Back in Time | Hermitcraft AU

Chapter XX

Pearl opened her eyes just to be met with the exact same ceiling she saw when she passed out.

Her clothes, hair and body were drenched in her own blood, but it had slowly began to dry.

She shifted to a sitting position, slowly recalling what had happened. She passed out from magic exhaustion, probably.

Pearl stood up and awkwardly stepped out of the pool of blood she's been chilling in for who knows how long.

Come to think about it, she had no idea how much time had passed. She was honestly mostly surprised over the fact that the apparent 'Master' didn't come back for her, but she definitely wasn't going to complain.

A few careful steps later the exhausted feeling hit her once again, but not nearly as strong as before. She decided to brush it off and carry on.

Her mind wandered off and Pearl remembered how there had been something about intruders. She felt sick to her stomach once she realised that those intruders probably were the other hermits that had gone to the Facility.

What had happened to them? Were they found? Are they hurt? Are they...?

Pearl decided to cut it off there and think more positively. It could've been someone else, or maybe they managed to flee the Facility.

Her hope didn't last for very long though, as she soon recalled the words Xisuma had told her while he specifically instructed her to not follow them to the Facility.

"We need your help to get there and back."

Yeah, Pearl most definitely needed to find them right this instant.

She quickly began to retrace her steps to where the portal had left them, hoping to find any kind of clues as to where they went. She knew that they had gone to the archives, but she had no idea where that was.

When she reached the place they had been left at by the portal, Pearl swore to herself quietly when she saw that the portal was gone. Summoning it again, especially if she was in a rush, was on the brink of impossible.

She told herself to stay determined and headed in the direction the other had gone in, but soon she came to a halt. A tap on her shoulder made her spin around. A person with short indigo hair and brown eyes stood in front of her.

"Why are you covered in blood?" they asked suspiciously.

That was a very understandable thing to ask.

"I accidentally hurt myself," Pearl lied, hoping that she wouldn't be seen through.

"I don't believe you, but fine," the person said. "I'm afraid I'll have to turn you in to Master."

"Not happening," Pearl disagreed. "I've already spoken to him, so it'd only be a waste of time."

Their eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I still have to do it, y'know. There have been rumours about said intruders."

"They've already been dealt with," Pearl assured them, for some reason feeling more and more confident. She didn't even sound like she was lying anymore.

"I don't know what you're hiding, but I suppose I'll let you pass," they sighed.

Pearl wanted to ask them where the archive was, but that would make her look even more suspicious so she decided not to.

She walked past the person, proud about how she handled the encounter. However, she still faced one problem: she still needed to find the archive.

That would soon be proven to not be very hard though. Pearl couldn't believe her luck when two people rushed past her, one shouting about hurrying to the archive. The person who was shouting proceeded to encourage everyone to follow them there, as it was an emergency.