“Hey, Blondie!” A distorted British voice called. It reminded Grian of someone else who’s familiar- but oddly different. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him to not know someone on this new server, after all.
The winged hermit looked up from the boats to the mountain covered shores of the main island and spotted a stranger in red armor that he hadn't met yet in this strange new world… His armor was similar to Xisuma’s, as well as his voice actually...
“...Yes?” The British hermit tilted his head curiously at the new man. “Are you talking to me?”
“Ugh, yes, you. Who else?! You are licherally the only one in the nearby area right now.” The horned stranger strode down the mountain. “You are the new hermit the stinkin’ admin invited, yeah?”
Grian nodded after a brief pause, and the Xisuma look-a-like continued to speak, “I’ve heard you’re a big fan of shenaniganry, aren’t ya? Interested in some advice?” Grian, dumbfounded, continued to nod. “Well, mind going for a walk? The weather is too nice to be wasted in the shadows of some mountain.” The red armored individual held out his claw-like hands, and the hermit took them, almost without hesitation.
Not that Grian had much of a choice, actually... Something about the stranger was charming and made him easy to listen to.
Not-Xisuma pulled him up onto land and let go of the hermit’s hand. As they climbed the steep mountain- with the stranger walking with an awfully lightweight pace, despite the heavy armor he was wearing- the other spoke once again, “Don’t you think the server is a little too quiet, Grian? Don’t you think it is in need of some… Chaos? Just like your old home, don’t you remember all those pranks you did? How much fun you had?”
Grian stopped for a moment- Nevermind the fact that he somehow knew about his life before Hermitcraft in Evo, or how he suddenly knew his name- he had a point! Maybe that was what he needed to truly fit in with the hermits… It could probably ease him of homesickness as well.
The horned one took the air wielder’s silence as a sign to keep speaking, “Well, what do you think? Personally, I think something small would work… a tag game perhaps- Drat.”
The stranger abruptly stopped talking, as a look of rancor briefly appeared on his face as if something just died nearby, and as quickly as the expression had come, it left once again. Grian didn’t have much time to process the sudden change of mood before the silence was broken by a very similar voice to the red stranger- this time- he recognized it.
“Grian? Whacha doing out here alone?” The more familiar British voice replaced the formerly twisted voice. The winged hermit turned around, surprised to find the green armored version of the one he has been talking to. “N-nothing much really… Hey, do you guys know e-” Grian turned around once again to where the horned one once was, only to find he was replaced by air. “...each other?...”
“...Grian?? You good dude?” Xisuma asked in a concerned tone, “If you aren’t feelin’ well, we can go to the Guardian Temple another day.”
“No! No… Uhm.” Grian coughed a bit, “Anyways, by any chance do you know someone that looks uncannily like you? He had red armor instead of your green one, and he had horns… Huge horns!” The Air wielder made exaggerated motions in the air, mimicking what he had seen.
The admin’s face turned up as he tried to suppress a laugh, and snorted before letting it out and spoke in breaths. “So you’ve met Evil Xisuma! Glad he made an impression on ya, at least.” X’s laugh died though, but his smile was still bright without his helmet to obscure it. “Don’t worry about that scumbag, he can’t cause much harm! Out of curiosity though, what did he say to ya?”
“He wanted to see a tag game of sorts, I suppose? I mean... it sounds fun, doesn’t it? This Evil Xisuma guy seems to have some good ideas once in a blue moon.” Grian thought for a bit, “I might actually just go ahead and start one.”
“You aren’t wrong, that does seem like a swell idea, get some things on the server startin’, at least!” X agreed, “Well, feel free to start this tag game then, it certainly has my approval.” The admin spoke, as he picked up a boat from his inventory, and held it in his arms, “Evil Xisuma and potential tag game aside, shall we get going to the Guardian Temple, then?” He asked the new hermit, and energy bubbled up in Grian once more, excited to finally have some dark prismarine at his disposal.
