False wondered what was going on as all the hermits trooped to spawn. Sausage was acting very serious and he'd apparently called everyone to a meeting; all of the hermits and the emperors were there. Or at least most of them; Gem and the other False were nowhere in sight, although Jimena was sitting next to Jimmy.
False approached the girl cautiously and she flinched slightly away when she saw her. False winced as well; their last encounter hadn't exactly gone well and now she was regretting it somewhat. Jimena seemed just like a little girl, after all...
"Hi," She said quietly to her. Jimena looked back without saying anything and False caught her gripping Jimmy's hand rather tightly. "I'm sorry about last time." False continued. Jimena hesitated before replying. "Okay. I'm sorry about last time too." False nodded in mutual understanding.
"How's my clo- the other False doing?" She asked, changing her terms at the last second. "They're doing better without you." Jimena said rather stiffly. "She didn't want to come to the meeting because you'd be here." False noted how she changed between the words 'they' and 'she' and remembered that False had another personality now. She wondered curiously which personality did what and who wanted what.
Sausage clapped his hands for silence and all eyes were on him. And then they all looked down by Sausage's feet at the black and brown Yorkshire terrier with a yellow collar that was sitting there with an anxious expression on its face. "Okay, for those of you who haven't met my girl yet," Sausage began, and he picked up the dog and held her up.
"This is Bubbles. She's a multiversal being that has the power to swallow you whole if you dare cross her, but you won't be mean to a cute little dog like her, right?" There was silence as everyone processed Sausage's words and someone coughed awkwardly. "Anyway," Sausage went on, putting Bubbles down gently, "Bubbles has told me something bad is happening. Our universe is now blocked off from other worlds by powerful multiversal entities. This is not good."
The hermits collectively gasped and the emperors who weren't Sausage glanced over at them in confusion. "How did you know?" False wanted to know. Pearl gave her a look. "It's Sausage." She said. "Spend enough time with him and you'll learn to not ask questions like that." "I see you hermits already knew." Sausae said with a smile like he wasn't surprised at all. "Grian told you?" He guessed.
Grian gave him a look. "Grian, is it okay if I tell everyone your secret?" Sausage asked. Grian looked at Sausage and then to Jimmy and Scar. "Is he being serious right now?" He asked. "I'm being totally serious!" Sausage roared back at him. "I know you're a Watch-" Grian quickly pressed his index finger to his mouth and made a shushing noise.
"How did you know?" Grian asked in surprise as the emperors tried to figure out what was happening. "Well, Bubbles is connected to her other interdimensional counterparts across the multiverse and she told me about how the four original Watchers are messing around in this world to warn me." Sausage shrugged.
"Anyway, back to why I called this meeting, Bubbles occasionally multiverse jumps but today when she tried it didn't work. And I also stopped having those weird teleporting dreams. Which is good in a way, I guess, but that's not the point." Sausage rambled, realizing he was on a tangent.
"Anyway, there's a really powerful thing called a Watcher who might be around as powerful as my girl Bubbles and he's stopped all multiversal travel in this universe. No one gets in, no one gets out. Which means one thing. They're coming to destroy this world." There came another collective gasp and everyone started murmuring.
"What's a Watcher?" fWhip asked, raising his hand. "Oh yeah, not all of you know what one is." Sausage said, and Bubbles sighed at his incompetence. "Okay, raise your hand if you know what a Watcher is." All the hermits raised their hand and some emperors did, including Sausage, Lizzie, Joel, Pix, Jimmy, and Scott.
"Jimena, raise your hand too," Sausage told the girl, who had been shuffling awkwardly off to the side like she was trying to not get noticed. She went red and made a strange face and half-heartedly raised her hand. She didn't ask how he knew. "Why do you guys know what a Watcher is and I don't?" Oli asked the emperors who had raised their hand.
"There aren't that many gods around anymore," Joel shrugged, "So it makes sense that the few who remain sort of know each other. We're not on good terms, though!" He added quickly at the looks he was getting. "Grian told me... some stuff." Jimmy said vaguely. "You do not want to know how I know." Pix said as a few people turned to him.
