Hermitcraft season eight.
Hels was more than excited, the potential for chaos and destruction was endless! He had big plans, ideas on how to get rid of that idiot Wels and the rest of the server brewing in his mind. For the time being, however, he needed to lay low. If that admin knew of his existence, everything would be useless. Although, Hels wasn't too worried. After all, Xisuma was quite gullible.
For the time being, he was resting in a taiga village. It was cold, which he hated, but he knew that Wels wouldn't look for him here. Hels had stolen a bed from one of the villagers, the knight staring up at the ceiling in boredom. He knew that he needed to wait, but it was boring. Hels really wanted to blow something up, or at the very least, set something aflame.
"I have some villagers that I haven't moved to my trading hall yet, they're right over here, you can trade with as many as you need!"
Hels fell out of his bed in shock, startled by the nearby voice. It was one of the hermits, the knight unable to recognize his voice. But by the sound of things, there was someone else with them. He didn't want to get caught, so Hels laid on the wooden floor, completely still.
"I won't take that long. Thanks again, G!" The other voice said, before the sound of fireworks echoed through the forest, one of them had flown off.
Hels pulled out his iron sword, most of the idiots on the server weren't good at PVP, so chances were, he could take at least one of them. He glanced through the window, raising an eyebrow at the hermit he had spotted.
It was a tall man, his chocolate-brown eyes being the first thing that Hels was drawn towards. There was something different about him, something that Hels couldn't seem to explain. His hair and mustache were well-groomed, which the knight couldn't help but admire.
The hermit made Hels feel.. odd. Like his cheeks were set aflame, something that the knight didn't understand. Why did his stomach feel sick when studying the man? Hels was mostly made up of anger and negative feelings, making other emotions harder for the alter to understand.
The sunlight glimmered in the mustached hermit's eyes, revealing specks of yellow and gold that were previously hidden. He watched the man take off his suit coat and roll up his sleeves, despite the cold.
He dropped the suit coat to the ground before heading down to the villager trading area, causing the knight to miss the golden gleam in the man's eyes.
When he was out of sight, Hels pushed open the door, sneaking out of the house. He wanted a closer look to help him understand the strange emotions he was feeling.
Hels managed to snatch the suit coat that the man had been wearing, hiding behind one of the houses to study the coat. The knight dug through the pockets, pulling out a circular disk with a small screen on it, one of the communicators that the hermits use. He turned on the device, which flashed a welcome message on the screen.
<Welcome back, Mumbo>
'Mumbo..' Hels thought, admiring the name. It had a nice ring to it. The knight like it, which made him want to learn more about the mustached hermit. He was unsure about his odd new feelings, but Hels wanted to see where these new emotions led him.
"Wels? Is that you?" A British voice spoke up, causing Hels to clutch the suit coat a bit tighter, his face heating up. He quickly turned around, hiding the coat behind his back.
"Uh, y-yeah. Good to see you, Mumbo.." The knight said, clearing his throat to sound like Wels. The Brit smiled at him.
"Oh, did you change your armor? I like the dark color." He smiled, noticing that Hels was holding his coat behind his back.
"Sorry, could I get my coat back from you? I need to get back to my base." Mumbo asked, Hels reluctantly returning it to the Redstoner.
As he turned to leave, Hels slowly followed close behind. After walking through the forest for a couple moments, Mumbo could hear the footsteps behind him. He looked to Hels, who was following close behind.
"Oh, are you coming to the boatem village?" He asked, the knight nodding.
"Uh, sure." Hels said casually, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. He wasn't sure what a 'boatem' was, but if it meant being around Mumbo, he was fine with it.
As they reached the grassy plains in the hermit neighborhood, a figure stepped out of the portal, holding a block of diamonds. Wels was excited for Tegg, he wasn't around for either of the tag games, so he thought it would be fun to join.
He looked to the nearby taiga forest, Mumbo and another figure walking towards the village. Wels paused, narrowing his eyes at the figure next to the Redstoner.
"Oh no," the knight said, dropping the Diamond block while drawing his sword, running after Hels.
