Grian materialized somewhere in the prime admin grounds and ripped the rest of his watcher mask off his face. The disguise faded away for the last time, and Grian was left in his white robes again.
Grian set to work unbinding Mumbo's corpse's chains. He had no more tears to cry. Just dry sobs and crushed dreams. As Grian lay his head on Mumbo's still chest, saying a final goodbye, Grian heard something impossible.
But there it was again, like a low drum. Mumbo was alive! Grian grabbed the redstonist and slung him over his shoulders as he ran towards the main entrance of the HQ building. Grian barely remembered to pull his hood down as he rocketed through the hallways, using the last of his prime magic in the process.
"M-Mumbo Jumbo," Grian was completely out of breath. "D-do s-something." Grian gulped for air as he lay Mumbo on a white hospital cot. The nurse immediately began pouring various liquids down the hermit's throat.
Grian refused to leave his friend's side all through the night, and when morning came Grian took out redstone volumes and began reading them aloud at Mumbo's bedside. It greatly amused the nurses when they watched the indomitable, cold Prime 1 quietly reading stories aloud to an injured civilian.
It was evening when Grian and Mumbo received their first visitor.
"Ahh... Pearl." Grian spoke the name as though there was a sour taste on his tongue.
"Don't give me that, Xel!" Pearl crossed her arms. "Look... I'm not going to interrogate you. I know some things... are maybe hard for you to talk about. But can I least ask why I found your name on the hospital check-in list next to a Mumumbo Jajumbo this afternoon?" Pearl jibed. Grian exhaled, relieved.
"It didn't take long to get all the information I needed to... on the second day they held a meeting and brought Mumbo in. They had captured him in 1. I brought him back here to be treated." Grian's eyes shifted around the room. Pearl's own eyes narrowed.
"How did you take him back here without getting caught?" Pearl asked.
"I... er-" Grian winced, "well, I was sorta caught..." Grian looked down at the floor.
"What did you do, Xel?" Pearl's tone was threatening. Grian's shoulders slumped.
"I killed every single watcher at the meeting and revealed my watcher identity to the head watcher and by default Herobrine's descendant. I also kinda wrecked the entire throne room." Grian exhaled. Pearl's eyes widened to a comic degree and she slapped her hands over her mouth.
"Xelqua!" Pearl's voice was muffled.
"Okay, okay!" Grian tched. "I know it's not ideal, but I saved Mumbo, didn't I?" The weight of Grian's actions had suddenly crashed down on him. He had sacrificed all his years of careful planning and secrecy in the span of five minutes to save Mumbo.
What if someone even more precious to him was taken? Grian couldn't think of anyone, but when he imagined Pearl, Gem, Xisuma, and even False in Mumbo's place he knew he wouldn't have acted any differently. Why did he have to love anybody? It made things so much more complicated.
"Xelqua..." Pearl was still processing Grian's admission. "Xelqua..." Pearl moaned.
"Enough, Pearl." Grian snapped, "I was rash, and I made poor decisions. Nothing can be done now." Grian exhaled slowly. "Now, do you need me for something or is this purely a visitation?"
"Xelqua, of course I need you! There hasn't been a time during our primeship that I haven't needed you! There's a reason for two primes, Xel. We have to address everyone together, we're supposed to make decisions together, and now that the watchers have risen we are supposed to battle together! Not just me!"
"Okay, first of course I'll battle with you. And second, you were the one who suggested me going to live in Hermitcraft! So don't give me that!" Grian pouted.
"Fair," Pearl admitted. "But right now at the very least, you are going to come up to the battle rooms with the level nine admins and plan to battle! Mumbo won't recover any faster whether or not you're here." Pearl raised her eyebrows.
"I mean... he kind of will-"
"XELQUA. You are NOT using up your prime magic to heal him faster!" Pearl's cheeks flamed.
"Sorry..." Grian hung his head. Just then a nurse entered the room with another potion, and Pearl whisked Grian out into the hallways.
"Let's go. Not another word." Pearl felt like she was back in the prime meeting room when Xelqua's alias, Grian, had attended meetings. It was like dealing with a full-grown toddler 24/7. Except for a super powerful one with so many secrets, nobody knew who he really was under the hundred masks.
"Hey, Pearl! Hey Gr- Prime 1." Xisuma called when the two primes stepped into the room. Grian rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Void." Grian acknowledged Xisuma with a flick. Many were surprised that the prime had even spoken a word, let alone to a singular lowly admin. And... he wasn't using a voice changer.
"Our level nine admins... Techno Blade. False Symmetry. Halow Badd. Xisuma Void. Fale Whip. Dream. Small Beans. And our newest level nine... Lizzie Shadow." Pearl read off the level nine list. Mostly for Grian's benefit. "And we're joined by six high-tier eights. Myth Sausage. George Notfound. Shubble Yuti. Joey Grace. Scott Smajor. Katherine Elizabeth." Pearl finished.
"We need a battle plan. So far the watchers have come to us. But this time we're going to go to them." Grian grinned. The admins were finding it hard to adjust to Prime 1 being the prime taking initiative.
"Does anyone have any ideas for battle strategy?" Pearl spoke up. Grian whispered something in galactic to make Pearl shut up. All prime admins knew galactic - the language of magic was a basic requirement in ancient primal spells. Fortunately for the primes, very few average admins could speak it.
