Timeline: May 2015
Word Count: 4.5k
TW: Graphic violence, blood, injury, near-death, discrimination, religious imagery
(I'm sure you know the drill by now, but I'd still like to mention that there is detailed, descriptive gore in this chapter, far worse than anything I usually write. Once again, reader's discretion is advised)
Ezra had promised himself that he would eventually leave his base in search of the Admin who seemingly knew him, but that was a task easier said than done. There were so many things that could go wrong, and each horrific possibility was another reason for Ezra to delay his plan.
What if the Admin wasn't Xisuma? What if his twin was truly dead? What if he wasn't supposed to be here, and he'd end up banned and lost to the Void for eternity? What if it was Xisuma, but his brother no longer wanted anything to do with him? What if Ezra only served as a reminder of the massacre after all these years, and Xisuma couldn't even bear to look him in the eye?
Each possibility seemed both likely and improbable at the same time. However, none of their consequences would be half as bad as the mental turmoil that Ezra was putting himself through by not knowing the answers he'd been seeking. Except getting banned, perhaps. That would be awful.
So, he'd ignored his paranoia-induced scenarios, reminded himself of how minuscule the odds were, and decided to finally leave his sad excuse for a home and venture out into the server. Granted, he did it at night when nobody would be awake to catch him, but it had still taken courage to do that alone and Ezra was proud of himself for it.
The server itself was beautiful, and it was evident that every stone in the path and brick in the walls had been placed with love and care. Torches were placed perfectly evenly along the paths, illuminating the dark village, and a rainbow of flowers was planted in rows along the path. Ezra could imagine Xisuma putting this much time and devotion into such a simple little path, or perhaps he was simply telling himself that in the hopes that his brother was truly here and alive.
Ezra then hesitated, and from the corner of his eye saw a piece of paper stuck to one of the lampposts. He picked it up to inspect it more closely, but to his dismay, it was written in an Overworld-native language that he couldn't read. It seemed important, whatever it was, as the words were large and stood out on the page, but to Ezra it was essentially useless.
He was about to put the notice back, when through the light of the lamppost, he could see something written on the other side. He turned the page over, and to his surprise, saw a short message at the bottom that he could understand.
∴ᒷ ᔑ∷ᒷ ᒲ𝙹⍊╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ᔑ リᒷ∴ ᓭᒷ∷⍊ᒷ∷ ╎リ ᒷ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ᒷᒷリ ↸ᔑ||ᓭ. !¡ꖎᒷᔑᓭᒷ ᓵ𝙹ᒲᒷ ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ⚍ᓭ, ╎ ↸𝙹リ'ℸ ̣ ∴ᔑリℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ꖎᒷᔑ⍊ᒷ ||𝙹⚍ ʖᒷ⍑╎リ↸ ᔑ⊣ᔑ╎リ
As surprised as Ezra was by the news that this world was being abandoned, (and in less than 8 hours no less) there were two things that surprised him even more, the first of which being the handwriting. Every stroke and dot was written with precision and perfectionism, and Ezra knew only one person across the three realms who cared that much about how their handwriting looked.
Secondly, and more importantly, was the contents of the note itself. It wasn't merely an unassuming notice, far more than that. It was addressed to Ezra, he just knew it, and with the way things were all coming together, he was almost certain of who had addressed it to him too.
However, there was just one problem, and a substantial one at that. Ezra had only just gotten used to this new world, and only recently reached the point at which he was stable and confident enough to explore it further. Moving to a brand new place would move him back to square one, not to mention the fact that he'd once again risk facing the server's members and their Admin.
Even if the Admin turned out to be Xisuma, the mere idea of it still terrified him, yet then again he had no other choice. This was his chance to finally reunite with Xisuma, and he'd spent far too long delaying it.
A bouquet with no lover to receive it was nothing if not a tragedy, but with that said, Beef had never had anyone to love in the first place. At least, that's what his peers would tell themselves in hushed whispers behind closed doors, but Beef rarely took his neighbour's words to heart.
He lived in the same town as them, went to the same school as them, ate the same food and prayed in the same temple. Meaning that (in his own eyes at least) he was their equal and deserved to be treated as such. A reasonable opinion, he would like to think, but unfortunately his fellow villagers never acknowledged him for his personality or what he had in common with them.
