Chapter Text
Grian hurriedly got ready, taking a few essentials and then quickly jumping on Pluto, deciding it would be better to get to the district by horse rather than walking. He was too tired to walk. And he had too much on his mind to trust himself to not get lost.
He slowly made his way to the temporary library at spawn, his stomach turning and twisting out of worry. He is so scared. Why did Xisuma call such a spontaneous and urgent meeting? What happened to prompt such a decision? Last time this happened, it didn't end well.
Grian hopes it's some good news…then he suddenly gets an idea. He opens his communicator and stares at the message X sent. Talk about recent issues, it said.
What if…he knows?
Xisuma is extremely smart, that's no secret. There is a reason he is the admin after all. He said he was looking through the code to look for “irregular activity” as he called it…
NAH that can't be! Grian made sure to mask his code just enough so that he kept some of the abilities that came with his…less than fortunate biology, like the ability to look through code without admin powers or be able to see where he shouldn't. He didn't want to use what they had given him much, but you gotta give it to him, looking through walls or seeing miles away is very useful while setting up or finding pranks!!
But he is getting off topic.
Xisuma…cannot know what he is.
_____
Xisuma knows exactly two things.
One being that he found remnants of Watcher code in the code of Hermitcraft, meaning there has been a breach and a Watcher made it in through his firewalls.
Two being that it's complete and utter bulls–t. He made sure that there is no way someone uninvited makes it to the server. It's guarded by layers upon layers upon LAYERS of security measures, SPECIFICALLY so that these creatures don't make their way to their safe haven.
But he actually knows a third thing. He fucked up by calling a meeting immediately. He should have dealt with all of this alone.
But alas, he was stressed and freaking out, scared for not just his life, but the lives of all his friends, his family.
So he called them all to not just inform them of the impending danger, but also to confirm to himself that they are all currently ok, alive and breathing.
Looking back, he was an idiot.
It isn't even that hard to put together! There is a Watcher. There is no way a Watcher (or anything really) can get here uninvited. Therefore, it's clear that the Watcher was invited.
He is a complete moron.
He made everyone worry over nothing, just because he was scared. He really should have dealt with this alone.
But it was done.
Knowing that there is no impending danger calmed him down a bit, but he still couldn't rest. He knew that looking into people's code without permission would be a breach of privacy, but he simply couldn't let this big of a thing fly. He trusted whoever this watcher was, simply because it HAD to be one of his hermits. No one else would be able to get here.
He needed to know who it was, but first he needed to calm all of them down. He called a meeting to tell everyone there is no danger. They are safe.
_____
When Grian made it to spawn, he was far from first. A lot of hermits were already anxiously waiting around and hoping the reason they were all called in is a good one, unlike last time.
He saw Mumbo and Scar, their hair all jumbled up as if they just woke up, sitting against a wall of one shop. Scars eyes lit up when he saw him, while Mumbo gave a sad smile.
“G! Good to see you! You ran out of the library so fast yesterday it made me worry so much! How are you now?” Scar quickly said, not even stopping to take breaths between sentences.
“Oh…I'm good! No need to worry Scar!” Grian answered, starting quietly and sadly, but faking more cheeriness as the sentence went on. He was so….tired.
“Are you…sure?” Scar said, but then he got immediately cut by the man next to him.
“Scar let Gri be, if he says he is fine, he is.” Mumbo, against what he just said, did not believe that Grian was fine. He had giant bags under his eyes, a distant look, messy hair and clothes…and also what happened last night is quite telling that Grian is not having a good time.
But before Mumbo (or Scar) could overthink their waffled friend's health and wellbeing, they were quickly distracted by Bdubs, who was currently telling everyone to quiet down, because X has news about…Them.
“I…” X, standing on the roof of the library, started saying something, before staring out onto the sea of hermits. His anxiety was apparent, even while having his mask. They were all so terrified, and it was only because of his mistake. He needed to fix this. He took a deep breath and…
“I am so deeply sorry everyone.”
As Xisuma said this, without continuing, there were a lot of confused sounds from the hoard in front of him. What is he even apologising for? No one understood anything. People kept saying “it's ok?” or “for what?”. Everyone. Everyone….exept for Grian. Grian was staring at him. Weird. But alas, he needed to explain himself.