Hello, short note before we begin! It is ever so great to see and be able to present to everyone the Elemental AU once again. With the interest of both new and some returning mods (Of which we will probably make a new Mod post very soon!), we will be rebooting this AU. It is unfortunate that many of the past mods will not be returning with us to this AU due to a lack of motivation or other events, but we will try our best to return this blog to its former glory!
With such a drastic move as completely rebooting the story, we believe that you will have certain questions that we can hopefully answer in this following post.
Thank you for sticking with us.
Mod Al.
(Keep Reading for the QnA itself!)
Q: Will we have a central plot for this AU?
A: Yes we will!! We are working hard on a central story for the AU! Hopefully more organized and comprehensible than the last, and more appropriate for an AU of hermitcraft. It will take lots of work, but we believe we can do it!
Q: Will we see ex/z again?
A: Unfortunately we’ve decided to scrap the original Evil Xisuma character for this au, and he won’t be appearing in the reboot. However, it does not mean that he will be gone forever!
Q: Have the hermit’s powers changed with the season?
A: Yes! [we’re working on updating the document!]
Q: Will the old fics be gone?
A: No worries! We are deciding to keep the old fics on the blog, but they will not be included in a new canon tag for the AU(that tag is to be decided.).
Q: Are you guys moving to a new blog for the story? Will we still have asks?
A: Similar question, but we will be continuing to use this URL for the AU! Asks for the hermits will be open once again after we get the story started and rolling. For now, asks on this blog will be treated as OOC asks.
Q: Can we get a hint on what the new main plot will be about?
A: Very similar to before, it’s about the Season 6 Civil War, but there are many things rewritten about it to be able to tell the story that we want to tell! Unlike before however, we are likely to start the plot by the tag game, not the very beginning of the season.
That is it for the end of this QnA! However, if you still have remaining questions that are not addressed in the post, feel free to shoot us an ask while we work on rebooting the AU into a hopefully, even better and solid story than before.
At first, there was a nether star, resting in his palm, giving off a comforting coolness.
And then - there was fire- no, not fire, electricity running through him, shattering, forcing itself through, tearing, causing pain so strong that he almost couldn’t feel it, his senses shutting down—
The sentence “I’m going to die” was ringing in his head, and it was terrifying because, in the world of respawn, he’s never been as scared of death, while also being amazed by it at the same time.
A gasp found its way out his mouth when Xisuma opened his eyes, only to be welcomed by darkness. The unbelievably overwhelming kind of it, the type that presses at you from every direction— it was threatening to gush in and fill his lungs if he dared to breathe in a little bit more air than necessary.
Did I go blind?... the time traveler wondered, slowly getting up from the bed— there was no bed. I didn’t respawn, X whispered to himself in shock and looked down. He could clearly see his own body but wasn’t exactly relieved by the discovery, because it meant that even though he still had vision, his location was the middle of nowhere, literally.
The Brit forced himself to take a few generous breaths, ignoring the fact that in one moment air felt like a liquid, and in another, was dry and almost non-existent. After calming down, he started to notice more details. For example, the surroundings weren’t as bland as they seemed to be. As he looked around, everything around him… Shifted, changed, even though at first glance, the only thing around was emptiness. But the more you started, the more you could see. There were lights, distant, some paler than others, some flickering, he even found some that simply died out and refused to show up again, no matter how long he kept his eyes in one spot.
And then… there was the moon.
The almost-full moon was over him, there was light coming from it, but there was barely enough light to see.
Xisuma was completely alone, or at least that's what he thought at first. Then though, he felt a presence. It was well known to him, and brit's first reflex was to let out a deep exhale of relief, but instead, he froze. X's mind brutally reminded him of what Time did to Z. What if the element did not approve of an act of his, and decided to abandon him right now, in this empty place? What if it didn't want him anymore? What if—
He flinched violently when an invisible hand gripped his shoulder, at first glance in a calming manner, but a little too tight for comfort. Then, a voice, an electrifying voice, cut through the void with a force comparable to the one of a lightning. Hearing it almost felt like dying all over again.