Instead, they only saw the orphaned child cursed with horns and a tail like the demons they feared so deeply. And although Beef was certainly no demon, his unique features actually being of bovine origin and not a hellish one, his peers refused to look beyond their initial perception of him and that was that.
In fact, in his twenty-four years of living here, only one other person had actually acknowledged the fact that he was a hybrid and not a demon, that person being the orphanage matron who named him the day he'd been carelessly abandoned on her doorstep. Beef didn't know what he'd done to warrant such a cruel and ironic name, but nonetheless, it was his name and he did everything within his power to reclaim it as his own.
Even then, it was rare that anybody would even call him by the name he was given. On good days, he'd simply be referred to as 'you there', whereas on bad days, it was usually something along the lines of 'hellspawn'. Today was one of those bad days.
It wasn't as if Beef had been doing anything suspicious or out of order that day, he'd simply brought his bouquet of flowers down to the temple and, as he did every morning, requested that the gods bring good luck to him and his neighbours. The neighbours in question didn't exactly appreciate the gesture, and certainly couldn't have been bothered to return it, but what bothered Beef the most was that they instead decided to give him trouble for it.
"Why do you do that?" He was suddenly asked, as he made his way down the smooth stone steps of the temple and along the path back to the village. It was a beautiful May morning, with trees and grass the colour of emeralds and a bright blue sky serving as the perfect backdrop for the fluffy white clouds, but unfortunately, being bothered by his fellow villagers dampened Beef's otherwise good mood.
"Do what?" Beef asked politely, frowning ever so slightly. The one who'd questioned him shrugged, gesturing vaguely to the temple he'd just left.
"Waste your time in there, praying."
"But you do it too." Beef pointed out. "All of you do."
"Well, that's different." Another claimed, shaking his head. "You know that they won't actually listen to you, right?"
The way he enunciated the word 'you', which was more than certainly a conscious and intentional choice on his part, only emphasised his neighbours' blatant ostracisation and dismissive attitude toward him. Nonetheless, Beef shrugged. "Well, how do you know? I'd like to think that they care about me just as much as they care about you."
"If they care for you, then why did they make you in the image of the very thing they despise?" A third remarked rudely, turning her nose up at him. Beef clenched his fist, but bit his tongue and took a deep breath.
"They made me unique, and they put me here for a reason, just like the rest of you. And even if I don't know what that reason is yet, that doesn't make it any of your business to try and tell me that you do." He pointed out coldly, before turning on his heel and leaving his neighbours speechless. "Have a nice day."
They stood in silence for a moment, lost for words or for anything to say in response to him. Then finally, the third woman scowled, rolling her eyes. "I knew his mother was no good." She snidely claimed. "If that harlot hadn't been doing rounds with every man she saw, perhaps the gods wouldn't have cursed her with a monster of a child for it."
"Gossip aside, I don't like the impression he's making on the children." The second man added. "Demon or not, our youth can't be led to think they can trust a man who looks like that. He's a danger to our society, and something needs to be done about it."
The next morning, in spite of the rudeness he'd dealt with the previous day, Beef once again returned to the temple with flowers and made the same prayer for good luck, although this time he omitted his neighbours' names. Although he still wished no harm on them, he didn't want to do them a favour that they'd never return.
Beef was about to go home again, just as he had yesterday, but unfortunately his path was once again blocked by several of his irritated neighbours. Not wanting to subject himself to their rude remarks for the second time that week, he'd attempted to push past and ignore them, but a strong and firm hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing so.
"Can I help you?" Beef asked exasperatedly, rolling his eyes a little as he turned around to face his peers. Without warning, he was pushed against the stone column of the temple by the one holding onto him, unable to push back against them as he was held down by the wrists.
"Get out of here." They demanded, the other villagers by their side to ensure that Beef couldn't go anywhere. Beef was understandably confused by the sudden aggression and violence being inflicted on him, and although it was certainly a bad idea in hindsight, he couldn't help but notice the contradiction in what they were doing and saying.