When the alter spotted the knight coming towards him, he drew his iron sword, holding the blade to Mumbo's neck. "Stay back.." Hels growled, Wels biting the bottom of his lip.
"It's going to be okay, Mumbo." The knight assured his fellow hermit, before turning back to his evil alter. "What do you want, Hels?"
"I want to leave. Unharmed. With Mumbo."
"W-why would you-"
"Drop your sword." Hels demanded while moving the blade closer to Mumbo's throat, the knight grumbling underneath his breath as he dropped his sword, which landed into the grass with a light thud.
The alter quickly snatched Wels' blade, pointing it at the knight, while holding tight to Mumbo's hand. The knight narrowed his eyes as the evil alter, who only grinned. The Redstoner's eyes begged for help, but Wels couldn't do anything.
"We're leaving now," Hels growled, "and if you or Xisuma follow, you'll regret it."
The evil knight slammed the side of the sword against Mumbo's head, which caused the Brit to tumble right into Hels' arms, the mustached hermit fading in and out of consciousness from the impact of the sword.
Hels carried the Redstoner past Wels, shooting him one last threatening glare before disappearing through the nether portal. When he was gone, the knight pulled out his axe to race after the two. If he could sneak up on Hels, Wels could get Mumbo back safely.
When Wels reappeared in the nether, any sign of Mumbo and Hels was gone, the two vanishing without a trace.
-
Mumbo woke up to the distant sound of arguing.
"Why would you bring him here?! Are you INSANE?!" A strangely familiar voice screamed at another, they almost sounded like Xisuma.
"Of course I'm insane! You are too! But Mumbo isn't like the other hermits, I'm keeping him here!"
"Hels, this is crazy! I'm trying not to get banned this season, and you drag me to the nether, where you have an unconscious hermit tied up! Xisuma is gonna kill me if he finds out!"
"Come on, Ex. Can't you just mess with Xisuma's admin commands or something? Just something that will prevent him from finding Mumbo and I."
The Brit groaned lightly, unable to form words due to the pounding in his head. The heat was unbearable, especially in his suit, but Mumbo couldn't seem to move. He was tied up, preventing the Redstoner from escaping.
"Just take care of it, I think Mumbo is up." Hels said, the evil knight opening the door, light beginning to fill the pitch-black room.
It took a moment for the Brit's eyes to adjust to the light, but he could clearly see the evil copy of Wels, alongside another figure. He looked identical to Xisuma, but in red.
"Xi.Xisuma....ple-please, help me...." Mumbo begged, his voice stained as painful tears ran down his face. He was terrified, the redstoner unsure if he would make it out alive.
Hels chuckled with a villainous grin. "Don't worry, Mumbo, you're not in any danger."
The evil knight pulled out Wels' sword, slicing through the ropes that held Mumbo. The moment he was free, the Redstoner bolted towards the door. He was tired with barely energy, but the Brit was fueled by fear and the need to escape this horrible nightmare.
He shoved past Hels, bolting out of the dark room that he had been held prisoner in, Mumbo running through the unfinished interior of the alter's nether base. The Brit ran to the front door, tugging desperately on the doorknob, which wouldn't budge.
"Leaving already? Why don't you stay a little longer? No one knows where you are, anyway." Hels laughed, amused at Mumbo's behavior. He found the Brit's stupidity adorable.
"L-let me go h-home.." Mumbo begged weakly, his back pressed against the door, the mustached hermit keeping himself as far from Hels as he could. The knight smiled leaning in closer, which only made Mumbo more afraid.
"That's not how this works. You don't get to leave me." He grinned, before planting a kiss onto Mumbo's neck. It felt like the redstoner was being burned, which made him let out a yelp in shock.
"Hels, this isn't the best ide-"
"Shut up!" He snapped at the admin's brother. "Just make sure Xisuma can't track us. That's all I need."
Ex rolled his eyes, but he nodded regardless. Hels grinned, turning back to Mumbo, holding the blade to his neck. "Now, let's get you back to your room. I don't want you getting away from me."
