No One gets Left Behind (Adopted from ZecoriTheWeirdOne)

Chapter 19 (35)

Muffled sounds of crying could be heard, as the sound of dirt hitting the bottom of the hole started. But Grian wasn't crying. He'd let out all of his tears earlier, into Taurtis's arms. His bloody, cold, but somehow still comforting arms.

Wind blew around the hermits. The evolutionists stood to one side, all apart from Taurtis, who was clinging tightly to Grian's hand despite his still terrible condition. Even Grian stood a bit apart from the other Hermits. A bit away from the site, Xeno stood, and the blonde offered them a brief - if fake - smile. Xisuma's voice as he stood up on the stage was thick, even through his synthesiser.

"Was about 6 years ago I met that moustached idiot, and God did I regret not installing lag prevention systems on the server when I did." Hollow laughter filled the empty space. It made a difference from the crying. "Never regretted it for a moment." He stared blankly at the floor for a second, before looking up to meet the eyes of all the Hermits. "As his admin,

I don't think there's more to say - more that needs to be said."

"He still owes me a Redstone contraption from Odea!" A voice called out from the crowd. Despite the cheeriness, they could all hear the pain-filled undertone. The slight crack in the voice.

"Is there anyone else who'd like to say a few words?" Grian hesitantly stood up, swallowing hard and clutching onto Taurtis tighter.

"Mumbo was one of the first few people I met in Hermitcraft - think he tried to kill me when we first met, but he was always the one to make sure I was included, or understood. God, what I'd do for him back. The lag he would cause with his machines, the stupid things he'd start - such as hermit challenges. They're gone now. But he's not gone, not here." He pressed his finger into his chest harshly, relishing slightly in the pain.

"And you can be damn sure that they'll have to pay." Doc's voice was angry, not upset like Grian had thought. His robotic arm clenched. Surprisingly, Iskall nodded. They were breathing slightly more heavily than normal, and while unlike Doc they were crying, their faces had the same twisted anger. It was almost scary, even though it was the most predictable reaction he could've had.

Grian sat down again, his expression blank. Taurtis squeezed his hand again, but it didn't help to ease the emptiness. The funeral dragged on for longer, but Grian couldn't find it in him to focus on it. Voices merged together in a jumbled mess, but he didn't care enough to separate them. He was only dragged back into reality by the release of Taurtis's hand, and the rush of air that came with it. Grian then noticed that most people were leaving, although a few didn't leave their seats.

Grian suddenly lurched up.

"I think that x-eye-zuma guy was saying that we needed to leave soon," Taurtis filled in; Grian smiled slightly. "What?"

"That's what I called Xisuma when I first met him." His smile grew slightly wider remembering how at first he'd only seen the written version, and Grian didn't know who he meant when Mumbo had-

His smile disappeared.

The sharp reminder also dredged up other reminders of how much he'd messed up, and how many other things were still a wreck. Impulse was missing, and they had to leave soon.

God, he'd messed up so badly.

"It wasn't your fault, you know." Taurtis rested a hand on his shoulder that was probably meant to be reassuring, but all Grian could think of is that Mumbo would do the same thing, Mumbo's hand felt like that, Mumbo had said that before.

"BUT IT WAS! EVERY LAST BIT OF THAT, WAS ALL! MY! FAULT! STOP LYING!" The anger was a relief after the numbness from before, but the guilt that came with it felt like it was eating him from inside.