay!" A weight was lifted off of her shoulders with Grian's return, knowing her closest friend was finally okay.

"Yeah uh- mostly." Grian chuckled out. "I will need to have my wings checked out, a few arrows got shot through them so I am not sure if I can fully fly without causing others stress. Since y'know, Watcher powers and stuff."

Pearl nodded as she finally let go of the injured hermit. "Yeah, we should go find Doc then."

"I'm right here too, y'know?" Zed waved his hand. "I can fix up Grian's wings."

Grian looked at Zed, then looked back at Pearl. She just shrugged. "I'm going to go find RT and let him know you are safe." With Pearl heading off, Grian was left alone with the three who brought him here.

"Well, you could help Doc. Doc knows more about how Watchers work." Grian explained.

Zed nodded in understanding. "Alright, go on. I have to explore this bunker anyways to find the lab, even if learning more about how Watchers work was my plan," Zed shooed Grian off. 

Grian nodded, making a little note of what Zed said before heading off to find either Doc or the Medical Area.

…

Gem felt a pain panging in her head, the neon green dimming in her eyes as she dropped her sword. She didn't know what this feeling was completely, it was far from being normal.

The buzzing clouding over her mind faded slightly, her actions finally fell heavy on her mind.

"What have I done..?" She mumbled.

You haven't done anything wrong.

It was like she touched an open circuit, a jolt of electricity shot through her body as the neon green appeared in her eyes. "Yeah… I haven't. I'm only getting rid of the Watchers…" She mumbled.

Chapter Text

All of this happened in a week.

All of this happened because of his own arrival. 

RT didn't think that the Watchers would purposely put their own in harm's way, he didn't know what happened to cause this.

He sat outside the bunker, he had been given clearance to leave without much of a big fuss. Of course, he wanted to do the noble thing and stop the Listeners at the source. But he didn't know who or what their source was.

Until a thought popped into his mind.

This didn't start happening until after Ex had been taken away by Xisuma… and Xisuma was one of the people under the Listener's control.

That was who he was looking for, Ex. That was who most likely caused this unlikely scenario.

He had to find Ex, and hope that the other would talk to him and not try to stab him again.

The Irish-man stood up from where he was situated outside the bunker. The noble thing was to find Ex and confront them. Then maybe something can be done. With the sun barely peeking over the horizon and the average-sized moon taking its place in the darkening sky, he set off. A determined look in his eyes, and a fellow Watcher witnessing his leave. The Watcher who was unable to help in his quest due to only being allowed to Watch.

…

As the canary watched RT leave, he debated on telling Grian or Pearl. However, he didn't want to end up like Martyn and BigB. He was only allowed to watch what unfolded. Hoping for the best. Hoping that everyone would end up being safe.

Hoping it wouldn't end like Empires did. Hoping it wouldn't end like HermitCraft's previous season.

Hoping for everything to be okay.

He knew it wouldn't ever be fully okay after this, but Jimmy had hope that Grian, Pearl, and RT could pull through.

Unlike how he was able to pull through to save Empires.

Chapter Text

Cleo's pure hatred towards the Listeners was fully their fault.

After all, they had a hand in getting her to the state she was in now.

She refused to look back on those days, working hard and trying her hardest to reach the apprenticeship that she desired. She wanted to be a blacksmith. She can forge weapons and get lost in her own craft.

The Listeners thought differently, however. Insisting to her town that her body was to be used as a vessel for a Listener to walk through the world.

She didn't let it happen. She struggled. She ran away.

That didn't stop the bullets from traveling through her body and shooting her dead.

Good thing she was friends with a necromancer.

When she came to, she felt cold, tired, and had a hunger awake within her. A hunger she didn't know she would ever feel in her life.

Didn't she die though? She could have sworn she did.

"Welcome back, Cleo," Joe said with a small smile. "I found you on my doorstep, dead. I knew you must have come to me for a reason so I used my knowledge of necromancy on you. It has some minor side effects, being that your soul is alive but your body is still decaying."

Cleo just stood in shock for a moment, before nodding. "Y'know, that checks out."

That didn't stop the angry thoughts that flooded her mind, the Listeners needed to pay for their actions. That's all she knew for sure, they had to be dealt with.

She ended up letting out a small sigh, keeping her plan for revenge in mind. To use later on.

Chapter Text

Falling.

Falling through the void.

Falling into their grasp.

Their captivating grasp as they got their filthy hands into his deepest fears.

Using that against him.

But, he doesn't hate them for it. He worships them still. He knows how amazing they truly can be.

They helped him.

Martyn was always thankful for how the Listeners treated him. They treated him the same way as they did to the other Listeners.

When he was eventually sent into those death games, he remembered everything due to them. He was so very thankful for their help in surviving.

The few hours that he was unable to hear them due to Minecraft Championships, he panicked. However, he felt a moment of clarity before everything all fogged up once again.

It terrified him.

The fact that they gave him so much to continue on living, yet he gave them nothing other than his complete devotion.

There was something else he could do.

He ratted out the HermitCraft server to the Listeners, bringing up the fact that some of his Watcher friends was there.

