A Safe Place (is so far away)
Part 1 of ?
Ao3 Link Word Count: 2.7k words Character(s): Helsknight, Evil Xisuma, Xisuma. Briefly appeared; Welsknight and Etho Summary: Hels and Ex are wandering the outer end islands after season 8, jumping from one server to the other, never staying long in a single one. Ironically, the End is the safest place for the two. That all changes when Ex falls into the Void, and Hels can’t find them when he follows.
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“Come on,” Ex called as they jumped off of the edge of the end island, using the elytra strapped to their back to glide down to a ledge on an adjacent island. Hels gritted her teeth, taking one last swipe at the attacking endermen, the resulting screams filling his ears as he jumped after Ex.
Hels’ jump was clumsy, and she reached out to grab the ledge, but her fingers barely brushed the endstone of the ledge Ex was standing on. They jumped to grab his hand, pulling her up onto the ledge with them, and they both collapsed to the ground. The enraged and agonized screams of the endermen still echoed through the Void behind them.
“You’re alright? You didn’t get hurt, right?” Ex asked, glancing over Hels as they drew him further from the edge.
“Yeah, fine,” the knight mumbled, her eyes never straying from the endermen gathering at the edge of the other island, staring after them both. He moved closer to the wall of stone that made up the main island, pulling Ex into a two-meter tall space that they nearly had to duck under to fit into.
“Hels, I’m serious,” Ex pressed, pulling her to the ground. She looked over at them as they ran their hands over her armor, checking for blood or any other sign that something had gotten under his armor. Their hands ended up on his face, red eyes meeting brown.
Ex took in a long breath, their hands falling to their lap. Hels took in their appearance; the bags underneath their eyes, the lightly glowing freckles splashed across their face. Their dirty white hair framed their face, while the same hair had fallen over their eyes just minutes before, something they had been irritated with.
They looked so much more tired than they had when they started their journey. The hands that Hels gathered into his own were stained black by the Void - something that Ex insisted was fine, but Hels was almost certain it was not.
“We should rest,” Hels broke the silence. Ex hesitated for a moment before they nodded.
“Yeah, we should. You okay with doing it here?” They asked.
“As long as you won’t fall off,” she answered, prompting a chuckle from Ex.
“I think I’ll be alright,” Ex replied, leaning back against the endstone wall. Hels moved to sit next to them, pulling them to her body. A while ago, Ex would’ve tried to murder him for that, but now they leaned into him, resting against her shoulder. Despite them being taller than her, their body felt small next to him.
Their body shook slightly in a way that it hadn’t before, a gentle tremor running through them every once in a while as they relaxed. Hels took their hands once again, ones that she remembered bending the Void to their will; the same Void that now stained them black and crept up their arms. Hels saw it every time Ex thought he wasn’t looking, every time they pulled down their tattered sleeve to run their fingers over the inky blackness.
“Do you think we’re in a server’s end?” Ex asked softly, pulling Hels out of his thoughts.
“One that we can stay in? Doubtful,” she muttered, her stomach twisting slightly as he glanced down at them again. “What if we tried anyway?” Hels could ask. Even if there wasn’t a server that would keep them long-term - two outcasts, exiled from their homes, one of them from Hell, of all places - Ex needed to get out of the Void.
Not like they would ever admit that, though. The Void was supposed to be their home, but this Void differed vastly from the Void they had grown up in. Cold, unforgiving, and something that you would never come back from unless you were within the range of a server. In that case, the only thing that they would be subjected to was a painful respawn.
“Yeah, that’s true,” Ex murmured, letting out a long sigh. “Only thing I need is right here, anyway. G’night, Hels.”
Their head ended up on his shoulder, and her grip tightened around them as she stared out into the Void, his mind running through everything that could go wrong.
He didn’t let himself sleep at first, but as Ex’s breath evened out, her head began to droop as well, and she was eventually dragged into sleep.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
Hels was drawn back to consciousness by Ex shaking him awake, and she blinked up at them, exhaustion clouding his mind.
“About time. I’ve got breakfast,” Ex said, placing a chorus fruit into her hands as they took a bite of a half-eaten one they still had in their hand. Hels sat up, frowning as he looked from Ex, who had just teleported further away from her, then back to the chorus fruit.
“You went out by yourself?” He asked, and Ex frowned.
“And? You do it too,” they replied pointedly, taking another bite of the fruit.
