Oneshots! (Mostly Hermitcraft)

Raids - Team ZIT

Prompt: coughing up blood
TW: fighting, blood, injuries, blood, death?

"Remind me why we're fighting a raid the normal way?" Impulse asked jokingly, throwing a pebble at Tango's head.

"Raid farms are overpowered man!" Tango laughed. The redstoner had changed back to his traditional red outfit. "Besides, raids are fun! And I may or may not need a couple – or twenty – ravagers for Decked Out."

"Even better!" Zedaph cheers. "I can get some more progress on my Zedvancements, too!" The blond is sharply dressed in his best-worst gear and fiddling with his wooden sword.

"Are you sure you want to wear that?" Tango asked. He always had more than a few concerns when Zedaph used the flimsy leather and wood gear. The Brit nodded cheerfully, experimenting with a few leaps and jabs in the air.

"I have mending on it, so as long as I keep killing things, it'll patch right up!"

"That's a unique place to put your confidence," Impulse teased. "What if you don't kill anything?"

"Funny, Impulse," Zed said, hiding a smile. The brunette grinned at him, donning his netherite chestplate. The trio had settled on using sets of armor and a single weapon of choice to make things interesting. A nether portal had been set up a short distance away to shove the Ravagers through once they'd been named. It was up to Impulse to use a bow to remove the uninvited riders.

Tango disappeared into the portal, announcing his intentions to get Bad Omen and run back to the rural village they had taken over for the raid. Impulse strung his bow and drew it back experimentally. The enchantments shimmered on the side, showing the incredible power the bow could deliver, despite being effortlessly drawn and maneuvered. He grabbed a quiver of spectral arrows, strapping it to his side to easily access them.

"I'm back!" Tango screamed, tumbling out of the portal. He'd already drawn his sword and rearranged the minecarts and rails in his utility belt. He swallowed tightly, aware of how his cramped inventory could lead to several premature deaths if the carts got stuck on each other. Impulse smiled encouragingly as the raid bar filled on their communicators, the technology detecting the advancing raiders.

The first wave passed quickly, both Tango and Zedaph slaying many of the creatures while Impulse picked them off with his bow. Zedaph splashed a couple of bottles of enchanting as they waited for the next round to form. Impulse forced himself to breathe: Zed's leather armor appeared to have taken more than a slight beating.

The second wave dragged as Zedaph fought to keep his armor together. Impulse picked off several vindicators as Zed splashed bottles of enchanting on the ground, healing the battered armor enough to protect him from the crossbow of a pillager Tango quickly put out of commission. The experience orbs he gained from the kills barely kept his sword from breaking.

"Zedaph, you need better armor," Impulse chided as wave three began. He pointed at the shulker monster on the outskirts of the village. "I have a spare diamond set in there. Put it on, especially since I'm not sure I'll be able to re-enchant that gear."

Zedaph nodded reluctantly, dashing off to the boxes. He quickly removed his beloved leather, stashing it before beginning his hunt for the armor. Impulse winced as the harsh laughter of a witch reached his ears. He was distracted as a ravager charged him and Tango, lowering its head to deal a crushing blow. Tango laid down a strip of rails and caught it in a minecart expertly. Impulse knocked back a pillager with an arrow, quickly releasing a second to finish it.

Zedaph yelled as a vindicator knocked him away from the shulker boxes, still unable to find the armor. The witch cackled from where it stood, ten meters away from the bloodied redstoner. Impulse panicked, shooting the ax-wielding monster away from Zedaph and dashing over. The witch hurled a potion at Zedaph as he recovered from the ground with deadly accuracy. Impulse knocked him out of the way, pressing a totem into Zed's bloodied hands.