They promised to get revenge for him.

He didn't want Grian or Pearl to get hurt. That was the one thing he didn't want at all.

But the Listeners did it anyway.

They didn't care about him.

That was when his mind was finally cleared fully. The fog disappeared after so long.

It was long enough that he was beginning to realize how wrong this all was.

That wouldn't stop him from still believing the Listeners were good. 

…

"Where's RT?" Grian asked Pearl, looking around.

He noticed that Pearl visibly froze, as if she realized something she didn't think about before.

"I don't know. I remember he stayed with Cleo as soon as we were brought here. Cleo should know where he is," Pearl replied. "We should find Cleo after we get you to the medical wing."

Grian frowned, but sighed. "Fine. Then we will look for RT."

Pearl nodded. "We can't let anything happen to him or the rest of our friends. Not anymore."

Grian nodded in agreement, choosing to ignore the purple eye he spotted. Feeling a bit safer now.

Chapter Text

Shortly after RT had the idea to go find Ex, he realized that he didn't have a single clue as to where the other was.

He definitely felt unsafe. The server was slowly being overwhelmed by the Listeners, and he didn't know where the people under their control were.

That wish to find Ex didn't come true as he spotted… someone.

He was close enough to Bdubs' tower that maybe going up there would grant him some advantage.

As he climbed up the stairs, he felt something watching him. He knew it couldn't be them , so something was very much different.

A sudden force hit his head, he then fell onto the birch with an audible thud. The perpetrator dropped the weapon, as if in shock, running off shortly after.

…

First, it was silent.

Then the overwhelming burning of trying to go against the Watchers to help his friends out.

He wanted to help them out but it burned too much to try and get through. He knew the risks after Grian left.

But he had to help them, as long as the Listeners were running about and making a mess of things no one would be safe.

It felt like a stab to the heart watching his friends suffer. But that was all he could do.

Chapter Text

As frantic as the Watcher was, he couldn't escape the inescapable grasp unconsciousness had on him.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

He couldn't escape it, truly he was stuck here. Green fog slowly began to roll in, reaching up to his ankles as he began to run. Being trapped in his own mind had its perks, it seemed. Being able to run through the endless void, away from whatever this green fog was doing.

The Watcher was stuck, trapped within his own mind.

He hates it.

He tries to wake up, but he is unable to.

He lets his wings out, attempting to fly up from the fog that had started to slowly rise up. It began to follow him, rising as he did.

It was the sudden appearance of a ceiling that caused him to hit it head on, slowly beginning to fall down.

Before he hit the ground, he woke up. He looked around.

He was locked up somewhere, stuck in a cage of some kind, a metal plate on his back, as if to stop his wings from appearing. It was uncomfortable.

"We finally caught one of three little birdies," a voice echoed.

…

Martyn had to watch on as RT had to deal with whatever the Listeners had decided his punishment would be.

He was one of the only Watchers that Martyn still trusted after being tossed to the side because of Grian's actions. He felt pity in a sense.

Only because RT decided to be there at the wrong time. The worst time for the Watchers to decide to pair the canary of the death games, and the canary for HermitCraft.

Chapter Text

A heavy weight fell on Pearl's shoulders as she felt a tightness in her chest began to make itself known.

This was not happening. This couldn't be happening.

She reached the surface of the overworld, out of Cleo's bunker. Only to be met with her wings… gone. Wait… where were her wings?

She was supposed to have her wings.

Her wings are gone, her mind was a mess of panic, purple feathers, and the weight of her wings being gone.

The bloodied feathers at her feet said enough. This wasn't right. This was not right at all.

The one time she separated from Grian, deciding on going on her own, she is getting flashes of memories. Memories that she didn't need at this very moment.

Watchers have wronged you. Have they not?

A voice echoed in her mind.

Of course they would find their way here. Those little pests weaving their way into her mind.

She never had wings this season. She lost her wings a while back. She was not letting the Watchers into her head. Not again.

That is not good.

This is not good. Not good at all.

We can help you, Pearl. You do remember that?

She shook her head. Nuh uh. Nope. Not going to deal with this. She took a deep breath in, regaining her ground. She then took off running to where she thought RT would be. Absolutely terrified for what the other would have to go through if the Listeners managed to get their grubby little hands on him.

She couldn't let RT suffer the same fate as Martyn. She couldn't bring herself to it. She wasn't going to lose another Watcher to them .

Normally, you would assume it would be much easier to track down someone you are actively looking for. It changes quite a lot when there is absolutely no sign of them.

PearlescentMoon knew what the Listeners would bring if she decided to go any further. She knew what the consequences of her actions could be. Yet, she didn't want RT to take the blame for the pests infecting the server.

If she wanted to truly fix everything, she needed to find Gem and break her out of the Listener's control.

…

RT struggled to move as he regained consciousness, glancing around and soon realizing the fact that he couldn't even move. This wasn't good at all, so it seems. He tried his best to, but, a weight was secured tightly on his back. Binding his wings together painfully. This wasn't good, not at all.