“Yes, but-!” Hels cut herself off, narrowing her eyes at Ex. They knew why Hels was unhappy, but they wouldn't be the one to bring it up. “Fine. Sure. Go risking your life.”
“A little dramatic, but okay,” Ex responded dryly.
Hels directed his glare towards the fruit in his hands. His stomach twisted slightly at the sight of it. Chorus fruit had been all they had eaten for so long, Hels wasn’t sure if she could stand it anymore. But she took slow, painstaking bites of it, withstanding each sudden tug of teleportation as the chorus fruit pulled him around.
Ex was waiting when she finished, bouncing on the balls of their feet and pulling him up.
“Let’s get going,” they urged, heading towards the edge once again, and they climbed up the side of the island, on a precarious, natural path. Hels followed them with little hesitation, watching their every step, all of her instincts on high alert. They both made it to the top of the island safely, however, and Hels readjusted the wings attached to his armor, stretching in a way that he couldn’t in the slightly cramped space they had taken refuge in.
Ex set off quickly, with Hels following them closely. She kept one hand on the hilt of her sword at her side at all times, keeping her eyes downcast.
Each jump to a different island was nerve-wracking, every moment over the Void a second that their scavenged elytra might fail, or the jump might be slightly too far. However, they quickly fell into a routine, each motion repetitive.
They were once again climbing up the side of an island after making a jump, when Hels came face-to-face with an enderman, the sight freezing him in place for just a moment, its glowing, bright purple eyes hypnotizing.
It was a moment too long, and the second that Hels got a grip on herself and reached for her sword, the enderman let out a shrill, enraged screech and swiped at him with its claws. Ex pulled Hels out of the way, making her stumble backwards, and before he could regain his footing, the enderman had swiped at Ex next.
They had attempted to dodge, but the blow connected with their shoulder, making them stumble. Hels jumped in, taking a swipe at the enderman, which opened up a deep gash across its back. Sickly green blood began to seep out of the wound, and the enderman let out a final screech before it collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
Hels was just turning around to check for any more threats when she heard a cry from behind her and whipped around.
Another enderman had teleported to Ex, and this time the blow connected with their head. Two screams wrought the air this time; Hels’ and the enderman’s, both enraged yells.
Hels’ heart was pounding in his chest as he stabbed the enderman directly through the middle, letting go of the hilt as soon as it sank into the creature’s body. Instead, she dove towards Ex - who had fallen over the edge of the island when they were hit.
She watched them fall into empty Void, with nothing underneath to catch them to save them from an agonizing death. No.Damnit, this was his fault, he couldn’t just watch them fall away from her like this when there were two options; Ex either woke up alone or never woke up again.
So Hels pushed himself over the edge as well, closing her eyes against the darkness. The further he fell into it, the more he could feel it eating away at his very being, tearing her apart piece by piece.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
When Hels opened his eyes, he was blinded by the sun glaring down at him, and she closed them again. There was hard stone underneath her head, and it made him wince.
He pushed himself up quickly once the reality clicked in her brain, looking around frantically for Ex while he shaded his eyes so that he could at least somewhat see, pushing the dull ache still lingering from the respawn aside. But she couldn’t see them anywhere, which brought a frown to her face. They should be here, unless they had set a spawn or-
Or unless the admin had messed with them.
Hels’ hand went to the empty sheath at his side, and then balled in frustration. She would have to nab a sword from somewhere.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that there were buildings fairly close to the place that she was. He bristled slightly, but then forced himself to relax. People to look out for, but also people to raid.
She took quick and silent steps to move to the nearest place, slipping inside as stealthily as possible. Ignoring everything else, he made his way through it until he found rows of chests, which he dove into, digging until he found a diamond sword. It didn’t look well enchanted, but that didn’t matter.
Hels left as quickly as he had come, this time a sword held tightly in his grip. She darted into the trees, making her way towards where she could see more buildings - a larger establishment.
It didn’t take him long to run into a person. They had white hair, like Ex, which was swept over their face. Hels took in their mask and thick jacket as they turned around to face her.
“Where’s your admin?” Hels asked lowly as she raised the sword to their face.
“Whoa, okay, buddy. I don’t want a fight,” the person said, raising their hands in surrender. Hels gritted his teeth at the answer. “What’s yo-”
“I said, where’s your admin,” Hels growled, taking another step closer to them, and pushing the tip of the sword to their neck.
“Hey, look. I’m not sure,” came the answer, and he continued hurriedly once Hels pressed the blade of the sword further against his neck. “But I can call him! If you’d like.”
