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EX carried his brother through the void, until they landed back on Hermitcraft, back to safety.
He gently put X back on his feet, gently wiped the condense from his (borrowed) helmet and gently walked him towards the shopping district that should be nearby. There was bound to be a hermit around there.
It didn’t take long at all before he found who he was looking for.
The lead sank in his shoes.
Out of all the Hermits. Why did it have to be Zedaph? Why did it have to be the only person EX considered a friend?
He untangled himself from X and was about to run off so Zed could discover X for himself, when there was a call.
“Don’t move, EX, or I’m hunting you to the ends of the earth.”
EX froze, his back turned to Zed so he was completely open to the man’s mercy.
And he deserved it.
“X, can you please come here?”
The only sound was X’s shuffling as he walked over to Zed.
EX could vaguely hear the whispered words of Zed as he talked to X, too quiet for EX to make out.
“Don’t move, EX, until someone comes for you.”
“Yes.”
With that, there was a swoop of Zed’s elytra and the sound of a rocket and they were gone, leaving EX alone.
He took shaky breaths, trying to control himself while he waited. And waited. And waited.
It was all his fault, and he deserved to stand there and suffer, to be forced to relive his mistakes over and over.
He'd fucked up.
He should be the one to have the scars, he should he the one to bear the weight of misery, he should be the one to hurt.
He wasn't hurt. He was just fine. He was simply doing great. He had nothing going on but the crushing guilt and the haunted look in X's eyes playing on a loop in his head over and over.
Being forced to wait was the least of his worries. He especially feared what would happen once Zed or another hermit returned. They'd make his life miserable, just as he deserved, and he was looking forward to it.
“Good, you know how to listen,” Zed sneered once he returned an hour later. He stood directly behind EX, out of sight.
EX refused to turn around. “It’s my fault.”
“Yes we know, alright?” Zed grabbed EX by his neck, right in between the helmet and chest part of his suit, where the plates gave way to soft, supple fabric. “I had a little chat with the other Hermits, and they so gracefully decided to let me handle you, so I’m going to handle it.”
"What are you going to do to me?" EX asked, staring straight ahead and ignoring the hand digging into his neck like a noose.
"That's for me to know and for you to figure out," Zed said and stared to yank EX over to the center of the shopping district, and the huge nether portal there. Zed dragged EX through and they started on the long trek to wherever Zed has his base.
They didn’t see a single other hermit on their trek there, and EX didn’t have to guess they were all comforting X about now, and didn’t that sting?
Besides, Zed shouldn’t be taking time out of his precious day to take care of EX. He should be taking care of X as well, and leave EX to rot. Maybe he will.
Zed yanked EX through a portal and through a magnificent base EX didn’t see much of, before he was brought down to the lowest floors and thrown in something that’s definitely a prison cell.
Zed closed the door and locked EX inside. “Don’t go anywhere.” He’s off, probably to forget about EX and take care of X instead.
EX slid against the back of the cell until he’s sitting, leaning his head against the wall and staring at the door as if it would magically open for him.
Perfect, flawless X. Mother’s favorite child, exemplary admin, wonderful human being.
Everything EX could never be. Everything he wished he was, but wasn’t. Everything he never had a chance to be.
He was the troublemaker, the problem child, the worst of the worst scum.
And now he’d made it all worse.
Of course he did.
He could do nothing right. He could do no good. He couldn’t even protect his own baby brother from himself, and wasn’t that a wonderful realization. He broke everything he touched.
Zed had every right to be angry at EX, had every right to leave him in a cold, damp cell and forget about him. EX wasn’t important, good, or savable. How could he be? After all the hurt he’d caused?
EX was left all alone for what felt like days, but was probably closer to a couple of hours before Zed returned.
Alone, thankfully. EX didn’t know what he’d do with himself if Zed had brought company.
Hopefully perish and die a permadeath, even if that was idle hope on the Hermitcraft server.
Zed opened the door, put food inside, and closed the door. Not a word said.
EX suddenly saw with perfect clarity what Zed was going to do. Isolation.
“Zed,” EX said and rushed to the bars. “Please say something. Please. Do something. I can’t stay here. I’ll go mad.”