He attempted to wiggle around, trying to think of ways to escape. But he couldn't, it was as if a fog over his mind refused to let him continue any coherent thinking. It caused a mild sense of panic to rush through him.

This wasn't good. He knew it would only spiral from here. He had a mild idea on who his captors were, but he couldn't see them. The sense of panic was slowly building up now as he looked around, a small noise of discomfort.

It was the sharp jab in his side that finally snapped him back in. He felt so much discomfort as something got injected into him.

Then, he fell unconscious once again.

…

"Grian…" Doc let out a sigh. "You can't just… go and fight the enemy without a plan. You know what happens without one. You trying to distract them was a foolish move."

"I am well aware of that, but I just wanted to help RT and Pearl get away, you have to understand that," Grian frowned. He sucked in a breath as Doc cleaned up a wound, and then worked on patching it up.

"You can't fly for a bit, but that is only for them you don't end up making the wound worse." Doc explained as he stepped away. "Otherwise, you should be fine."

Grian nodded, extending his wing out a bit to stretch it as he rolled his shoulder. He took this note into account. "Well, thank you Doc. I'll see you later."

He gave a small wave as he left the medical wing, letting Doc pack up the very scuffed medical supplies he had taken out.

As he left Doc, there was a violent shift in the atmosphere… with that Grian knew immediately where he needed to go, but he couldn't go visit it right away.

He needed to go see the rift.

Chapter Text

It was with a shock coursing through his body that caused RT to wake up. When he realized he had been impaled by a trident, it explained a few things. But not enough.

"Now, Dan, I need you to listen to me," a muffled voice told him. "I have snapped you out of whatever they put you in."

RT's vision was blurry, trying to recognize the blond figure in front of him. The black bandana wrapped around his head that caused a bit of a split in the hair. He was leaning against the diorite walls of Bdubs' tower. The trident had been removed by then and the blond was clotting up. The rain continued to splatter against the floor of the slightly broken window.

He seemed… so familiar but he didn't know where he recognized him. The blond had neon green wings attached to his back, the feathers starting to fall out as if he had been nervously plucking them out himself.

Why couldn't RT recognize this man?

The fog over his brain continued to cloud his judgment, pushing the man who was trying to help him away. He didn't know if he could really trust him.

Not a word was uttered by RT as he stared at the ground, trying to figure out what was going on. His head had a dull ache rush through it.

After a groan, he finally looked at the blond once again. "My memory… isn't the best right now." He chuckled out. "Who are you?"

The blond seemed to flinch, then uttered something in Galactic. "That… isn't important. What is important is we find someone who can help you out better than I can."

RT just nodded, then paused for a moment. "How can I trust you? How do I know you won't try to bring me to the Listeners?"

There was a sigh from the blond. "Well, I technically am one. But I won't hurt you. That is what I can promise. I won't let the others get to you." The blond- well, Listener- promised.

RT just nodded. "Alright…" He sighed. "Alright."

With some help from the Listener, RT successfully made it outside.

"Martyn! Oh I am so happy to see you made it out," a Watcher smiled. Wait… a Watcher? Why was another one here when they only ever watched. Pearl and Grian are here because they no longer align with the Watchers, he was here because he was going to be the one to watch the server.

So why was another one of them here?

The Watcher had a bit of a faint, fishy smell to him. A few golden feathers hidden in the mass of purple feathers that were the Watcher's wings. He was wearing the regular amount of layers a Watcher would normally wear.

"Wait… Jim? Why are you even here?" The blond- Martyn- hissed out. "I thought they wouldn't let you go after what happened, plus what is happening right now."

"Well- I feel like it is better to explain with Grian and Pearl here. I know Grian is at least here somewhere, I feel it," Jim responded.

RT just looked at the two, things finally started to click as a bit of the fog started to clear away. "Uh… can we finally go through introductions?" RT asked with a small sigh.

Martyn nodded. "Well, you've probably heard but I am Martyn. This is Jimmy." He gestured to the other man, who gave a small wave. Martyn was repressing a bit of concern due to the man not recognizing them, but carried on nonetheless.

"Oh! I remember you two. Yogscast Martyn, the Martyn I was told to help watch over." RT grinned, which clearly caused Martyn to flinch and be very much uncomfortable. He didn't actively show it, however. RT didn't pick up on it.

"Ah, well, we should be getting you back to the others. Jim, you can bring us there, right?" Martyn looked at Jimmy, who thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Powers aren't… available right now," Jimmy replied. Martyn nodded and picked RT up- fairly easily at that- and began the way to where the non-infected Hermits were. Jimmy led the way to their aid, caution clearly on his mind.

…

The Canary joins another game, followed by the Mole. If they were to discover each other's plans, a conflict would unfold.

Within the time allotted to those who Watch. The time ticks slowly until the clock stops.

By Luna falling, it may be the catalyst to set the blaze alight.

As the stars align, there will be a defined mastermind. The one who released the ravenous hounds upon this world.

The one may be clear, to those who have ears. But not to the beholder, the one who sees all.

May the Void save your soul, Seer of All.