“No pulling shit. You’re not calling for help. Just your admin,” Hels instructed.
“No funny business,” the person confirmed, pulling out his communicator slowly. Hels watched him carefully, catching sight of part of the message. The communicator was slowly put away again, and the two stood in silence. Every time the person would move, the more tense Hels got, his grip getting tighter on the hilt of the sword.
It didn’t take them long to gain a crowd, which only made Hels more desperate. He grabbed the person from behind, the blade for the sword pressed against his neck, which would get closer anytime one of the curious and anxious faces got closer.
One face stood out to her, though, and when she caught sight of it, she pulled the sword so close against the person’s neck that they finally made a noise.
Wels’ hand drifted to the sword at his hip, though he never quite touched it. His gaze locked onto Hels’, and it was filled with a mix of anger and protectiveness. He was here, meaning this was Hermitcraft, and the admin would be Xisuma.
That fact only made Hels want to tear his head off even more.
Hels recognized the figure from Ex’s descriptions immediately, when he landed. Dressed completely in green armor, mirroring Ex’s own in all but color, with purple visor that Hels couldn’t see through.
“What’s going on here?” He asked calmly, his voice distorted slightly by the helmet.
“Where are they?” Hels spat, glaring at the armored figure.
“Where is who?” Xisuma returned.
“Ex, you fucking-!” She bit her tongue, taking a moment to hold back the words before continuing, his voice icy and forcibly level. “They weren’t at spawn. They only died a minute before me, you did something to them. What did you do to them.”
“Look, um, Hels?” He seemed to glance at Wels, taking in his reaction before continuing. “Hels. I’ll explain everything, if you come with me. Let Etho go.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Hels shot back.
“Look, I’m- you can have my sword,” Xisuma offered, pulling the sword out of its sheath and offering it to Hels. Wels automatically took a step towards Xisuma, but he was waved away. “You can have a sword to my back the entire time. Just let go of Etho, come with me.” His voice was reassuring, like he was trying to soothe a wild animal. And maybe he was.
Hels moved slowly at first, then all at once, snatching the sword from Xisuma and pressing it against his armored frame. The other sword fell to the ground, discarded.
“Walk,” she muttered, and Xisuma obeyed. He walked slowly, heading through the maze of buildings to a Nether portal. The portal opened into a hub, which the admin navigated with ease. He approached one portal in particular, and when they stepped through it, Hels realized that it must’ve been Xisuma’s base.
“Explain,” she demanded, never once moving the sword.
“Can I ask something first?” Xisuma requested, but continued before Hels replied. “Did you two possibly die in the Void?”
“Yes, we’ve been there ever since-” Hels bit back the words, letting them die on his tongue. The moon.
“Right, well,” Xisuma started, not trying to turn to look at Hels. “Sometimes, when players die in the Void, it kind of- well. There’s a chance they end up in me. I’ve been trying to figure out who this is for a little while, but now…”
Hels went through a variety of emotions in a split second, finally settling back on anger. “Then let them out,” she spat.
Xisuma hesitated. “I’m… not sure that’s the best idea. We don’t know what state they’re in, and moving them could do more harm than good.”
“Oh, fucking wonderful,” Hels growled. “So I’m just supposed to leave them with you?! You can check on them, so do it,” he demanded.
“I, hm. I don’t like messing around in player’s code,” Xisuma tried.
“And I’m just supposed to leave them with you,” she repeated, her voice laced with thick disdain.
“You can stay and watch me,” Xisuma offered. “I don’t wanna fight,” he attempted to reassure Hels.
Hels hatedit, but how the hell could he fight Xisuma? He had the power right now, he had Ex, and Hels might as well be there to make sure that Xisuma did nothing wrong.
“…very well,” he muttered, sheathing Xisuma’s sword, watching him closely as he turned around. “I’m watching you.”
So that was how Hels ended up curled against one of the people that she wanted dead the most, every nerve in her body screaming at her, itching to reach for the knife that she had grabbed from his kitchen.
He was asleep now, his breathing slow. He had taken his armor off hours ago, mostly under instruction from Hels. He could kill Xisuma right here and now, and only the thought of Ex held him back.
Hels couldn’t bring herself to look at Xisuma’s face, though half of it was obscured by a mask. He looked too much like Ex for Hels’ liking.
He just had to wait until he had Ex back. It would be okay, it would all be okay.
