Prison of the dead (Labyrinth of Monsters' sequel) A hermitcraft/3rd life fanfic

Chapter 24 - Scott

The official name for a group of vexes is now called a chaos.

Change my mind. 

I knew what was going to happen a moment before Ren yelled out. I watched as he died, sad, but knowing the attack isn't over. My sword's in my hand, and I'm listening for any further sound of movement. Cub's desperately failing not to cry, Ren's watching in shock. Only I'm prepared when someone lands behind us.

'Eyes!' I yell the warning but it's too late again. I'm pulled back by my top, a knife at my neck. The crackle of flames lets me know that it's Hels, as I struggle, looking over to see Ren, snarling and biting at Etho. Doc laughs as he steps from the trees.

'Nice work, Hypno.' He grins. There's a trident in one hand, and a knife wound dripping black blood from his chest. His robotic eye is unpowered, and the other is glowing red. Clawed hands, lab coat torn more that normal, a fanged smile as he approaches Cub.

'You did this.' The vex growls back. A blue fire burns to life at each of his hands, but his enemy is unfazed.

'Your little magic tricks can't stop me.' Doc paces in front of him. Ren snarls with fury next to me, still trying to escape. But I know Etho's not going to let go. Torn clothes, bloodstains and pale skin show that he's changed since I last saw him. But I hate him just as much as before. 

'You can't get away from the NNHO.' 

'What's that?' I manage to spit out. 'Given up on the normal NHO?'

'Yes.' 

'You should be the NMO. New Monster Order. Because you're MONSTERS.' Ren adds.

'Your little friends back in the other world are the only monsters I know of. Has anyone told you yet what they did to Etho?'

'Gave him what he deserved?' I answer. 'Because right now I can't think of anything you'd be unhappy about that I don't find an apt punishment.'

'Hels, kill him.' 

I kick the knight away before he makes a killing blow, turning to face him with my sword drawn. It takes a moment for him to recover, and I use it to my advantage, swiping him to the ground. 

'You think the author's going to save you now?' I challenge.

'You'll die as well! The author wants you to cause angst for Jimmy!'

'How's he doing, other than avenging my death?'

'You can ask him yourself.' Hels tries to trip me, but I manage to kill him first. Doc's glaring at me. 

'Hypno! Get him!'

'Can't you get me yourself? Are you too scared?' 

'HYPNO!' 

An arrow shoots towards me, but I'm not afraid. I run at Etho, trying to pull him away from Ren. My wolfy friend manages to break free, fighting back. Etho blocks him, but he continues fighting, distracting the ninja. I run at Doc, but he stabs at me with his trident. I skid to a stop. Cub summons an army of vexes that fly towards all the NNHO alive. Doc swipes them away, unable to fight back. I slice at the creeper, but he pushes me away. I slash up, hitting his chin right in the middle of this goatee. He punches me, and I tumble onto the ground, not letting it faze me and getting straight back up. Hypno's still firing at us, but his arrows aren't a problem as I manage to dodge them. 

I hear a whine from behind and turn around to see Etho running  over, leaving Ren's body sprawled dead on the ground. 

'You're not killing all of us! I cry bravely, fighting back. Cub takes over in fighting Doc, shooting Vex magic and fire at him, as well as sword attacks. I know I'm not as good a fighter as Etho, especially with Hypno's arrows in the way as well. One hits my leg, and I'm left limping as the battle continues. 

I stab Etho in the arm, rendering it useless. He hides the pain, knocking me to the ground. I kick him back, hearing Hypno crashing out of the forest behind, chased by a chaos of Vexes. He stops, turns, and tries to shoot at them, but is quickly killed, leaving it as 2 on 2.

I roll out of the way of Etho's sword, glancing over to see Cub still going strong against a quickly weakening Doc. But soon he'll be fighting two, as my neck is impaled and I slowly die.

I gasp awake in a corridor somewhere. There are others with me, I note, as I'm helped to my feet. Scar's here, as is Ren, Jevin, and... Impulse. The whole group is looking at me, as I look around.

'Hey, guys... what is this?'

'This is the place to be for the newly-deceased, apparently.' Scar tells me. 'And Ren told me what happened.'

'I feel like Cub's going to be appearing here very soon...' I mutter, noting immediately the difference in the vex.

He's lost all clothes on his top half, showing off a very scarred six pack. He's looking a lot like he did for most of Third Life, actually, except there's a pair of half-skeletal Vex-wings protruding from his shoulders, clawed blue hands and a sort of bluish aura about him.

Ren doesn't seem to have averted back to his Red King form, and is instead crouching on the ground, seeming very wolf-like, tail swishing behind him. There's a scythe at his feet, and a torn grey cloak around his shoulders. Jevin seems normal, but his hoodie is in ruins and his hands are darker than most of him. Impulse is topless and scarred, with red eyes and a cunning grin. I decide to look down at myself. My hands are pale, t-shirt covered in blood, and my jacket is torn, but other than that I seem to be quite normal.

As predicted, Cub appears a moment later, his beard and lab coat a mess. He has the same wings, hands and aura as Scar, and the same pale skin as all of us. I help him to his feet, and Impulse begins.

'Welcome, everyone, to my new group. It's time to show the rest of those hermits who's in charge.'

'Do we have a name?' Scar asks. 

'The greyskins, just like in Demise. And like Demise, we're going to kill everyone.'

Bad chapterrr...