Wc: 839
tw: voices, implications of torture
y'all my parents found out I was writing on wattpad and gave me a lecture about internet safety while I just sat there lol. You guys won't secretly gather notes abt my age and address and name and bank account and social security number right? r-right?
enjoy!
Voices. Grian opened his eyes. The prison floor was surprisingly soft. Was this a blanket? Xayla had gone a little over the top. Xeluph would not be happy.
He turned his head. Why was everything so blurry? Healing hands touched Grian.
"Xayla?" he said, looking at the person. Yes, definitely Xayla. Their hands were practiced and quick. Although the head of dark hair was confusing. Maybe it was a sign of the rebellion.
"Your hair is different," Grian managed to say. "Rebellious. Xeluph would get mad..."
Xayla didn't say anything in response to that, only gave Grian a potion, saying, "Drink this." Then again, Xayla had been trained to be efficient.
He took a sip of the potion. It tasted funny, without the sickly sweet twang of chorus fruit. "It tastes different... there's no chorus fruit," he muttered. Xayla didn't respond yet again. What was wrong? Maybe Xeluph had been extra sour today. Although when was he not?
Grian felt a sharp sting in his back. It hurt. "My back hurts. Can you look at it?" Xayla nodded.
"Turn over, honey." That was weird. Xayla never said "hon" or "love" or anything like that.
But he obeyed, because he trusted these hands. Xayla gasped very loudly.
"Is it that bad?" he asked. Grian thought back to what today had been like. Metal... searing heat... oh yeah! "They used a brand today. It was really hot. Unlike Xeluph." He giggled. That was funny. Why didn't Xayla laugh? She almost always did.
Instead, she prodded his back, which brought more pain. The world went a little hazy, he was so sleepy. He didn't remember what he said next, but the next thing Grian knew, he was on his back again, listening to murmurs outside.
When he gave up on trying to distinguish the voices, he sat up and stretched. A small pain went through his back, which led him back to what had happened.
The voice.
It had found him.
And Grian felt fear twist his heart again. He'd have to do something! But he couldn't wall off his own brain. He'd already encased Hermitcraft in dozens of barriers, but Xeluph and his stupid Elders were already eating their way through it like caterpillars inching along a leaf.
His dream... wasn't really a dream.
That hand was real.
The purple glow surrounding everything had indeed been there.
And he'd almost taken it.
Why did Grian feel like such a puppet, with strings attached to his arms and legs, moving where someone else wanted him to go? This internal tug, telling him to go back. That this wasn't the right place.
He'd been shoving it down for so long, but his encounter with Scar only brought it rushing back to the surface again.
"Hello?" he called. After a few moments, the door opened. Mumbo entered first, then Stress, then Xisuma.
Their faces looked... grave. Was it about him being a Watcher?
"W-what's wrong?" Grian rubbed his wrist under the blanket. Would he get thrown out? Hopefully not.
Stress paused. "Nothing... do you remember what happened yesterday?"
Grian fumbled for his memory. He remembered Scar... a pillar of sugar... a voice...
"It's time to come back, Xelqua."
He jolted. The voice whispered in the back of his head, a constant nagging.
"I don't," Grian said to stress. He hesitated. "Can I... can I leave now?"
"If there's... really nothing wrong," Stress said, her brow furrowed.
Grian climbed out of bed when he noticed his wings, stretching out magnificently on either side of him. He felt his back and realized there were two slits in his sweater.
"I cut those for you." Mumbo said it so suddenly, Grian was taken off guard.
"Th-thank you," Grian said.
Xisuma gave Grian a smile. "You know where to find me if you need anything."
They followed Grian outside, watching him as he lifted off with two powerful flaps of his wings. The voices pestered him, a constant hum.
Go back to where you belong.
This isn't where you're supposed to be.
Turn back!
Go this way!
That way!
No!
Grian nearly fell out of the sky from the sudden barrage of voices. He shook his head to clear it. It didn't work.
He struggled against his own mind, finally making it to his hobbit hole. Grian sunk to the floor, tears of frustration pressing against his eyelids. He pressed them to keep them safely tucked away in his eyes, so no one saw.
How do I get rid of them?
Go back!
Xelqua...
How do I get them out?
Listen to us...
Go home, Xelqua...
His own thoughts were lost hurricane of words. Grian stumbled against the wall. He felt like what he'd been like when he first got his wings, so unbalanced he could hardly stand. His mind pulled him in two directions, a constant tug of war.
"STOP!" he screamed. Nothing changed.
Xelqua!
Go back!
Make a portal!
Where you belong!
Xelqua!
Are you even worth it?
Prove you're worth it!
Xelqua!
Grian's knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor on his knees. His hands pressed to his ears, uneffective to turn off the tidal wave in his own brain.
That was how he fell asleep, listening to the chorus of voices trying to make their way out of his mind and into his hands.
Did you enjoy this chapter? I just read ATUS (and the universe shifts) and Passerine and the beauty... istg it's amazing
can u guys guess where I got the voices from lol
have a good day or night, wherever you are!
-Ete
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~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU
FanfictionGrian has found refuge and safety in Hermitcraft. However, his past is quickly catching up to him, and with it comes the pain that he's been trying so desperately to hide. As Grian tries to run from his past, he runs into something much more dangero...