Hels forced Mumbo back into the Brit's bedroom, barely any light, with a worn bed in the corner. That made the redstoner want to cry, he missed his own bed, his home, his friends.
"Now, you need to learn a lesson. I can't have you running away, now can I?" Hels said, grabbing Mumbo's wrist and rolling up his sleeves.
"W-what are you-"
Before Mumbo could finish speaking, Hels cut through his arm using Wels' sword, slicing a deep wound in his arm. The Brit tried to pull away, blood rushing down his arm, but Hels wouldn't let him go. The evil alter continuing to drag the blade across the Redstoner's arm until he had sliced a heart-shaped.
"Let that be a reminder." He said, gently kissing Mumbo on his neck. "No one is going to save you, and if you keep trying to run, things will only get worse for you. I won't be as nice next time you misbehave."
As the knight let go, Mumbo stumbled backwards, his hand clutching the bleeding cut to prevent his blood from spilling out.
"Just give it a little time. You'll get used to this, I know you will." Hels said as he left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him, leaving Mumbo in total darkness.
The Redstoner crawled into his bed, ripping off a strip of his suit coat. Mumbo flinched as he tied the strip of fabric around his wound, preventing him from bleeding out.
'Maybe I should just go along with this,' Mumbo thought as he stared up at the ceiling, his eyelids beginning to fall heavy. 'Xisuma will save me soon, someone will, at least. I'll just listen to Hels for a couple days until someone finds me..'
He just hoped that someone would find him soon.
-
A few days turned into a few weeks, which then turned into a few months. The days morphed together, to the point where Mumbo couldn't tell how much time had passed. Had no one noticed his absence? Was he just that useless to the hermits?
Mumbo didn't feel like himself anymore, he felt like something that Hels had created. He laid in bed, staying quiet as the knight stroked his hand through the Brit's hair.
Scars and old cuts littered Mumbo's face and arms, hints of dried blood staining his clothes. The redstoner was used to it at this point.
Hels noticed something was off, Mumbo was much quieter than normal, causing the knight to frown. "What's wrong? You haven't said a word all night."
"I'm lonely.." Mumbo said quietly, his voice shaking. He knew that Hels wouldn't be happy with that answer, so the Brit was expecting some kind of punishment from the knight.
"Don't say you're lonely, you have me!" Hels frowned, twirling a bit of Mumbo's hair around his finger. The mustached hermit shut his eyes, sighing quietly.
"I-I know..I just..am I useless?" Mumbo asked Hels, sitting up while pulling his knees to his chest. "Do the hermits..hate me? Xisuma should have come for me by now.."
"You're useless to them, but you're perfect to me." Hels said, kissing Mumbo's neck. He was much more affectionate than he seemed, but the Brit didn't mind. The knight was the only person who loved Mumbo, while everyone else didn't seem to care.
"Just forget about them, alright? Our love comes first. Everything else is secondary, including all those useless hermits."
Mumbo nodded. "Of course," he said, leaning his head against Hels' shoulder. The knight chuckled underneath his breath, kissing the hermit's forehead.
"Come on," Hels said, standing up and walking over to the bedroom door. "Let's make some dinner, that'll take your mind off things."
The Brit followed Hels out into the kitchen, he and the knight had built a home together in the nether. It was comfortable once Mumbo got used to it, despite the fact that he almost never left his bedroom.
"Hm, we're running low on food." Hels grumbled as he searched through a few chests, pulling out some carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. "Start chopping these up, rabbit stew seems like the best option for dinner. How does that sound?"
"Perfect." Mumbo smiled weakly, his eyes dull and tired, they had lost the shimmer of yellow that Hels had first fallen in love with.
"I'll go see if we have anything else in the storage room." Hels said, leaving Mumbo to begin cooking. He did exactly as the knight ordered, chopping the vegetables into small pieces for the stew.
A knock at the door caused Mumbo to pause, glancing up from his work. 'Is Ex visiting?' The Brit thought as he set down the knife, opening the front door to let the other alter inside.