Don't panic.
It said, and even in the hazy state of amazement, X found himself nodding. He swallowed loudly and forced his body to relax, simply waiting for Time to do whatever they wanted to do by bringing the Brit into the void.
Then-
Then Xisuma noticed a silhouette, somehow even darker than the darkness around him, like nothing he's ever seen before, like a black hole, swallowing all of the light, the light of his soul, not letting it out, and it glanced right at him, and-
And it was gone.
He looked around again, just to make sure that it was really gone, and not just— I dunno, teleported or something.
Not trusting his voice, X waited a few long seconds before asking: "What was that?" he said, and after a moment, continued: "What is happening?". Time, however, ignored his questions and answered in their own way.
For now, calm down and wait. There's nothing we can do from here.
The Brit had enough waiting, though. He had no idea what was happening and was getting more and more frustrated with every minute passing. "Explain," he pressured, but after a horrifyingly long moment of silence, added: "Please."
There is nothing I can do. Another time user has decided that he wants to enter your world and forced its way in by sending you here, Having two time wielders is not something I nor you want to experience. We can only wait.
Xisuma shut himself up, it seems like listening to his element would be for the best.
That night, he remembered seeing the moon hiding behind the none existing clouds in the void.
*****
The sky was overcast.
The stars occasionally peaked through the ocean of clouds, Z was brushing Boo’s fur, like usual. It didn’t matter that the stars weren’t there, the night was beautiful either way. It was calming, with the soft, natural breeze of wind that occurred whenever the wind wielder wasn’t on the server. The summer night was probably the Brit's favorite time of the year, just because of the warm atmosphere and cozy nights.
Boo was quietly asleep, snoozing away after he fed her dinner. Z sighed, it has been oddly peaceful lately. None of his nightmares were haunting him in his sleep and now finds comfort in sleeping away his days with his cat. He never thought that he would ever find this kind of peace with himself, his past far behind him on the train tracks—
A chill ran through him.
Someone was watching.
Which is odd- considering that everyone else would be asleep- or “offline”, you could say. By all means, no mobs would spawn in the middle of the shopping district, especially after the weird lighting glitch that happened a few days prior. Z racked his brain for possible answers, and everything was coming up short.
The feeling was strangely familiar— something that he had experienced before— he can’t quite place a finger on it.
The tugging, sudden closeness of the space closed around him, he could barely breathe. Space was startled; there is only one thing that could scare it.
Time.
It doesn’t feel like Xisuma’s time— his element was much more gentle, not rough and so…. Cold.
He could almost feel as if space was retreating into the deepest corners of his mind to hide. The white-haired man quickly scrambled up, startling Boo awake in the process, time was here, but with who? Xisuma was nowhere to be seen, and he certainly wouldn’t be the one to kick the element into such a state.
A whisper came through the wind- Or was it a voice? He couldn’t tell. He could hear his heart thumping in his ribs— A sudden hollowness surfaced within him, as he saw smoke like distortion in the suddenly clear night skies, Boo jumped away—
And suddenly. Time froze.
The wind froze in place, leaving a hollowing chill in its wake. With Boo freezing in midair, and the grass posed still. A sickening, scratching sound was heard as the fabric of space forced to tear apart. Z felt a chill run down his spine, he could no longer feel his element present, almost as if it ran away. It’s not like he was proficient at ever using it. Anyways.
His stomach twisted, a form— Something that resembled a human, crawled out from the tear. A smell of gasoline spread through the air, with its source spilling onto the still grass below. And there, it stood a ghastly figure, one that he immediately recognized— white hair that matched his, a telling sign of a creature from the void. It- No. He, his body was see-through, pale, desaturated, almost as if his colors were all drained away from him. Those pale, lightless blue eyes had a red glint to it.
And he didn’t like it.
“Biffa.” The brit breathed out, shaken, but was determined not to show it. The name feels so forgiven. Despite saying it a few times here and there to the other Biffa. His throat tightened. The waning moon had somehow peaked through the frozen clouds, and it’s eerie light bathed the two.