Zed walked away without even a glance backwards or a stutter in his step.
Leaving EX alone again.
The routine was very, painfully simple.
Zed left food without talking, and EX was left alone the rest of the time.
To rot.
Why they wanted him alive he didn’t understand. He had fucked up beyond fixing. He was unsavable. He was a pest, he was awful. He didn’t deserve as much as food.
But he got it, and he ate it, and he suffered in silence.
EX lost track of time, lost track of anything beyond this simple room, lost track of how often Zed had been by.
It was the only thing he had. Zed. And the man refused to even look at him.
In the beginning, EX begged.
Later on he didn’t so much as lift his head.
His suit needed maintenance. To clean out the air filters, to clean the plates to avoid them from rusting, to get some time to stretch without the suit restricting him, but he didn’t mention it to Zed.
Zed didn’t listen anyways. He didn’t care. He didn’t want EX around. EX was just a pest that wouldn’t go away, that wouldn’t die already.
EX didn’t expect Zed to talk one day, didn’t expect anything but the same routine once more.
“Up.”
EX looked up in surprise. Zed had talked. To him. Had said words. EX almost forgot what that was like. It took a long moment for him to process exactly what Zed had said, but once he did he scrambled to his feet.
“Out of your suit.”
EX took a couple of deep breaths before stripping out of his suit until he was in the jumpsuit underneath. He needed a bath. Or ten.
“Give it here.”
EX picked up all the pieces and brought them to Zed, not questioning anything. Zed was talking him and EX was shocked enough by that to not question anything else.
Zed took all the pieces and left EX to his food.
EX ate it without tasting it, as usual.
Zed didn’t return until the next time EX had to be fed and wordlessly handed him his suit back.
EX donned it, and found it had been cleaned and oiled. “Thanks,” EX said softly, his voice rough from unuse.
No reply. More food was placed on the ground, and Zed left.
Silence returned once more, and EX crawled back against the wall.
Things didn’t change for a long time.
They only changed when there fanatic footsteps down the steps to where EX was kept.
EX stood up and came face to face with the last person he expect to see. Or care for him, or want to be anywhere around him.
- In the flesh.
X’s hands moved but EX didn’t understand why.
“He says he’s happy to see you,” Zed said with disgust in his voice that was entirely correct.
“Likewise. What’s this all about? Why are you here? Why aren’t you talking?”
That one got a flinch, and EX fully expected X to run. He deserved to run. Far away from EX so EX could suffer in silence instead.
More handwaving. “He says he missed you.”
EX shook his head. “You shouldn’t miss me, you should hate me. Absolutely loathe me. I got you into it in the first place, I’m the reason everything happened as it did. I’m at fault. I fucked up.” He alwasy fucked up. He was always at fault. He couldn’t do anything right.
“He knows.”
“Then why are you here? Why do you ever want to do anything with me?”
“He’s your brother.”
“Bullshit. I’m nothing but a fuckup. Let me rot, it would be kinder.”
X shook his head, and Zed didn’t have to translate it for EX to get the gist of it. “He says he won’t.”
“Leave. I don’t care. Leave.” EX stepped towards X, wanting to get him away, wanting to get him out of his little pit of misery.
Zed stepped in between them and put a enchanted netherite sword to EX’s throat. “Don’t you dare.”
EX froze. He hadn’t officially set his spawn in this jail cell, he hadn’t slept in however long it’s been. He’d go all the way back to world spawn. He could. He could get out. He could get away from here.
He rushed over to X and as thanks got a stab in his back, with Zed twisting the sword until EX died and got sent all the way back to world spawn.
He ran. As fast as his legs could carry him, away from the tightly-filled spawn area and away from any possible hermits. He ran.
He didn’t stop running until he could grab some food, then he went back to running again, as fast as possible.
It turned night, and it turned day. The landscape changed, and eventually EX found some place to hide, deep underground around deepslate levels. He was just fine there. He didn’t want to ever get back to surface. The chance of finding him here was far smaller anyways than he would’ve been up top.
Hiding was a good thing, he reminded himself. He had to hide.
It was the kind thing to do.
Pretend he didn’t exist.
Maybe he could get out of this server, but for now he hid.