Enchanted and Hexed: A HEX Oneshot Collection

Misunderstood (angst with a happy ending)

HAHA LOOK UPLOADS TWO DAYS IN A ROW I'M SO COOL /J

Warnings for a sort of war-ish thing, swords with no combat, lots of sadness, and mentions of death (though no one actually dies)

WC: ~1600

Enjoy!

It started out with traps.

After Hels had fled to the Nether when he'd lost to Wels, he'd opted to leave traps to his good counterpart. Wels left some in turn, and they progressively got more and more deadly.

Soon enough, everyone in Hels lived in fear of death by TNT or arrows because of the Hermits. Safety protocols were put in place, but they could only do so much.

Eventually, Hels gave up and went to leave a note for Wels, requesting that they meet in three days to finally settle this.

He'd never forget the way Xay stared at him in complete horror when he confessed what he'd done. When he finally came clean that in three days, only one of the two clones would live a fourth.

It wasn't easy, but it was what had to be done.

As expected, the third day came, and after Hels had bode a quick goodbye to everyone else in his land, it was just him and his husband.

The pair stood right next to the portal, neither of them knowing what to say, neither wanting to acknowledge the inevitable.

"Listen, Xay," Hels finally spoke to Xay. "I need you to swear that you will not follow me through that portal. Don't come and look for me. Don't go to kill Wels or Xisuma yourself."

Xay just looked down, and while his helmet was forever expressionless, the way he shrunk into himself said a lot about how Xay felt with this arrangement.

"Xay," and while Hels's voice was still firm, there was an unmistakable gentle undertone to it. "I need your word. I'll come back, but you might not."

"Liar."

Hels blinked, shocked to hear such strong emotion in Xay's normally sarcastic voice. Behind the initial surprise brought the meaning behind the statement- Xay didn't think he'd make it out of this alive.

And before Hels could react, Xay shoved him back with his left forearm and used his right hand to unsheath Hels's sword. He clutched it in a trembling grip, backing away with it unthreateningly brandished.

"Xay," the warning tone was back. "I need that back."

It was like he was talking to a wild animal, and for a moment, perhaps he was. Perhaps this wasn't the lover he was used to, just a fear-ridden shell who desperately wanted his husband to stay.

"No," came a whisper, before Xay broke into a run, off into the Crimson Forest, away from Hels with his sword.

"Wh- Xay!!" Hels shouted, chasing after him.

Both left the clearing, and in their absence, a figure emerged from the portal.

Wels glanced around the small Nether clearing, sword drawn. To his surprise, no one was there. He'd come through to try and ambush Hels, because while it wasn't honorable by any means, it was safe.

At that point, he cared more about safety than anything. Not his own, but rather the Hermit's.

Footsteps.

He was right, Hels was here.

Wels followed the sounds into the nearby Crimson Forest, eyes darting around to catch sight of his evil clone.