"I was just leaving." He pointed out, attempting to pull his arm free but to no avail . "And in fact, you're the only one keeping me from going back home and staying out of your hair, so if you could just let me go and-"
"That's not what I meant." The person holding him interrupted, and before Beef could try to move again, there was a blade to his throat so sharp that it could cut to the bone with ease. "We want you gone for good. You've been a plague on this village for twenty four years, and we're sick of letting you amongst us like you're an equal. You have one chance to go back to the hellscape you came from, or we're getting rid of you the hard way."
Their words send terrified chills down Beef's spine, as he knew there was truth to them. The knife was already pressed against his skin, and within seconds the blade would begin to draw blood. There was nobody to stop them from killing him there and then, no Admins or law enforcements or anybody who'd care if he were to die such an early and unfair death.
Beef didn't want to turn to violence, especially after all he'd done to keep peace with his fellow villagers, but he had nowhere to go and nobody to defend him. He was unsure where to go, or whether or not he should go at all, and during the time he hesitated the villagers grew tired and impatient.
"I guess we're doing this the hard way, then."
As they pulled their right arm back to raise the knife, Beef quickly ducked his head town just in time to avoid it. He attempted to take the knife from them in the hopes of ceasing the violence before anyone got hurt, but before he could, a fist collided with his head and he was knocked to the ground. Immediately he was held down again, the glint of the knife raised high above the sun temporarily blinding him, but he managed to get a hold of the hilt just before it was driven into his heart.
"Why are you doing this?!" He gasped, holding back tears as he pushed his neighbour off of him. They once again attempted to bring the knife down upon him, and although he was once again able to avoid it, it still painfully grazed his cheek. Blood was trickling down his neck, but his fellow villagers remained apathetic to his pain and struggling.
"Think of it as a precaution." One of them remarked, sparing him little but a glance as he fought for his life against the others. "We don't want a creature like you threatening the home we've built for our families, and if we don't rid ourselves of you now, who knows what you're capable of doing to them."
"But I don't want to hurt you!" Beef protested. "I don't have anywhere else to go, I-"
He was cut off by pain unlike any he'd ever felt, as something sharp and pointed was driven into his leg before being forcefully ripped out again. He could barely hear his own anguished screams, let alone move without the pain immobilising him again within seconds. Despite this, he was dragged to his feet, once again pushed against the pillar.
He was held in place by the attackers he'd once called his neighbours, unable to move as his wounds bled and punch after punch was delivered to his bloodied and trembling body. He needed to fight back if he wanted to live, but part of him was terrified to prove them right and become the violent monster they feared so deeply. But when he saw the knife coming again, something within him snapped, and before he knew it his head collided with that of the person holding him down.
As soon as he saw the blood running down their forehead and the wound caused by his horns, Beef felt a paralysing sense of guilt that was unfamiliar to him yet horrifyingly chilling. He'd never hurt another person before, certainly not intentionally, and even in a life or death situation his actions disgusted him. However, the villagers seemed even more angered by said actions, as their attacks only grew more violent and ferocious now that the bloodshed was justified in their eyes.
Beef was grabbed by the shoulders, and his head was brought crashing down onto the steps of the temple. He heard a loud, sickening crack, before raw, excruciating agony overtook everything. It was as if a searing white blade had been driven into his skull and through every nerve in his body, blood blinding him as it ran down his face and obscured his vision. Whether or not he was still being attacked, he didn't know, as nothing they could do to him could ever come close to what he was experiencing.
Before he knew what was happening, he was running, stumbling over loose stones and tree branches along a path he couldn't see. The distant screams from the temple were nothing but white noise, the pain in his leg reduced to a mere throbbing as every sense in his body was overtaken by the injury to his skull. He kept running, adrenaline being the only thing left to keep him going, but eventually that began to run out as he grew exhausted from the pain.
He didn't know where he was or how long it had been since he'd escaped. He could see, hear or feel anything, and little of a reaction was evoked from him when he finally collapsed to the ground. He let his eyes close as his body went limp, hoping that unconsciousness would briefly halt the agony he was experiencing. And if his unconsciousness were to become death and these were his final moments of life, so be it. Beef was too tired and anguished to care anymore, and any rest from his pain would be a welcome one.
And as his consciousness faded and his fate lay undecided, only one thought rang throughout his mind, over and over again. This was where his prayers for luck and compassion had gotten him, lost and alone on the verge of death. Perhaps he wasn't loved after all. Perhaps he never would be.
"Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven..."
