Freeze or Fall

Chapter 12: Explanations

Grian broke away from the hug, holding Npg's arms. He looked... Different. The horns, the wings, like he'd changed with Grian. He looked nothing like the glitchy mess Grian remembered.

"You're... Different." The words tumbled out of Grian's mouth before he could stop them, but Npg didn't seem fazed.

"Exy fixed me!"

"He-he did?" Grian glanced over to Ex, who had a somewhat smug grin on his face.

"I know a thing or two about Andriods."

Grian smiled and pulled Npg back into another hug. "I'm so sorry for leaving you behind, I should've visited you or something-"

"No, it's okay!" Npg interrupted. "I forgive you for that, and I took the time to improve my skills!"

Ex nodded. "He really did, and he's a great teacher."

Npg lit up. "Can I show you some of my favorite houses? Please?"

Grian felt a chuckle escape his mouth. "Of course!"

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Npg had built a lot. Like, a lot.

They walked around the world for a while, Taurtis positively gaping at the sheer amount of rustic houses. Ex didn't seem fazed, obviously, and Grian was somewhat expecting to see the vast expanse, but Taurtis? Yeah, he wasn't prepared.

"That... That's a lot of houses."

"Yeah, the stretch for miles in each direction."

"Miles!?"

Ex grinned. "But no worries, it's not that hard to get to the main house. Grian can fly with Npg, and I'll do some ender pearl stuff with Taurtis."

"Alright, race?" Npg asked.

Ex grabbed Taurtis' arm, an ender pearl already equipped. "Is that even a question?"

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Grian laughed, flying along with Npg as they raced Ex and probably a very surprised Taurtis. He'd never really taken time aside to truly appreciate his wings, and how free he felt, flying without an elytra. Just him against the winds, as he followed closely behind Npg.

"This is one of the only few things I love other than Rustic Houses." Npg commented, doing a barrel roll in the air."

"Mhm, and what are the others?" Grian asked curiously.

Npg contemplated that for a moment, as Grian did a couple loop-de-loops. "The other two things I like? Well one is gardening, I often terraform while my battery recharges."

Grian flapped his wings a few times to catch up. "And the other?"

Npg hesitated.

"I guess... Spending time with Exy."

Grian coasted along the wind, catching a good air current. "I never did get to learn your history with him."

"Well, it's not that complicated." Npg folded his wings and dove, pulling up at the last second into a loop-de-loop and using an updraft to soar back up to Grian. "One day, about a year after you left, Exy joined this world. We were scared of each other at first, but slowly we learned to live with each other. From there," Npg took spread out his arms, allowing the wind to carry him along. "we just warmed up to each other. One day, he let me try to teach him how I built. Then the next, he offered to try to fix me. from there we just grew close. He'd leave sometimes, but he always came back. Then he told me he had to leave for a long time. I didn't see him for about eight months. Then he finally came back a few days ago."

"I'm glad you didn't have to spend all that time alone."

"Me too."

The two finally landed in front of a large, tall house, one that kind of reminded Grian of his house from Season six's build off.

He twiddled his thumbs. "Npg?"

"Yeah?"

"How were you able to heal so well?"

Npg ran a hand through a berry bush near the porch. "I'm not sure. Maybe it was because I had time, or because I had someone to listen." He turned his head towards Grian, smiling a little. "Perhaps it's cause deep down, I'm still you."

"Still me?"

Npg shrugged. "When we split, you lost your passion for rustic houses."

"Split? Passio-"

Fwoop

"Aw c'mon! You beat us!" Ex exclaimed good naturedly.

Taurtis stumbled forwards a few steps. "I am so dizzy."

"Course you are, rapid-fire ender pearls can do that to a human." Npg shrugged, turning to face the house.

Almost suddenly, a strange awkward silence began to settle over the four, Grian deciding to break it.

"So uh can you guys finally explain why I didn't die and what the heck is going on with Taurtis' evil counterpart, and more importantly, why Taurtis isn't dead!?"

"Ah yeah, we still need to explain that, don't we..." Ex scratched the back of his neck. "Where to begin..."

"I'll start." Taurtis nodded. "To keep it as short as possible, I got an evil alter while I was with the watchers, who somehow found a way to toss me in the void. Though instead of me dying, I crashed into Ex on my way down, who just noped us out of there. I'd been stuck in that void since."

"Since ET is technically still an alter of Taurtis, he was able to figure out his plans. So we worked together to ensure the safety of whoever ET managed to 'kill'. We originally thought it would be Xisuma, with a low chance of you saving him, but since you hurled yourself into the void after him, things changed."

"We thought for a moment you succeeded, but then ET split from me completely and the next thing I knew you were falling again."

Grian blinked. "That is... simpler than I thought it would be."

"Yep. And then Taurtis began seeing Mumbo his his dreams and-"

"Hold up. You talked to Mumbo!?" Grian gaped at Taurtis.

"Yeah, he's a really nice guy. Anyways, we figured out a way of communicating with Hermitcraft through a robot I convinced Mumbo to build." Taurtis finished.

Grian put his hands to his lips in a "boi" gesture, inhaling deeply. "You guys told me like half of this."

Ex shrugged. "To be fair, you were really sick, so..."

"Wait. Grumbot's calling."

"Grumbot?" Grian asked.

Ex nodded. "Yeah that's the robot in Hermitcraft we mentioned. they're kinda friends."

Npg turned away for a moment, listing to a voice only he could hear.

"Oh. What happened?"

...

"Oh that is not good."

...

"Who's with you right now?"

...

"Okay, I have no advice to give for this situation, but I have three people standing behind me who'd be thrilled to help."

...

"Alright, stay safe. Bye." Npg turned back to the three players behind him.

"So um, Hermitcraft is in big trouble."