Steel Blood - A Hermitcraft fanfiction

19: Ooh! NPG gets some angst too!

I can't wait for the next chapter... and then the one after that. And they beyond that I have no idea what's happening...

'N...NPG?' 

He woke up, disorientated, head pounding, confused. He recognised where he was. He recognised the person with him. But he couldn't properly figure out any of it. He was NPG. There had been a fight. Something had happened. And now...?

'NPG, are you alright? Are you going to attack me again?'

The world fell into focus, and the robot sat up. Mumbo looked down at him, eyes wide with fear. Why was he scared? They were friends.

'Why would I attack you?'

'You went mad before and attacked everyone.'

'Did I?' Faint memories returned, but not much. Not why, or what actually happened. Just flashes of stuff. 'Is everyone alright?'

'You killed someone.' 

NPG froze, failing to decipher what his friend had said, mind working through the question, the only thing he could reply with being a horrified 'W...what?!'

'You killed TFC. And you badly hurt Impulse.'

'Impulse... wasn't he one of the NPCs?'

'When he woke up he didn't seem to act like one. He was back to how he... used to be, except scared and apologising for everything.'

'He was left behind?'

'Yes.' Mumbo looked away. 'Is anything like that going to happen again?'

'What? Me going insane? I don't know. I think it happened when I was hurt...' NPG put a hand on his head, where Impulse had hit him. It still throbbed with pain. 

'Well, maybe you should stay out of the fight.'

'Fight?' NPG looked sharply over at Mumbo.

'Yes. We agreed with the others that we were going to fight the NPCs. Hypno turned the world to hardcore, so we can actually kill them. It was Grian's idea, actually.'

'He wants to get us all killed! I know he does! Stop listening to him!' Mumbo backed off at NPG's outburst, and the robot quickly recovered.

'He's always going to be my friend.'

'You shouldn't trust him.'

'He says the same about you.'

'He's wrong. He's a liar. He just wants to ruin my life again. Like you did. You, him, and the other guy.' 

'It wasn't my idea. I didn't want to do that.'

'But Grian did, didn't he? It was all his idea to use me just as profit. Out of the way. Harmless.'

'NPG...' 

'No.' The robot got up. 'I'm not listening to you. And I'm not joining whatever fight you want me to join.' He strode towards the exit to the rustic house. The one he had built. And with one last glance at Mumbo, he walked out. 

Outside, he almost crashed into another hermit. Impulse, he realised. With an awkward smile, he stepped away, prepared to walk off, when-

'Wait, can I talk to you?' 

'Uhh... yeah?' NPG turned back to the formerly-NPCed hermit. He still had the metal plating of all the other NPCs, and would probably have it forever. Impulse looked down, then back up at NPG. 

'You're the one that turned my friends into NPCs.' Not an accusation, just a statement. NPG nodded. 'Why?'

'Someone controlled my actions. I didn't want to. I promise.'