two british boys meet [DISCONTINUED]

[CHAPTER 13: GRIAN]

I wake up sweating from a nightmare to the sun just barely rising, the sharp rays shining onto my face in the window. Nice, it must be early. How fun.
As I'm going out, I catch myself in the mirror and am caught off guard. Right, I forgot I was wearing Dan's shirt. I don't look the best in green, not going to lie. It works well with my eyes, though. Sort of.
Either way, I neaten myself up from my rough sleep and head out to the midst of the lab, trying to be quiet as I doubt anyone is awake.
I am proven wrong by Dan sort of pacing in the middle of the main room, and he waves at me.
"Hey, Dan!" I whisper-shout. "Why are you awake?"
"Never fell asleep!" he responds. "Anticipation, am I right?"
"You should sleep!" I call out, going up to him.
"Don't worry, I'll sleep tonight! Let's get this bunny boy running!" He seems excited, and honestly, if this goes well, hopefully this will get that part of my life out of my mind. "Anyways, why are you awake?"
"Nightmares!" Dan pats my shoulder in response.
"Oh, sorry..."
"It's okay, I get them a lot. What are the plans for today?"
"To go out and find more sources and stuff, but if we find Sam, then we'll try a forgiveness plea or a compromise. If that doesn't work...well, I don't know, but we'll bring our weapons and a first aid kit to be safe. 3v1, am I right?"
Thanks Dan, very reassuring.
"Y-Yeah, I guess."
"Let's just wait for the others to wake up, shall we? Maybe we can watch the sunrise. It looks great when it comes through the lab, trust me!"
I don't question anything. This lab is magnificent as it is, the glass walls definitely have some sort of effect in the sunrise.
Dan takes me over to the testing chamber and we maneuver around the many machines he has stacked up there and lay down to watch the sunrise.
Dan doesn't lie. It's beautiful. You can make out each individual cloud and stream of light. Each individual stroke of colour. It's almost as if it's a picturesque painting.
I remember something from Hermitcraft. Sometimes, on a clear day, I would sit down with Mumbo and Iskall, and we would crack jokes and make Sahara plans in the sunset. It would last right through the night, all the banter, and by the end of it we'd just watch the sunrise.
I miss them.
I really do.
Dan and I lay in silence for who knows how long, even when the sun is quite high up and the colours of the night are only somewhat visible. I might even fall asleep, it's so peaceful. Just me, and Dan, calmly watching the sunrise, waiting for a massive day to come, just waiting for those around us to come but for now it's a peaceful and sunny day-
"Alright, what are you two doing now?"
I yelp in surprise and sit straight up, and it appears Dan had the same knee-jerk reaction.
"Justin! You scared the crap out of us!"
"Well how the hell am I supposed to walk in on you two zoned out and get your attention and not scare the crap out of you?!"
I hear James laugh in the background.
"Alright alright! We were just watching the sunset, alright?"
"Why were both of you awake?!"
I say 'Nightmares!' at the same time as Dan says 'I didn't sleep at all!'. Great.
"OH COME ON!"
Everyone in the vicinity chuckles and we both dust ourselves off.
"So, we're going out today, huh?" James asks.
"Yep! Hopefully it's the last time we'll need to head out. We've got a lot of sources, but just to be safe. The magic wears off after a while, after all." Dan says.
"Well I'm staying back, you know how badly that went last time. Good luck, you two- wait no, THREE!"
"Thanks Think, very cool." I say, sarcastically. Justin rapidly apologises as James and Dan giggle to themselves in the background. I forgive him, obviously.
Once we've all calmed down, Dan and James pack up to leave, and I help as well. Dan keeps mentioning all these technical names and objects for things, and James and I are just nodding along. At some point we make eye contact and we both exchange glances, trying not to burst out into laughter. Dan doesn't notice.
Sooner or later, we finish packing up and get ready to head outside for what, the second time? Great.
As we're on our way out, I take a few deep breaths to steel my nerves. Trayaurus grunts something at me. I look at them. There's not gonna be any context clues from Dan, so I just have to wing it.
"Uh, thanks, you too."
Trayaurus blinks, puzzled, before grunting again.
"Y-yeah, that's what I said."
We both look at each other, confused, before they gain this look of realisation. I believe we just had a very awkward conversation. Whoops.
The balloon of awkwardness in the lab is breakable with a pin.
I look over to James and Dan for some help. James looks just as confused as I do, and Dan is currently showing a mix of surprise, concern and confusion.
"I have several questions." Me too, Dan.
"Let's decipher that...later." I say, trying to cover ourselves up.
"Let's."
And so with that lovely final encounter, we head out to the open forest.
I'm not sure what it is about today, but it feels a lot less menacing than every other time I've been in this forest. Is it the comfort of having a plan with two people who'd protect me? Is it the sun, shining down clear as day on us? Who knows, honestly. I sure don't.