Somewhere deep down, he knew that this would happen, or something along the lines like this. But he was still afraid, scared, he never thought it would happen so soon. It was only a matter of time.
“.̢̠̹̱̰̝͑̌̾̆̊̿̓͜.̦͍̈̎.̭̼̝̰̔̇̌̍X̧̗͉̬̱̦̼͕͂̒̆̃̀̚̚̚͢͝i̺̻̬͎͑̂̀͒́͟ ̣͚͈̙͎͂̄̅̎̉͡ͅs͚̎ú̢̢̪͉̳̙͙̟͈̅͛͊̉̍̃͒͐͟͡ ̼̝̱̱̱͖̟̏̂͑̍̃̋̕ṁ̨̱͑ ̨̬̯̖̮͉̆͗̄̈́͛̕ä̧̦̩̞̦͕͇͂͋̀͒́͠.” The other replied back. In an eerily calm tone of voice. But it’s somehow even more threatening if he had yelled it instead. No one had called him Xisuma in so long— and only…
Only… the people from his timeline.
“What do you want from me? Why are you here?” Z knew that he was stalling, he himself knew exactly when Biffa is here with his former element:
To correct their mistakes.
Where the fuck was Xisuma when he needed him?
Z observed the man across of him, he was glitching— Constantly. the robot’s once closed suit is messy, and opened, revealing huge rip in his chest armor, and the black, oil-like liquid dripped out from it. His tie was unhinged, loosely hanging around his neck. Alongside with his messy, and unkept crazed hair, it all made for a very intimidating situation for the other.
“Y͊͜ô̧͇̱̥͛͐̈͠ͅų̢̬̲̝̮̹̗̓͌̓͗̒̉̒͝͡ͅ ̧̛͔̤̣͔̂́̈́̌̒̓͘͟͢͜͝ͅǩ͖̝̮̓̆ń͔̣̮̥̍̃͌o̦̯̯̮̻̰͌͒͌̀̆̇w̬̫̪̞̯̙̮͐̿͛̀͋̂͛͊͟ ̧̡̠̬̝̹̺̰͓͐͌̀͐͆͂͊́͠w̢̢̡͓͓̞̺̥̅̓͌̉͌̀͠͝h̼͚̗̯̾̈́̐͗y.̨̡̺̗̜͓̈́͛͂̏͌͝ ͎̗̞̭̳̜͖͋͊̀̉́͐͡Y͍͆ő͖̦͇̤̉͛̚ų̬͚̔̄̊͟͞’̹͈͍̠͉̣̎̾͂͛̌̑v̠̘̗̾͝͡ȩ̻̬̺͊̅̅̓́͜͢͠ ͍̱̰̲͌̅̑͘ą̫̞̦͒͐̎́͟͠l̨̦̼̯̩̥̹̦̅̓͋̋̎̿͛͢͞͝r̛͔͈̹͓͖̜̺̘̓͊̂̃̃͗͐̊ͅe̢̛͇̼̫̖̥̲͐̆̏̍̃̚ą̤̭̮͓͍̠̻̙̖̊̀̎̈̓̅͘͘͞͝ḍ͊y̡̟̻̖̩̦͌̀̈̎͘͞ ͇̰͊̃ǎ̭̰̗̳̺̤͈̼͂̓̑͋͌̃͂̚͢ņ̝͇̥̜̩͂͆͂̉̋͠s̡̰̮̄̄̈ŵ̞̞̦̏̏ḕ̘̳̰͠r͖͙͈̓̄͡ę̦͓̲͎͈̥͂̉̍̎͂̋̕͟͝d̰̭͕̅͑͡ ̹̩͚̦̘̺͙̱̩̺̌̀̓̂͌͂̑̽͝͡it̝͕̿͒̚͢ ̦͇̤͐̐͑ȉ͉n̘̘̬͙̯̏̓̏̄̉̋͢͞ͅ ̡̯̲̗̻̹̽̾̑̀̅̊͂͛͟͜y̞̘̬͈̥͚̅̌̓͐̊͝o̓ͅư͍̬͔̣̝̓͐͛̐r̞͓͈̫̟̦͎̼͌̄̏̀̂̒͑͂ ̨̣͎̝̿̅̀͘h͔͚̰̀͐̚e̦̼͈͗͐́͆͜a͈̭͍̹̳͓͚͉̐̈́̿̉̂̈́̚͝d͈͖̬̆̓͝.͚̄ Ý̞̱̤̺̙́̃̊͘ọ̻̹̘̊͂̕͜͞͞ú̙ ̠͓̌͗j̪̽u̡̦̮̲̥̿̽̂̐͑̏͢sṱ̡̱̿̿͐ ̨̹̆͛ḏ͓̠̌̑̏̾̓͜ͅon'̨̻̙̤̖̳̻̎͊̂͌̉͞͞t̨̼͎̾̍̒ ̛̲̤̥̥̮̺͚͉̰͌̉̿̾̒̀͘͡͠ͅw̺̠͊͠a͖̙̬͔̫̒́̿̕͢͝͡ņ͔͌͂t̡͕̦̮̠͑̓́͆͂ ̙̮̩̘̘̍́͆͒̀̈́͜t̪̤̦͉̊̃́̾ò͍̖̯̌̕ ̢̟͇̙̫̼͊̓̇̐͘͘͜͠a̡͔̩̫̙̝̔̑̈́̽͛͠ç̡̹̙̘̺̑̐̃̆̍̐̚͟ĉ̨̖͈̒̋ẻ̡̝͎̭̣̼̝̉̂̎̏̑̃̑̅͢͜p̨̖͈̪͎̿̓̎͋̾t̖̯͙̠̙͖̹̔̽̽̆̃̅͟͡͠ ̧͛i͘͢t͕̾.̡̢̨̯̦͉̺͒̇̔͑͌͋̕”The semi-transparent Brit responded, in that same, monotone, dead voice.
And before he could even start comprehending what the other had said, suddenly—