"We're all here, X." Cleo interrupted, placing her hand on the Admin's forearm as he finished his third headcount of the group. "Just try to relax, okay?"
"I know, I know." Xisuma admitted, looking around the group. "I'm just worried that we've left someone behind."
Xisuma knew he had all the Hermits with him, but it wasn't them that he was worried about leaving behind. He could only hope that Ezra would see the notice he'd left, as he wasn't particularly keen on teleporting his brother here manually. That was why he'd decided to leave the portal open for so long, so that his twin would at least have the chance to make his way to Season 3 in his own time, but they'd been in the new world for about an hour by now and things weren't looking hopeful.
"We know you'd never forget anyone, Xisuma." XB promised him. "You can worry about Admin stuff later, let's explore this place!"
XB had a good point. The new world was stunning, with snow-capped mountain peaks extending high into the sky and luscious valleys lying between each of them. He already had his eye on a nice place to build their starting village, alongside an area where his own home could eventually be constructed, and even looking at them made him excited to progress.
"You know what, I think you're right." Xisuma decided. "It's going to be hard, starting from scratch all over again, so the sooner we get to it, the be-"
Ironically, Xisuma was then interrupted by a loud, repetitive buzzing from his communicator. He glanced down at it, secretly hoping but also dreading the idea that it may be Ezra joining the new server, but to his surprise it was instead a string of haphazardly typed, barely legible messages from Etho.
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Etho: XISJMA
Etho: EMERGYTCY
Etho: TOU HEED TI BRUNG DOC SND I TI YOUR SERVEF ASAP
Etho: WE FOIND SOMEINE WE THINL HES DTING AND HE NEEDDS HELP
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"What...?" He mumbled beneath his breath, trying to make sense of what he was reading. It slowly clicked, piece by piece, and when he finally understood what Etho was saying his eyes went wide with panic. "𝙹⍑ ᓭ⍑╎ℸ ̣!"
The Hermits watched in confusion and concern as he wrote a message back to them, before frantically searching for his computer to input the necessary commands. He was incredibly fortunate to have already whitelisted both Doc and Etho on the new world, as it was a process that took hours and they seemingly didn't have hours to spare.
Hesitantly, Mumbo picked up Xisuma's discarded communicator, scrolling through the messages. It may have been a little invasive and unnecessary, but the Hermits could tell that this was simply one of those moments where Xisuma needed to be left alone, and decided to investigate the situation for themselves instead of interrupting him to ask.
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Xisuma: Okay, I need you to hold on tightly to him and not let him go. If he's bleeding, try to stop the blood flow, and I'll bring you here as fast as I can.
Xisuma: Make sure you're holding onto him, or he'll be left behind when I teleport you
Etho: WE HAVE HIM GO FAST PLEASE
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Xisuma was typing commands into his computer in a panicked and frenzied manner, before hitting the 'ENTER' key and turning to the group. "I'm very sorry about how sudden this is, but it looks like we might have an emergency on our hands. Doc and Etho have found someone who's severely injured and potentially dying, so I need you all to be ready to help in any way you can when they get here."
"Understood." False agreed, turning to the rest of the group as Xisuma went back to his commands. "Hypno, if you have the energy for it, we need you to do your best to heal him. Joe, I need you to get the emergency potions we brought. I want Impulse and Tango on standby in case we're dealing with palpitation issues or hypothermia, and the rest of you can set up some kind of a makeshift medical bay to make things easier."
The Hermits followed her orders with no questions or hesitations, and within moments, a new portal appeared beside the one that had come from Season 2. Etho and Doc stumbled through, and in Doc's arms was a young man unconscious and drenched in his own blood.
He had dark hair, and protruding from it were two bovine-esque horns. However, one was cracked and heavily bleeding, and between that, a second injury on his face and a stab wound in his leg, he was rapidly losing a lot of blood. For a moment Xisuma froze, horrified by what he was seeing and how uncomfortably familiar it felt. He could see the same fearful recognition in False's eyes, the state the young man was in likely reminding her of the day they'd met, but in spite of this the two of them pushed through and continued to help.
"Where did you find him?" Xisuma asked Etho, helping Doc carry the body over to the hurriedly-made bed that the Hermits had put together.