It's reasonably 'normal' for a while. Dan is rambling about the progress of the experiment so far in great detail, and James and I are just walking beside him. There's no sign of any magic, really, so I don't see the point in walking outside. They've gone out far enough, haven't they? So why are we bothering with this now?
...I think it's purely a ploy to calm me down about Sam and get him off of my head for now. I would appreciate that, and it explains while Dan is being so open. And loud.
Things take a turn when James flicks his head around all of a sudden. Dan doesn't notice, lost in his thoughts, so I give James a look of concern. He gives me a look that I can only describe as 'a mouse when they know they are about to be caught in a cat's mouth, but can't do anything to stop it.'
Oh no.
Dan seems to notice us both looking nervous (finally) and asks us if we're alright.
"No, and you should know why." I say.
"Yes, you should know why..." comes a familiar voice in front of me.
My instincts clash and I pull out my sword and rush behind Dan, which was not what I intended to do but either way, I did it. Fight or flight, am I right?
"Don't worry, Gri, it'll be fine." Dan reassures me before putting on his brave face at the bunny-eared monster standing in front of us.
"SamGladiator."
Sam completely ignores Dan's comment and looks at me.
"Look at you, hiding behind those who you think will protect you, when last time you didn't hesitate to attack me when I wanted forgiveness!"
I open my mouth to say something, but a squeak comes out and Dan jumps in.
"That was Think, and Grian didn't have a say in that. Apologies for his actions, he's a bit rash, don't you know?"
"I do know in fact, and I don't like it!" He says. James mutters something, and Sam whips around to face him. "I am NOT CHILDISH!"
"Geez, I was just saying! After all, this is quite a...gri-vous situation. Ah? Ah?" I cannot verbally express how much I hate and love that.
"James, I appreciate you and your attempt to lighten the mood, but this is not the time for puns." Dan tells James while keeping his eyes on Sam.
"We all appreciate a good pun." I say.
"HEY! BACK TO THE POINT!" Sam shouts, which makes me jump and drop my sword. "You!" He points at me, with a trembling finger, and I step back, as do the other two. "You betrayed me! I wanted forgiveness, and you didn't even bother to help me when I was being RUDELY attacked by that old guy!"
"Well yeah, I was scared! Of course I was! And why-"
I am cut off by Sam throwing his knife at me, I squeak like a gosh darn mouse and duck under the weapon. It lands on a tree some distance behind us.
"Alright, no need for violence!" Dan shouts, and he reaches into his jacket.
Sam ignores Dan, instead lunging forward and ramming himself into me, and I land square on my back. I feel a dull pain in my spine, but that's the least of my worries as he grabs my sword and puts it up to my neck.
"And now, I'll make sure you'll never leave me again!"
I try to scream, but all the air has been knocked out of my lungs by the throw onto the floor.
I don't want this to be it! I don't know Dan's world's rule with respawn, but with Sam on my chest, suffocating me, it's bound to be permadeath. He's from a permadeath world after all! God, I'm terrified. I want to go back to everyone, tell the, that I'm okay, continue Hermitcraft, yet this insane murderer who traumatised me years ago is instead on my chest, sword up to my neck, edging ever closer, threatening pain and suffering, and-
"Alright, that's enough." I hear James' voice ring out, and he sounds more commanding than I've heard him yet. He grabs Sam by the shoulder and throws him across the clearing, and he lands right beside the tree his knife is in.
"See! I told you you're too aggressive, and-"
"Uh uh uh. You're the one who started it this time." Dan interrupts. "And actually, we offer a peace offering."
A peace offering? Really?
"Yes Grian, I know that sounds absurd." Dan looks at me knowingly. I must've shown my thoughts on my face. "But it's not gonna be a whole 'oh, you have to make up' kind of thing, cause I know that never works. Rather just...like, can you two at least leave on neutral terms, rather than one person trying to kill the other each time?"
Alright, he's got a fair point. And I'd prefer to not have that thought in the back of my head, telling me he's going to kill me at some point, and that it's my fault. Maybe I wouldn't feel hunted all the time.
"A bit unconventional but...sure." I respond. Dan nods and looks over to Sam.
"Uh-uh-uh! No way! I'm not letting him get away with this! He either comes with me or-"
"You leave him alone?" Dan's starting to get annoyed now, and he puts his hand on his hip. "So if you're not going to leave on neutral terms where you don't have to worry about each other anymore, so be it. Rather, you could make an agreement where you never bother each other again. Never see each other again. Would that do?"
Sam still looks annoyed.
"No!"
"I will keep putting options on the table which doesn't hurt anyone here, so I want you to accept one, at least."
"...Fine! We'll never see each other again! Maybe I can have his worthless ass off of me!"