The former time traveler suddenly felt a tight grasp around his neck, he didn’t even see him move— And he wouldn’t be surprised with the element of time on Biffa’s side— But this? This was threatening— He was going to die— Right here. Right now, No one is here to save him— Oh god— What is X is going to think of this— What if—
He found himself attempting to push the other voidwalker away, but to no success— Biffa was somehow able to interact with him, but not the other way around. He gasped for air, trying time and time again to free himself— His vision darkening— He could hear the ringing in his ear, drowning out whatever words that his former friend was saying—
This is it— This is the end—
And no one would ever know what happened— He isn’t going to be able to warn them about him.
Then. Suddenly time unfroze.
And the person that was once in front of him disappeared without a trace, with Xisuma floating above with several command screens surrounding him. Z immediately bent over, and started wheezing for air, he took in as much as he can, without as for a second to remember and breath back out. That was too close to death for comfort— He had escaped death once, and he was sure that he wouldn’t escape it again.
X quickly switched back into survival and hopped back down onto the grass below, which was still stained by that black liquid from before, and quickly scrambled next to Z, holding him by his back. “Z? Buddy? You alright there?” He quietly asked, while supporting him to make sure he wouldn’t fall over. Boo quickly joined them as well, circling her owner in concern and meowing.
“L-let’s get you home, we can talk about this later, alright? Just. Try to sleep it off.”
As if it’ll be so easy.
Z knew, at the back of his mind, that this will not be the end of it.
And now that he knows that X can indeed do something like this. Next time… It will be a lot more different.
My element most definitely helps with that! While I may be immune to lava damage, my items are- not, to say the least. However, lava bending takes quite the toll on your energy- have you ever tried clearing a hole to the nether floor? Incase you haven't it's, uh... quite deep. But hey, which one of us can confidently say they've never lost a pickaxe to lava?
