Twisted Lives - SEQUEL TO TWISTED MEMORIES - an MCYT fanfiction

Chapter 3: Keralis

'He- hello?'

I turn quickly to Grian as he wakes up, wincing as he tries to sit up.

'No, sweetface. Stay where you are,' I insist, a hand on his shoulder. He frowns, looking around the still-ruined townhall room we've been helping particularly hurt hermits in. 'You're ok. We won.'

'Ker- Keralis?'

'Grian! You're awake!' The very dishevelled and stressed Mumbo Jumbo stumbles to Grian's side.

'Mumbo!' Again, I have to stop Grian moving too much.'

'Don't hurt yourself any more. Please.' Desperation fills Mumbo's voice, his eyes ringed with shadow and red from crying. I know he hasn't changed or accepted sleep since the battle a few days ago, no matter how many times me and Ren pleaded for him to. 

'Mumbo, you need sleep.' 

'Grian, I'm fine. I've just been... worried.'

'How long ago was the fight?'

'Grian...'

'How long?' 

'6 days, 7 hours.' Mumbles Mumbo. 'And 38 minutes.' Grian's eyes widen. Mumbo looks away. 'I've been worried about you.'

'Sleep. Mumbo, you've been so worried it's spread to me,' Grian repeats. 'Keralis, go make sure he sleeps.' 

'Come on, Mumbo. We set up a bed for you here for a reason.'

'Keralis! Grian! I'm...'

But I've already forced him to lie down on the pile of blankets I specifically set up in the corner. He's snoring before I lay the blanket over him. 

'What happened?' Asks Grian quietly.

'What happened when?'

'In the fight. Why did they go?'

'The Watchers? I don't know. But...' I take a deep breath. 'But Jimmy's dead.'

Silence.

'T... Tim's... dead?'

'And... Shashwammy.' 

'No... no no- ow... Xisuma?! He- he can't he can't be- ow!'

'Lie down!' I snap, hiding the tears blurring my vision. 'I don't want you to get hurt.'

'But Xisuma...'

'Evil-shwammy's taken over.'

'I can't believe I trusted them. The stupid Watchers....' I turn. Grian's not looking at me, eyes shining with tears. 'We were both wrong.' Only a glance up. 'Because you're an All-Seeing Watcher.'

The battle flashes through my mind again. Fighting the people who took me in, respected me. Though... I'd never been allowed to venture far beyond the All-Seeing section, training with the leader in the dark. Told to keep watch of Hermitcraft and report back.

Their replies fell silent when the Watchers came here. When I needed their reply most.

'Watchers... they're... well, you know the Watchers.' I fight the question. 

'No. I don't. I don't know what they're really like.' Grian still doesn't look at me. 'All I know is whatever lie they told me about that I was stupid enough to believe.' I have to approach, sitting next to him, putting an arm around his shoulder.

'Hey, Sweetface. Look into my eyes.' Still nothing. 'Brian...' Grian glances up, eyes shining with tears, 'Look into my eyes and tell me this beautiful face blames you for any of this.'

'I killed Doc.'

'That was an accident. You were upset.'

'I refused to help Cub. I believed the Watchers when they were trying to f***ing murder- murder...'

'Brian, it's ok.' I hug him as he starts sobbing. He hugs me back. For the next few minutes we stay like that until he breaks away, letting out a deep breath.

'How's Scar doing?' Grian asks at last.

'Scar's been...' ...locked in his magical village for the last week trying to handle NPG being taken and Xisuma's death. 'Scar's been Scar. You know what he's like, Brian.'

'Yeah...' A small laugh. 'I sure do.'

'I'll see if I can find him. If... you want to talk to him.'

'Yeah. Yeah that would be good.'

With one last encouraging smile, I leave the town hall, taking to the air. Reconstruction did start, but progress has still been slow. I try to ignore it as I glide across the server and towards...

Nothing.

The world ahead doesn't load as I fly into it... for a moment I'm surrounded by fog before it all comes back at once. I barely avoid Iskall's tree, landing roughly in Scar's magical village. Stupid lag. And the stupidly Watchers, causing it to be particularly bad after their attack.

Scar?' I call, ignoring the memories of NPG being here brings. 'Are you here, Sweetface?' Towards Larry, peering inside. Scar's there, just sat alone doing nothing. I knock. 

'Go away, Keralis!' 

'Brian's awake!' I call. Through the door, I see him stop, stand, and walk over. 

'What?' The door opens. 

'Brian's awake. He wants to see you.'

'Oh. Ok.' He looks worse than Mumbo, clearly used to taking a couple hearts of damage as he just jumps off the top of the ladder past me. I climb down after, running to catch up with him.

'Scar, are you ok?'

'Do I LOOK ok?' He snaps, turning back. 'Of course I'm not ok! My friends are all dying! NPG's gone! Xisuma's dead and all of this started because I became mayor!'

'Scar...'

'And don't try to cheer me up. It won't work. Ask Ren and Skizz and they'll tell you the same. And tell them to stop pestering me while you're at it. That would be good.' 

'Please, Scar!' I grab his hand. He turns to face me, furious, cheeks still stained with tears. 

'What do you want? I'm going to talk to Grian like you wanted!'

'I want you to be happy! You're my friend!'

'Good for you.' He pulls away from me. I don't follow, just watching him fumble for fireworks...

There.

I blink, wondering if my big eyes have failed me for once. But I definitely saw something across the lake... a flicker of blue light for a moment.

'Don't mind the random magic.' Scar explains. 'Wizard stuff. Vexes...' A pause. 'Anyway, I'll go see Grian now. You... head back to your base and relax or... something.'

I watch him fly away before glancing back towards the flash of light I saw... I've seen flashes of magic around Scar's village before. Enough times to feel this might be different. 

'Hello?' I call as I glide over. 'Sweetfaces? Who's hiding in the booshes over here?'

No reply. I can't see anything, hear anything...

There.

A flash of blue in my periphery. I turn and see...

Vexes.

Just a couple vexes, like Scar said they'd be, flying quickly out of view. With a sigh I turn back, grabbing fireworks and just flying back to my base to sleep.

This took so long to write that I developed a whole new book idea in the process