Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Observation of enigmas

           "Was I building that and fell or something?" Jimena asked. "Like I said, as soon as I came back you already were unconscious with a concussion." False said. Jimena's head started to throb just as she said that. Groaning, she lay back down again. "How many times am I going to get amnesia?!" Jimena growled in annoyance. False shrugged. "What do you need?" "Ice pack, something cold to drink, you to not cook eggs," Jimena said jokingly. False groaned at the egg reminder but smiled anyway.

           "Okay," She said, and left to go get them. She came back a few minutes later with a tray full of icepacks wrapped in cloth, a glass of cold milk, and a dozen raw eggs. "You asked me to not cook them," False giggled, looking at Jimena's face. "Two can play at this egg joke game." Jimena playfully threw a pillow at her but immediately regretted it; her sore muscles hated the hasty move. She sighed and lay back down again.

           "Listen, I'm going to go out for a bit, will you be okay here alone?" False asked, fidgeting. Jimena stared. "Why?" "I'm trying to get some answers," False said. "No one's telling me anything and I need to know what's going on." "False, what are you talking about?" Jimena asked, confused. False just sighed. "It's... complicated," She responded vaguely. "I'm going to call Jimmy to watch you, if you're okay with that!" False added, leaving the room.

           "Fine, I guess," Jimena grumbled. She flopped around miserably in bed, feeling her aching muscles complaining and her sore back shrieking at her for lying down on it for so long. Carefully, she turned over to lie on her stomach instead. She already knew that she wasn't going to like this day. First I fall off a tower and get amnesia again and now my best friend's leaving me alone for whatever reason.

---

           False wasn't sure what she was thinking, just flying to spawn again. She wasn't sure what she was even doing there; see the rift? Visit Hermitopia? She just had this feeling in her head that she needed to be there. Although that feeling was probably just her curiosity and annoyance at not getting any answers bubbling up into restlessness. But she was already flying to spawn anyway, might as well do something there.

            As she headed toward spawn, though, she realized that maybe her gut instinct was right that she had to be there. Standing in front of the rift where four emperors, all of which she knew. Sausage, Katherine, Oli, and Pix. They were discussing something and constantly observing and fiddling with the rift. What are they doing? Curious, False flew closer and hid behind a hill to observe them.

            She was soon spotted, however. Pix's keen eyes noticed the tinkerer cautiously approaching and he alerted the others. "False! False is right there!" Immediately, all four of them went straight to False, meticulously inspecting her. She wasn't sure why. "Oi! Skedaddle out of here, missy! This is important research going on here!" Oli shouted. "Which False are you?" Sausage asked. "What? What do you mean? I'm False, I'm the False," She protested.

           "Okay, you're the good one," Sausage declared. "Um, what?" False didn't know what to think anymore, although she suspected this happened a lot around Sausage. "We're investigating the rift," Katherine said helpfully. "Trying to figure out why it closed." "Oh, is this the L.O.R.E. stuff you told me about, Sausage?" False asked. He nodded. "Yep! This is the L.O.R.E. team! I'm the team leader, Pix is the brains, Katherine is the muscle, and Oli is the sweet-talker."

           "What have you found out so far?" False asked, feeling her excitement rising. The L.O.R.E. members looked at each other before responding." Not much, actually," Pix confessed. "Katherine thinks that the hermits passed gas while they went through it and that's literally our best theory as to why it closed." "All ideas are right until proven wrong!" Katherine shouted. "Well, I think we can rule out that idea," Sausage said.

           "Can I help?" False asked. Again, the L.O.R.E. team looked at each other before Sausage replied. "Sure, why not? Maybe you'll catch something we missed." So the five emperors trooped toward the rift and just stared at it for a few minutes. "Has anything come through after it went... went dark?" False asked. "Nope," Oli replied, throwing a pork chop at it to prove his point. It bounced off of the rift like a shield and flopped to the floor. "Oops. I think that was my supper."

