Word count: 1551 words
Trigger warnings: none
Enjoy!
—
Xisuma hummed to himself, the admin's eyelids slowly beginning to fall as the moon gleamed in the sky above him. It was a quiet night, and the Brit was relieved that his long day of work was about to end. The man in purple armor let a yawn slip from between his lips, it was late at night, no one else on the server was awake. X was used to sleepless nights of work, but he was so close to finishing debugging the server, meaning he could get a few moments of rest before the next day of work began.
"My word.." he yawned as he spoke, X seated on the hillside of his honey shop. A bright purple screen was in front of him, all the player files and game code right before his tired eyes. The Brit chuckled with a tired voice as he stood up, stretching a bit. "I don't think I've ever been this tired before. Maybe I should take a few days off of work."
Xisuma sat back down, cracking his knuckles as he got back to typing away at his screen. The code was beginning to turn sloppy as he wrote, the admin much too tired to correct the errors in his work. His eyelids began to fall heavy as he finished typing, X letting out a content sigh. "Finally I can get some rest." He mumbled quietly, taking one final scroll through the lists of players on the server, making sure everything was in order.
"Hm..?" Xisuma's interest peaked as he spotted a spot of glitching text, the red glow of the code catching his eye. The admin reached out to touch the purple screen, red sparks shooting out from the screen and blasting him backwards.
"Ugh.." he groaned while rubbing the side of his helmet, the admin glancing towards the floating screen that began to glitch. The purple screen began to change color, the corrupted red code spreading through the player files, transforming the purple lines of code into a corrupted string of jumbled words and letters.
"N-no!" Xisuma said as he tried to reach for the screen, attempting to stop the glitching screen that continued to alter the players code. The screen continued to malfunction, and before Xisuma could stop it, the device exploded, sending a wave of energy that knocked the admin off his feet, the shockwave blasting through the server.
Xisuma could feel his mind changing, everything in his code was shifting and transforming into something entirely new. The pain was excruciating, the admin screaming out as he fell to his knees, his thoughts and mind beginning to fail him.
The admin shut his eyes, drowsiness taking over his mind, Xisuma unable to resist as his code was entirely destroyed before being rebuilt all over again.
Little did he know that he wasn't the only one being changed.
—
[ How much longer, Ex? ] A robotic voice complained to another, the man wearing red and grey armor groaning at the NPC's constant questioning. He set down a shulkerbox while wiping the sweat from his brow, the evil hermit's helmet was resting on NPG's lap. Ex didn't hide his face too often, he wasn't as scared or anxious as his brother was.
"I haven't made much progress from when you asked five minutes ago." He snapped harshly, the evil hermit working on the interior of a small rustic house that the two would share. NPG built the outside, but he wasn't programmed to build interiors, so Ex took over the construction of their new home.
Ex grumbled to himself while he rummaged through an old chest, searching for a few spare bits of food. Unlike the hermits, he and NPG didn't have very much, the two hiding a safe distance away from the other players. The admin's brother looked up from the chest, spotting the robotic copy of Grian putting on his helmet. He scoffed as he stood up, Ex walking over and carelessly ripping the helmet off the robot.
"Don't touch my stuff." He growled defensively, despite barely caring about the helmet. It made him feel more like Xisuma, which Ex hated. The robot mumbled a weak apology as he looked to the ground, Ex rolling his eyes as he glanced towards the forest that was a short walk away from their home.
A red wave of energy blasted through the trees, it seemed to move through the blocks without destroying anything, but Ex could tell that it wasn't natural. "Inside! Now!" He snapped at the robot, grabbing NPG's wrist and pulling them inside. He slammed the door shut, Ex quickly moving towards the window as he watched the wave of energy approach their rustic home.
Ex took a few steps backwards from the window as the shockwave of energy blasted through the wall, knocking the admin's twin to the ground. NPG stood as if nothing had happened, the strange energy ineffective to the robot. The copy of Grian ran over to the player who was fighting for consciousness, Ex groaning weakly in pain as he lay still on the wooden floor of the rustic house.
[ Ex? What was that? Are you okay? ] NPG asked question after question, Ex unresponsive to everything that the robotic clone asked. It was like he was in a daze of sorts, his eyelids beginning to turn heavy as drowsiness numbed his mind and body.
[ Ex? Ex! Don't go to sleep! Wake up, wake up...! ] NPG urged the evil counterpart, but his voice sounded so distant and quiet. He didn't want to listen, Ex wanted to give into the smothering feeling of exhaustion and drowsiness, it felt like he had no choice but to let himself slip into a state of dreaming and calm.
Ex allowed his eyes to slowly close, his thoughts slowed as he drifted off to sleep.
—
"Oh geez.." Ex groaned with a weak voice, the Brit sitting up in the bed that he had been sleeping in. He couldn't remember what happened last, everything was a fuzzy blur. The evil counterpart rubbed the side of his aching head as he slowly examined his surroundings, it looked like a small rustic bedroom.
The doorknob turned and the door was opened, NPG entering the room with an armful of supplies. His eyes widened as he noticed that Ex was awake, a smile spreading across the robot's face. [ You're up! ] He tried his best to speak happily, but NPG's voice was robotic and unable to speak with emotion.
"Yeah...what exactly happened...? I don't remember getting into bed.." Ex said as his eyes were drawn to the bedside table, his helmet untouched while it collected dust on the nightstand. The evil hermit reached for his helmet, brushing off a bit of dirt and dust that had stained his headgear, before he placed it over his head.
[ You... you passed out when a wave of energy ran through our house.. I carried you into your bedroom so you wouldn't wake up on the floor. You've been asleep for a couple hours, I was starting to worry. ] NPG retold the story, the bot confused as he studied Ex. The copy of Grian almost never saw Ex wearing his helmet, the evil hermit only wore it when he went into battle.
"Aw geez, sorry I worried ya. I'm such a derp sometimes." Ex apologized, his normally harsh and cruel voice was replaced with a softer and kind tone as he spoke. His apology sounded truly genuine, which is what made NPG even more suspicious that something was amiss.
[ Are you feeling alright? ] NPG asked as Ex pulled himself out of his bed, the Brit nodding his head.
"Yeah, I feel much better now. I don't know what happened, but when that energy hit me, I couldn't stop myself from blacking out..I just felt so weak." Ex explained as he rubbed the side of his helmet, NPG folding his arms with a frown across his face.
[ You apologized to me, you're wearing your helmet, and now you're admitting to feeling weak? Ex, I don't think you're acting like yourself. ] The robotic clone explained, Ex shaking his head with a reassuring smile.
"Nono, I feel fine! You don't need to worry about me." Ex said happily to try and calm NPG's nerves, which only made the robot feel even worse.
[ You're acting like your brother! ] He snapped, Ex slightly laughing at what he thought to be a joke.
"Have you ever met my brother? He's nothing like me. He's evil, and cruel, and he's always banning us while he tries to destroy the server. I don't think I'm acting like him." Ex continued to chuckle as he ruffled NPG's fluffy dirty blonde hair, the British hermit whistling to himself as he left the bedroom, NPG standing confused and speechless.
[ Something isn't right.. ] NPG mumbled to himself, the robot stumped on why Ex could be acting so cheerful and happy. The copy of Grian pulled out an old communicator, he had stolen it from Grian during the beginning of the season. NPG scrolled through the names of the hermits, stopping as he spotted the admin's name.
[ Hopefully Xisuma knows what's wrong...I don't want Ex acting like this forever... ]