Then everyone looked at Scott and Lizzie, who was wearing the tag hat which made several hermits avoid sitting near her. "Oh, Scott told me about them after Last Life." Lizzie shrugged. Scott made a face and everyone looked at him. Lizzie did a double take. "Oh, was this supposed to be a secret?" She asked Scott. The Chromian rolled his eyes.
"Yes, but might as well tell everyone now that the Watchers are openly attacking this world." "Scott, what's going on?" Jimmy asked blankly. "Is there something you didn't tell me?" "Just explain what a Watcher is first and then I'll tell you all my secret." Scott said, leaning back and crossing his arms.
Sausage nodded and rapidly gave a description of Watcher lore in his own unique way. False found herself paying close attention despite how she already knew what a Watcher was mostly because of the way that Sausage spoke, and also because he elaborated in Greta detisl about some parts that Grian had glazed over in his hurry to tell the hermits what he was.
"Okay, you guys understand now?" Sausage asked after he paused to breathe. Everyone nodded. "Okay, now Scott can tell us his secret that I already know because of Bubbles!" He said brightly. Everyone turned to Scott who stood up and looked directly at Jimmy. "You remember the Listeners, don't you?" He asked him.
The sheriff's eyes lit up immediately as he recalled. "Yeah, back in our old world me and Martyn got a message from the Listeners to do something. Oh... and they also told me to not tell anybody." Jimmy realized a bit too late. He sat back down awkwardly. "Nevermind that now; we're in a new world." Scott said just as a few people started murmuring about rembering other lives.
"Anyway, there are the Watchers, and there are the Listeners. They used to be part of the Watchers pantheon until 2 created the life series. They disagreed with him and left to form their own faction. There's been a secret war raging across the multiverse between the Watchers and the Listeners. So far neither side is winning." Scott paused to see if he still had everyone attention.
"How exactly do you know all this?" False asked. Scott grinned at her. "Because I'm a Listener." He said, and in a burst of white light he transformed into a colossal being with pale sking, cyan robe, and sky-blue wings. He flapped them once as everyone looked on in awe before he transformed back.
"Can't show it to you too long." He said. "The Watchers and Listeners are eldritch beings so we might accidentally tear your minds apart." He looked directly at Grian as he said that. Everyone seemed a little too put off that there were seemingly so many powerful deities around to bother about the fact that their minds might be torn apart trying to comprehend said deities.
"But how did the Watchers kidnap you to put in the life games?" Grian asked in confusion. "Who said they kidnapped me?" Scott asked with a smug grin. "I sacrificed myself to see if I could help everyone escape from the inside, since we haven't been able to from outside. The same thing that Grian's been trying to do. And yes, Grian, I know your secret too."
False glanced at the red-sweatered hermit who seemed to be turning as red as his sweater and burying his head in his hands. "Why do so many people know?" He mumbled. "Anyway," Sausage continued, "Now you guys know we have to prepare for war. The Watchers have already closed this world off to prevent us escaping and it happened recently, so the war will be soon."
"How exactly are we supposed to fight them exactly?" Xisuma interjected with concern. "If they're multiversal beings of great power, how exactly are we supposed to counter that?" Before anyone could answer there came a cold, cruel laughter that resounded through their minds. Looking around for the source, False could see Grian and Jimena tense up in apprehension.
<Yes, how exactly are you mortals supposed to fight us?> A voice asked coolly. False felt as if she wasn't hearing him physically, but rather mentally. Whoever this was had telepathic powers. <We're much too powerful for you to comprehend.> "Leave them alone, 2!" Grian shouted, scarlet wings sprouting from his back as he tensed even more.
2 laughed again. <Ah, Xelqua. You're just in time to see history repeat itself. Last time we destroyed your world you were still with us.> Grian gritted his teeth and shouted something back. <But don't worry, I won't hurt you mortals so much. The Watchers will go easy on you as we destroy this cute little dimension, if only to have a better show to watch.>
"He's right," Scott muttered. "He's holding back even now. That's why you don't hear any rhyming." The voice laughed again. <Ah, Scott. I've been suspecting you for some time now. I'd always wondered how it was that one mortal was so good at irritating us constantly.> Scott smiled. "Good," He said, "I did my job."