"Hello, Ex. Hels didn't tell me that you were visiting." Mumbo smiled at the admin's brother, but the scowl across the evil hermits face never faded.
"That's because I didn't tell him. Would you mind if a few friends and I come inside?"
"I'll go ask Hels-"
Before Mumbo could finish speaking, Ex turned around, nodding at someone behind him. Xisuma had been hiding behind some netherrack, his eyes widening at the sight of the long-lost redstoner.
Mumbo was incredibly skinny, as if he had barely eaten a thing. His hair had grown out, which had been tied back into a bun. Xisuma could see the lack of feeling and emotion in his eyes. He wore a white tank top due to the heat, which exposed all the scars along the Brit's arms.
The mustached hermit looked from Xisuma, then back to Ex. "What is he doing here? I thought only you and Hels knew about our home."
"We're getting you out of here." Ex said with a roll of his eyes. "Xisuma found out that I messed with his admin gear, and now he's making me help rescue you, or else I'm going to be banned again.."
"Rescue?" Mumbo laughed, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't need rescuing. I'm perfectly fine here."
Xisuma shoved past his brother. "W-what? Mumbo, Wels told me you were kidnapped! We've been looking for you ever since you disappeared! We thought that Hels was torturing you!"
"I-"
"What the hell is going on?!" Hels yelled, Mumbo quickly turning around in shock.
"H-Hels, they just showed up! I s-swear!" Mumbo stuttered, his eyes clearly begging for mercy. The knight growled underneath his breath, narrowing his eyes at the redstoner.
"Go back to your room, Mumbo. I'll take care of these two."
Mumbo nodded obediently, quickly scurrying back to his room. Xisuma pulled out his sword, the admin's eyes burning with anger.
"I would ban you, but after what you've done to him, I want to make sure you suffer." Xisuma growled, his normally kind and joyful voice filled with rage. Hels only smiled.
"I've only loved him, and I've taught him the uselessness of everyone except me. Even if you 'save him', he'll come crawling back."
That made Xisuma snap, the admin running towards Hels without a second thought. He raised his sword to attack, but the evil alter moved quicker, pulling out his own blade before shoving it through Xisuma's chest.
"You hermits are so stupid." Hels grinned as Xisuma's sword fell from his hands, rattling against the ground. The knight pulled his sword out of the admin's chest, which caused Xisuma to tumble to the ground, blood rolling down his purple armor.
"How did you not expect that? For being the admin of the server, you sure are dumb!" Hels laughed, Ex slowly backing away to try and get help.
"And don't think I forgot about you, Ex." The knight called, pointing the tip of his sword right over Ex's heart. "You brought him here, you traitor."
"I had to, or else X would ban me!"
"Well then, you chose death over being banned." He growled, shoving the sword right through Ex's heart. As Hels pulled out the sword from the evil hermit's chest, Ex tumbled to the ground, lifeless.
Mumbo slightly opened his bedroom door, staring at his boyfriend, who was covered in blood. He smiled like it was nothing.
"So," Hels said, shoving the sword through Xisuma's back as he noticed that the admin was still breathing, "shall we finish making dinner?"
The knight frowned as he noticed the tears forming in Mumbo's eyes. "Aw, you don't have to cry anymore. I took care of the bad guys, isn't that great? They can't hurt you anymore."
Mumbo nodded slowly, Hels walking over and pulling him into a hug. "I'd burn the world for you, Mumbo." He said, kissing the Brit's neck. "You're my everything, so for you, I'd destroy everything."
That made the redstoner smile, a familiar spark of yellow returning to Mumbo's eyes as he nodded. "Alright," he said calmly, "let's finish making dinner."
The two cooked with one another, as if nothing was wrong, as if there weren't two bodies laying lifeless on their floor, as if they weren't stained in blood, as if everything was fine.
The two were happy. Bloodstained, insane, tortured, abandoned, but happy nonetheless.
-
Special thank you to both MayaTheWatcher and ThomasOllerenshaw for helping me out with this!
(I think I'm in love with this ship after writing this)