"I didn't, Doc did." Etho answered, visibly shaking and his eyes wide with panic. "He disappeared into the forest near the facility, and when I found him he was holding the body. He said he doesn't know what happened, but whatever did that to him certainly didn't mean it to be accidental."
"I know those wounds." Doc confirmed solemnly, stepping back to let the Hermits help. "Knives and daggers, I'm not sure which kind, but ones that were made to hurt. As for the broken horn, there would be a lot of blood vessels and nerve endings in there, which would explain the heavy bleeding."
Doc's extensive knowledge of injury was disturbing to say the least, but also sad given the context behind it. Xisuma's eyes were briefly drawn to Doc's own cracked and broken horn, before he turned his attention back to the young man the Hermits were helping.
Joe's health potions had been distributed already, and although they were working slowly, they were still working nonetheless with Hypno's assistance. Keralis was closely monitoring the man's heart rate and breathing as False stifled his blood flow, and Impulse cleaned and bandaged his wounds as swiftly and efficiently as possible.
Eventually, after five or six minutes, the Hermits stepped back. The young man was still breathing, his bleeding stifled and his injuries covered to the best of the Hermits' abilities. There was little they could do about the broken horn, and the cuts would leave deep and permanent scars, but the man was alive and would be okay so long as he was looked after for the next few weeks.
Xisuma let out a long, exhausted exhale, taking a seat in the grass. Doc and Etho followed suit, with BDubs quickly nestling himself under Doc's arm to give the stressed and tired hybrid a hug.
"Thank you." Was all Etho said, before letting silence fall over the valley once more. Two or three Hermits remained by the young man's side while the rest began to set up a more permanent building under False's command, leaving the four of them sitting alone and by themselves. "...He would have died if you hadn't brought him here."
"I hope he'll be okay." BDubs remarked softly, holding onto Doc. "He looks so nice and friendly, nobody deserves to be hurt like that."
"He'll be okay, Kleiner, don't worry." Doc promised. "I trust you Hermits enough to look after him, the same way you looked after Xisuma."
"This is far worse than anything we've seen before... at least, not for quite some time." Xisuma admitted, not taking his eyes off of the man. "I don't understand why anyone would ever do such a thing to another person."
"Hate." Etho replied sadly, sighing. "I've seen it too many times by now, the poor guy probably didn't even do anything. But Doc's right, we're sure you guys are capable of keeping him safe here until he's well again."
"Speaking of which..." Xisuma began, a slightly hopeful smile crossing his face. "Now that both of you are here, if you'd want to reconsider my offer for a home of your own, the beginning of a new world is always a good time to join."
Doc looked at Etho, Etho looked at Doc, and both of them shrugged. "I don't see why not." Etho admitted. "It's really kind of you to offer, and it's all Doc's been able to talk about for the last two weeks, so I don't see any reason to say no... right Doc?"
"I'm not leaving." Doc declared, holding on tightly to BDubs as if to enunciate his point. BDubs himself was more than happy with that statement, and (to Doc's slight dismay) immediately ran to tell everyone else about the news, the two new Hermits following him to assist the others with their building. Xisuma smiled, a wholehearted and genuine one this time, and in spite of the stress, fear and chaos that had plagued the group just moments prior, he'd begun to feel optimistic.
They'd finally moved to their new world, Doc and Etho had joined them, the young man was now safe and recovering, and eventually Ezra would join and be okay again too. And, as if on cue, Xisuma's communicator rang with the message he'd been awaiting all day, the noise echoing throughout the valley and drawing the Hermits' attention to their own devices.
|| Ezra Void joined the world ||
Xisuma's smile became a beam of exuberant joy as the others turned to him, confused by the message being displayed on their screens. Typically an unknown name joining their server was a reason to panic, but between everything that had occurred over the last two weeks and the way Xisuma lit up at the sight of the message, perhaps it wasn't black and white as they'd initially assumed.
"Xisuma, do you know who that is...?" False asked, almost hesitantly. Xisuma stood up, still smiling as he read Ezra's name again for what felt like the thousandth time over. Things were truly looking up for the first time in a while, and with that positive feeling came the confidence Xisuma needed to finally open up to the Hermits about the last three years and all that had happened before them. So looked up at the Hermits, nodding his head before taking a deep breath.
"I do. His name is Ezra... and he's my brother."