“I…was wrong. I am sorry, I caused so much panic to all of you. I got scared too quickly and I ended up tangling all of you into this fear and I am sorry. It was all a false alarm.”
“X what are you talking about? Are there no Watchers after all??? IT WAS A FALSE ALARM?” Pearl started talking, her smile getting wider with each word. She could not care for the panic a false alarm does, as it's still so much better than actual danger.
“There…well…” X started, slipping over his words. With that Pearls smile started to falter. Seeing this X huried.
“There is NO danger to Hermitcraft, NO danger to any hermits.” He said, not being able to lie to people who obviously went through Watcher related stories themselves. They deserve to know that they are safe. There are a few panicked sounds, a few relieved sighs and a few questions thrown here and there. What does X even mean by this?
“When I opened Hermitcraft, it was made for one singular reason. A safe haven. For anyone. Safe from the outside world. I made sure of that. There is not a singular chance that an uninvited person, player or watcher, would be able to force their way into this server. There is no threat. There isn't an intruder.” Xisuma kept circling around the truth. He shouldn't say what is obviously someone's secret, but this is a serious matter, he can't lie to his hermits!
With this more in depth reasoning, most hermits seemed to calm themselves down and…and Grian was still soullessly staring at him…
“Xisuma? May I ask…you didn't answer my question, could you? Are there any of Them here? You are going around it.” Pearl. She was scared to death. Grian could tell why. She remembers Evo like it was yesterday. She thinks that Grian just got taken away, tortured…she is probably worried about herself less, about Grian and the others so much more. She saw thru Xisumas re-tracking immediately, now staring at said man with determined, but horrified eyes.
“There…” X started but faltered. He wanted to repeat there was nothing to be afraid of, that it's ok, that it's safe, that there is no danger. But he realised that's not how this will work. He needed to go deeper. He sat down on the roof he was standing on, dangling his feet down. When he started speaking he spoke with much more flavour, louder and more sure.
“Hermitcraft was created as a SAFE haven. It is a place of zero judgement, made specifically for those running away from their pasts. How many of you permakilled someone? How many of you have stories yet to be told to anyone, because of shame or fear? How many of you were considered dangerous before? Kicked out? Hunted? Stereotyped as a monster?”
Everyone now started staring at him with wide eyes that could rival Keralis. He stopped his little speech to look at his Hermits, one catching his attention more than anyone, while most people were shocked and confused about his sudden lecture, most figuring out where it would lead - therefore already panicking inside, there was one person not doing that. Grian was no longer staring at him, looking around him. X immediately figured out what Grian was doing, he was trying to see people's reaction…
Grian suddenly felt like waking up from a trance. What was X on about? He…knows, doesn't he? But it's ok, is it not? If anything that he is saying right now is to go by, he has at least X on his side! He doesn't hate him! But what if that's not where he is heading with this? What if he says they need to make the server safer and they need to kick him out for that? Wait, do they even know it's him yet? No they can't! He hid so well, and, and, and…
“Grian?” Mumbo, oh bless him, noticed there was something off about Grian immediately and put a stop to his ramblings.
“Huh?” He answered, not really fully…there.
“You were…mumbling something…are you sure you are fine?” Mumbo asked with concern flooding every part of his body. But before Gri could answer, Xisuma continued his speech.
“So can I ask you all to leave this topic alone? All I will say, is that Watchers do typically have the power to disguise themselves as players. I originally thought it was to cause trouble and manipulate, but I now realise my prejudice was leaning into my fear and I let it get control. Every single person…is an individual. It should not matter what species you are, what happened to you, where you come from, we are all family here. A lot of us are mob hybrids, some hostile ones. How many times were you called dangerous to be around? Now imagine if the entirety of this server, made to be safe for EVERYONE, started calling you dangerous. How would that feel?”
Oh Xisuma knew what he was doing. The hatred towards Watchers was, while mostly deserved, a lot. There is a very good reason Grian hid this part of himself that much.
“I don't believe that crap!” Pearl started yelling, it felt so out of character for how nice she always is. “Pearl!” Gem, right next to her, was holding her hand, seemingly to calm her down. It wasn't working.
“No. You don't get it! Those things aren't like mobs! They are horrifying, they destroy worlds with a touch! I wont let those monsters near this place when I finally have a family again!” Pearl continued her well deserved crashout, “Griba! You have to tell them! Please you cannot think this is ok! You know what Watchers are like! You said you “dealt with it”, no?”