<But the Listeners can't help you now. But anyway, have a good last week of your existence while I go attend my own meeting.> And just like that the Watcher was gone and everyone panicked. Sausage dissolved the meeting and everyone went home to try and prepare somehow. But False's attention was on something else. Or rather, someone. Because in the corner of her eye she spotted someone who looked just like Gem.
---
Jimena sat quietly in bed as Herodias ranted to her. It was something that was happening a lot recently. Herodias forced her to listen as she told her all the things she should and shouldn't do and how she was supposed to do them. It had gotten worse after the meeting. Jimena just nodded a long and tried to ignore the constant threats her other personality made as she repeatedly agreed to listening to the Watchers.
Just then she heard Qiron in her head. <Herodias, I cam calling you for a meeting. Your attendance is required as a Watcher.> Jimena found herself nodding along and then she wasn't in her room anymore. She was in a place that looked just like the void in her dreams, with several colorful winged beings soaring around. Jimena knew at once that they were the other Watchers.
Then she caught sight of Qiron and hovered toward him. 2 smiled at her presence and then called the other Watchers to attention. They immediately stayed stock still and prepared to listen to what he had to say.
"The mortals prepare to fight against us." Qiron said, and Jimena stifled her shock as she realized that 2 was actually using his voice for once. It made sense though; he didn't need to speak telepathically when they were all in the same world.
The Watchers laughed. "The mortals think they can stand against us?" One jeered. "They have Xelqua on their side and a Listener." Qiron said. "They have still been given false hope." Then one Watcher raised her hand. "What of Gemini?" She asked. 2 laughed. "1 doesn't appear to be on anyone's side but her own. The mental state she is currently in is rather pitiful honestly."
The Watchers laughed coldly again and Jimena didn't like it. Get used to it. Herodias ordered with the familiar prick in her mind. Jimena quickly nodded. "What is the status of the Listeners?" 2 asked. "They've been unable to reach the world we sealed." Another Watcher said. "As you have ordered they are too busy fighting us to help the mortals."
Qiron grinned in pleasure. "Good. My plan will finally be put on motion after planning and setting it up for so long. In one fell swoop, we will be rid of the rogue Watchers and that annoying Listener, and the rest of the multiverse will come to fear us once again." Everyone cheered raucously and Jimena faked it to fit in. Then Qiron grabbed her arm and pulled her to the forefront of the meeting.
"Herodias will give us a show." Qiron said in a cold yet expectant voice. "She will be one of those whom we will send to hunt down the rest of the mortals. All we have to do is watch the show." What? I didn't agree to this. Jimena thought wildly, but she quickly quelled all rebellious thoughts when Herodias started threatening to kill her again.
"Who else?" Herodias asked 2, coming to the forefront of their shared mind and body. 2 smiled down at her before answering. "Martyn. But he will come later. He needs to be... debriefed first." Jimena didn't want to know what that meant. Trust me, you don't. Herodias said flatly.
"Meeting concluded." Qiron finished and just like that Jimena was in her room again, except this time False was there looking worried. "Where were you?" She asked, coming closer and sitting down next to her. "Qiron summoned me to a Watcher meeting." Jimena explained. "It's nothing much." She added, trying to calm False down.
It didn't work. False looked deeply into her eyes. "Jimena, are the Watchers... threatening you?" She asked quietly. "No." Jimena said a little too quickly before Herodias could speak up. False stared at her. "You've acted differently ever since Qiron spoke to the both of us." She said. "You don't want to do this at all, do you?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Jimena tried to shrug it off, but False grabbed both of her shoulders to face her properly. "Jimena, are they hurting you? Tell me if they're threatening you-" "They're not." Jimena answered truthfully. "They're threatening you." False let go and stared.
"Herodias said stuff about an attack. She says you'll be one of the ones they kill if we both don't listen to the Watchers." Jimena blurted. Herodias hissed quietly in the back of her head but it was already out. She's on our side, Herodias. It's fine to tell her. Jimena said as persuadingly as possible.
...I'll let it slide this time. Herodias grumbled after a second. False looked at Jimena with a complicated expression. "We'll be fine, False." Jimena said softly, hugging her tightly. "We'll just listen to their orders and then this whole thing will be over. We'll be safe."