"...Yeah, I'd prefer to never interact with you, like, ever." I say. Sam shoots me a death glare.
"Well then, we can start that now, can't we? You can leave now, Sam. Oh and by the way..." Dan goes up and takes the knife out of the tree. "Just in case."
Sam huffs and gets ready to storm off, but I remember something.
"By the way, can I have my communicator back? So I can get home?" I call out.
Sam looks at me.
"FINE!"
He then pulls out my communicator and stamps on it, rendering it useless, before throwing it at my feet. He spits at the floor and leaves in a flourish.
I exhale a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Finally, that abusive harasser is gone." I say. Finally he'll leave me alone, and I hopefully will not need to worry about him anymore. And he hasn't got his dear weapon, so maybe, just maybe, I'll catch a break from the trauma.
Finally, I'm free from SamGladiator's grasp!
I don't realise it but I find myself hugging Dan and James.
"Thanks so much, I...I really appreciate it! You've all been so nice and kind and...I can't wait to get home!" Now I just need to check my communicator and text the hermits to say I'm okay-
"Yeah, but first we're going to have to repair your communicator."
I look down at my feet to see the smashed device. I pick it up, and it's lighter than usual. The screen is destroyed and half the buttons are gone or cracked.
"Right...this thing is broken...what are we going to do now?"
"It might still be usable, hold on!" Dan takes it from me and attempts to turn it on. I can hear a massive ZZT! from the device, and Dan shudders a bit.
"Nope, won't turn on." He says, in the exact same voice as before.
"I'm sorry Dan did you just get electrocuted?" I ask.
"Just a small little shock, I'm fine!" He smiles. No, that's not fine.
"You could say he's....electric." James does finger guns at us. Dan facepalms.
"Why so many puns, recently?" he asks.
"I make puns when I'm concerned."
"Understandable."
"Either way, we should start heading back. That was a lot of action for one day, agreed?" Dan says, and doesn't wait for a response as he begins walking, and me and James walk alongside.
Yep, this was definitely a ploy to find Sam and get this part of my life done and dealt with.
"Yeah, why not?" I respond anyways. "But my communicator is in bad shape, so I think I'll be stuck with you guys a little longer. Not a bad thing, I just miss my friends." I say, and then clarify. Dan laughs.
"Don't worry about it! There's actually this town nearby. Well, by nearby, I mean an hour away by powered minecart, but there's a station and a village around 15 minutes away from the lab." Dan points in the general direction of this town. "There's a lot of people there, it's quite populated. Thing is, it's like the epicentre of all the places around these parts. You have something formal to do? You go there. You have to meet up with someone across the world? You go there. When you need help with transferring worlds, you go there." He then points to my communicator. "And when you need to repair a communicator? You go there."
"Sounds good! How often do the trains there leave?" I ask. "Or can we just fly there? You know, using elytra. Might be faster."
"Oh, no one really uses elytra around these parts." James mentions. "Good thing too, basically no one in the lab can fly."
"I mean...I can teach you!" I offer. Dan politely declines, something along the lines of 'I appreciate it, but I doubt I'll need it any time soon.' Which honestly? Fair enough.
"Anyways, the trains leave every week. There's another....in 5 days? Ish?"
"Well, that's quite a way away, isn't it?" James comments
"Yep...either way, you'll be getting home soon!" Dan smiles at me, and I beam at him back.
It's still a while, but it gives me hope. I'll be home soon.
"That town is quite the place. I actually used to live there, when I was a teen, but I don't really think about it much. It's very futuristic, though, and..."
Dan begins to ramble again, and I'm not really thinking about it. Instead, I'm thinking of the hermits, and how much I miss them. I can't wait to see them all, Doc, Cub, Zed, Hypno, Iskall, Stress, Scar, Mumbo....all of the hermits! I can't wait to see them all again.
My eyes go to a glowing purple flower, in the midst of the green.
"Hey, Dan! There's a flower there that looks like it's related to the experiment you're doing!"
"Oh? Perfect!" We all go up to the flower, and Dan is about to pick it out of the ground when I notice something.
"Wait, Dan, can I see that leaf, quickly?"
"Alright, but make it fast! Last time I stalled, the magic faded, you see."
I get a closer look at the leaf of the flower. There appears to be a symbol made in the veins. A broken nether portal.
Oh. Oh no.
Why is my past coming back to haunt me all of a sudden?!
"That's the symbol of the watchers..."
~~~~~~~
A/N
Me: *takes a month to write a 1000 word chapter*
Also me: *takes less than a day to write a 3000 word chapter*
Whew, this is the longest chapter yet! What gave me the motivation to finish this? I have no clue!
Also, the reason why James makes so many puns in this chapter is because I watched James's (incredibly cursed) Gacha video today. Go watch it. This is a threat.
Thanks for reading!
- YanDan