Grian stood almost frozen staring at Pearl. Oh how much she will hate him. Nothing seems to budge her mind does it? He closed his eyes, yet he could still see. Breathed in. Out. It's time isn't it?....
“Watchers…” he started with eyes now on him. He spoke so uncharacteristically slow, every word seemingly having a deep meaning. “are a species that gets wildly mischaracterized…hey sis, did you know there is a book about us in this library? Funny that, did you know you died? Cuz I don't remember that one happening…apparently in books im the only one who survived…the admin of Evo.”
“Grian, what are you talking about? Is it the sleep deprivation getting to you? What do you mean Evo is the books?” Pearl asked, right before a realization hit Scar right in the head.
“Wait! Are you talking about that story I read to you? About the server taken over by Them? And then they turned the…wait, G did you just say that…oh…oh.” Scar figured it out, one less trouble for Grian then.
“What I am saying.” Grian started, now louder and more aggressive, “is that Watchers aren't a species that one is born as. Maybe you can but I don't know that much, I just know that most Watchers, were all once players. They can “transform” into players not for fooling around, but because that's what they once looked like…before their humanity was stripped away from them…”
“Grian you cannot be defending Them after what they did to us, what they did to Evo!”
“I AM THE CODE THAT CAUSED THE ALARM!”
And just like that, the world seemed to stop. Grian didn't know what pushed him over the edge like that, why he suddenly had the urge to yell it so that he wouldn't have to explain, nor did he know why he took that urge further. But as much as he wanted to run away, he did that enough, so much so that he was known for it in the books. He needed to stop running.
“I am the Watcher. I escaped through worlds after the watchers kidnapped me back when I was still a player. I disguised my code so that it looks player-like and crashed through the season 5 firewall.”
He was crying. When did he start crying? Watchers don't cry.
“I'm so sorry Pearl, I am so sorry everyone. I'll understand if you want me to leave I'll leave myself no need to fight and-”
He was stopped by a crushing weight on him. Pearl was hugging him.
What.
He doesn't understand…why would she…
“OH YOU IDIOT. YOU HAD ME SO WORRIED!”
Back then, it felt so terrifying, thinking of this moment, the exact second he reveals the truth. He couldn't even imagine the faces of his friends, it caused him to cry on the spot. Now it all seems so stupid. Why was he ever worried? Does he really think so low of his family?
After his reveal, the hermits ALL immediately took it on themselves as their personal mission to make Grian see that he is indeed a hermit, player or not. He is part of their family now, there is no coming back.
Pearl explained to him her reasons for her outrage. It was exactly what he expected. She was blinded by fear of losing him again. She was devastated when she was separated from him the first time as she truly thought that her beloved brother died saving them. She would not survive another departure.
Similar reasoning was said by Mumbo, who Grian hasn't even considered. Mumbo, for once, managed to keep calm and not show his extreme worry and fear, just because he knew it was not his place to talk. Oh bless you Mumbo. Grian really needs to give him some sort of gift after all this, he probably gained like 20 gray hairs from dealing with him no?
Scar was a really refreshing person to be around lately. He didn't seem scared even before the reveal, just trying to understand why everyone around him felt the way they did. Now there was no pity there, no apologies, not even much acknowledgement of before mentioned events really.
When Grian asked Scar about it, he just looked at him, smiled a bit and said: ”You know what G? I have been told a lot of stuff about my vex origin before coming here. You never bothered me with it, why should I burden you? So what that we are weird? You glow purple? Fun! I glow blue! Who cares!” After this Grian tried explaining to Scar about how Watchers are much worse than any mobs or mob hybrids and how strong and feared they are. How much of a monster he is.
To which Scar cut him off by staring right at him and in a cheerful tone saying "Cannibalism! :D”...Grian stopped questioning Scar after that.
Xisuma has been so filled with guilt it was reeking from him. Grian tried to explain to the admin that it's ok, and that if this hasn't happened this way he would have never come clean, always and forever living in fear. X, always the sweetheart he is, didn't buy it though, still apologizing for putting Grian in such a situation.
And to be completely honest, Grian was extremely thankful for what had happened. For how afraid he was, everything always ends well, doesn't it?