"We could bring all the level fours and ups and take us around the back way. If we put the lowest levels in the front, by the time the real wave of magic hits the watchers will be too exhausted for us to take any important casualties." Dream proposed. Nobody was sure what Dream's real name was - he hid behind a mask just like Grian.
"No! We would lose almost all of our younger admins! They won't be able to defend themselves properly!" Xisuma gasped.
"Okay... so we lose a few weaklings. What matters is that the strong, the admins who will really make a difference in future fights live to see another battle." Techno defended Dream.
The logic conquistador in Grian agreed with Techno and Dream. But Grian's prime self knew that it was up to him to protect all admins. The strong and the weak. It would be a suicide mission for the level fours and fives placed on the front lines.
"No." Grian cleared his throat, "We'll lead an elite small force up the mountain. Level eights and nines only. Watchers sleep away most of the day, going to bed just before noon. If we attack as soon as the sun sets we can catch them off guard." Grian said wisely.
"What about the admins here? If we take all our elite forces to the watchers they'll be left virtually unprotected." Lizzie said suddenly.
"It's a risk we'll have to take." Grian hadn't thought about the admins they'd be leaving... perhaps they should evacuate the headquarters during the mission?
But of course, the watchers certainly would have at least one lower-ranked spy who would alert the head watcher of the sudden evacuation. And then the enemy would be on guard and ready when Grian led his not-so-surprise attack.
Lizzie nodded in agreement, though many of the assembled admins looked worried at the prospect of leaving headquarters unprotected.
"There is no way the watchers will know our headquarters is unprotected - at least not until it's too late," Grian assured the tier eight and nines.
"Is there anyone who wants to take a level nine test before the attack? It would give you a much higher magical advantage." Pearl surveyed the highest level eights.
"Gem should. She'll pass for sure." Katherine spoke up, "She'll actually be ecstatic. She's wanted to take her test for a while now. It's the perfect opportunity. Actually, why isn't Gem here? She's the best out of all of us." Katherine frowned. The other level eights nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, she doesn't need to take the level nine test. She'll join us in the strike." Grian assured them. They all looked confused but nodded anyway.
"Does anyone here think they're ready to try?" Pearl searched the level eights' faces.
"Why don't you just upgrade our magic? It'll be for the greater good. Why do we have to take the test? I mean, I understand the logic behind it of course - but doesn't it make more sense to make an exception for this one occasion?" Shubble asked suddenly.
"Because if you aren't strong enough to take the influx of magic you'll explode. It's the same with any huge increase of magic anyone takes upon themselves. The tests make sure you can handle the magic." Grian answered.
It was the same as Gem and Scar taking the higher powers. If they hadn't been strong enough admins already, they would've exploded. Gem had been on the edge as a level eight. If she had been level seven there would have been a reasonable chance of her dying. But then again, it was Gem. And Gem wasn't ever going to go down easy.
"Okay, I think I understand now." Shubble was wide-eyed as she shuffled back a few steps.
"No takers for the test?" Pearl sighed. "We'll make an allowance for anyone who fails. Usually, you get one shot, but if you fail you'll get a second chance when you're ready. That's a once-in-a-lifetime offer, tier eight admins." Pearl warned.
Scott reluctantly put himself forth. "I'll try." He spoke in his scottish accent.
"I can take the level nine test. If there's a second chance." Myth Sausage stepped up beside Scott.
"Very well," Pearl sounded relieved. They were going to need all the powerful magic they could get. "Do you know of any other level eights that are ready?" Pearl addressed the present tier eight advocates. They shook their heads. "Alright. We can go test now."
. . .
Grian snapped his fingers and a bubble of golden magic appeared in his left hand. Pearl created her own golden bubble of light next to Grian. Scott smiled nervously as he produced his own purple ball of light.
"Mᒷꖎ↸ ᔑリ↸ ʖꖎᔑ⨅ᒷ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ᔑリ𝙹ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ∷ ↸ᔑ||," Grian whispered in galactic. Pearl repeated the verse. Scott fumbled over the meaningless words last. The three bubbles of light collided with a gleam of bright silver. Scott was enthralled as he watched the silver ball of light pulse with magic.
"Take it, tier nine," Grian commanded. Scott reach out one shaking finger... as soon as his skin made contact with the silver light he shuddered and in a painful spasm, the ball of silver entered his veins, filling him with new power.
Three silver bands slunk around his wrist, branding him and marking him for life. My magic marks! My own magic markings! Scott stroked the three silver bands. He was a level nine! Scott had never imagined he was going to be a freaking level nine when he left the emergency meeting that day!
Scott skipped back to meet Sausage, who had just earned his own tier nine powers. Sausage's magic markings were a little bigger than Scott's, but Scott didn't mind. Sausage's gaze lingered on his own loops of silver markings. The ringlets of silver twisted up his shin almost like a single sock.
"We did it! Let's go us!" Scott raised his hand for a high five. Sausage didn't reply, but he hastily shoved something in his pocket and ran out of the room. Huh, well that's weird. Scott muttered as he backed out of the room.
A/N: Wow didn't think it would get this far so fast... consider leaving a like if you like reading this story! Thanks you guys for all the suport!