           "Eh, you can just sing for it again," Sausage said casually. "But I'm supposed to be singing for diamonds!" Oli protested. "My debt's mounting and I can't pay up!" "Maybe you can sing to the rift," Katherine piped up out of nowhere. "We did get the note at your performance," False remembered. Oli, getting excited, started singing about power and portals, but after he finished the whole song the rift was still empty and dark.

           "Well, that didn't work," Pix remarked dryly. "What possible explanation is there?" False asked, getting frustrated. This was going nowhere." I don't know! What do you guys think?" Everyone started producing farfetched ideas out of nowhere, ranging from Katherine's gas theory to an alien invasion. None of them seemed plausible.

           "Maybe we should focus on things that we know for certain," False said. "We know that the hermits don't know where the rift came from; Grian just made them go through it. And the rift was open for a long time until they arrived, and then it closed. Maybe they broke it by using it too much." The L.O.R.E. team started murmuring in agreement. "That actually makes sense, "Pix said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should be the brains of this operation."

           False shrunk back, embarrassed. "Oh, no, you're way smarter than me." "You can still join the team, though," Katherine suggested. "Yeah! You can be the one who takes down notes or our guy in the chair," Sausage bubbled excitedly. False started to get excited too. "And then we'll figure out how the rift works!" She cried out, and everyone cheered. And maybe I'll get the answers to all my questions too.

---

           Jimmy was having a very bad day. Grian had successfully tricked a couple of hermits into thinking that his name was actually 'Timmy' and Joel had spread the toy joke to the hermits as well. He was just trying to fix his railroad, mind his own business, when a hermit would show up and go bother him relentlessly, until he threatened to blow them up with his supply of gunpowder. It was a good thing no one else knew that he had actually just gave his whole gunpowder supply to False as payment for her iron.

           Just then, Grian flew down next to him, always the pesky bird he was. "Hello, Tim," He greeted with a sly grin. Jimmy groaned. "What do you want now, Grian?" "Nothing, just wanted to see you," Grian leaned back against the wall, watching Jimmy put down anvils and set up his railroad. "What are you working on?" "This is supposed to be the Tumble Town railway," Jimmy said, gesturing at the anvils. "But I keep on getting disturbed and I never get the work done." Grian shrugged. "It's too fun to mess with you, Tim. You can't blame us!" 

           Just then, a telephone rang. Jimmy sighed. I'm never getting this railway completed. He walked into the saloon and picked up the phone. "This is the sheriff speaking," He said. "Jimmy, it's False," The grand architect of Cogsmeade said. "Oh, False, how are you?" Jimmy asked, smiling. Then his smile faded. "Did I not pay enough gunpowder or something?" "Oh, no, it's not that," Came the hasty reply. "Jimena got a concussion; can you come to Cogsmeade to take care of her for me?" "What? What happened to her?" Jimmy asked, concerned. "Uh, she seems to have tried to built a tower by herself and fell off it. So can you come?" Jimmy thought of his unfinished railway. "Of course." 

           "Where're you going, Timmy?" Grian asked as soon as Jimmy stepped out of the saloon with his elytra on. "Cogsmeade," He said, activating his wings. "Jimena's hurt and I'm going to take care of her." "You're babysitting her?!" Grian exploded. He activated his wings as well and flew up beside the sheriff. "I'm coming with you." "Why?" Jimmy frowned. "You two don't get along." Grian just shrugged. They flew silently to Cogsmeade, which Jimmy thought was weird. Grian usually poked fun at him at all times. Then, just as they reached False's empire, Grian spoke up. 

           "How long have you known Jimena?" Grian asked. "A few months," Jimmy replied. He thought back to when Grian and her first met. "Do you know her?" Grian's face hardened. "I would rather I didn't." "Well, whatever happened between you two, she's got amnesia now. She didn't even remember her own name. So she doesn't remember you." Grian thought deeply for a few minutes. Then he said, "Timmy, I need to tell you that she's a-" But just then, they landed near a house where they saw Jimena's watchful gaze through the window, and Grian clammed up instantly. What was he about to say?