The Chained Watcher

Captured

~~~

"Doc, are you sure we should be doing this?"

"Don't worry, everything is under control. All we're here to do is test out a new machine of mine, then we can head back."

"But if Xisuma finds out..."

"What Xisuma doesn't know can't hurt him. Besides, we're not even going to be showing ourselves, so what are you worried about?"

Doc turned back towards the sky, aiming his bow at the target block barely distinguishable from the silhouette of the explosive machine suspended in the night sky. Scar, Iskall, and Pearl were crouched nearby, wondering how exactly Doc had convinced them to come with him outside the signal range to test a machine someone else could have tried for him. The city he had selected as his target was a sizable one, and sneaking past the guards had been rather difficult. 

He fired, and the instrument of destruction roared to life. TNT began raining from the sky directly on top of the temple in the middle of the city, blowing holes down through the roof on their way to eradicate the foundation. His laughter rang out through the blasts, giving him a very supervillain-esque vibe, complemented by the random lightning strike streaking across the sky. So much for stealth.

"Doc, c'mon! We gotta go before someone follows your evil laugh right to us."

Being dragged off towards their planned escape route, Doc looked longingly at the unfinished act of targeted terrorism his contraption was in the process of excavating. "But, it's not done yet..."

"No buts! We could have stayed a bit longer, but you just had to go all supervillain on us, so we're leaving now."

They safely made it out of the city, guards swarming the walls as the priests cried for someone's head to be put on a pike. Watching the TNT fall, it really was rather satisfying to have done this themselves, more so than they had thought. Someone finally managed to break it, having wrested an anti-siege weapon around to point at it. Slime blocks not being very resistant to ballista bolts, it died and stopped carpet bombing the temple.

Or, at least what was left of it. Where the temple used to be, there was now a crater all the way through the foundations of the building. Rebuilding in the same location would be harder than just finding a new spot, and Doc was very pleased with the results.

"See? All under control. Wasn't that magnificent?"

"Alright, fine, that was pretty cool. We should get back before X realizes we're gone, though."

"Yeah, let's go."

"Oh, leaving so soon?"

A strange voice cut into their conversation, the echo betraying its owner even before they could whirl around to lay eyes on it. Behind them stood a sneering Watcher, its two pairs of wings held behind it as it stood there. 

"Are the little rats having fun playing in the cat's den? Looks like the cat came home early, what will they do?" They all pulled out weapons, retreating as they did. "Even a cornered rat bites back, then. Do you honestly think I'd let you leave after you did that to my temple? So many rats have been causing problems, some of my priests were so distraught they spent the materials to send me a message! And imagine my surprise when I find such willful arrogance, daring to assault my temples."

Scar reached for his belt, where he keeps his emergency crystals. Before he can throw one, a surge of Watcher magic knocks it out of his hand, letting the flashbang go off by the side.

"What is this? How peculiar... This strange magic doesn't feel like a sorcerer's magic, nor is it that of one of the prominent species. Consider yourselves fortunate, such an oddity is worth investigating more than I care about the temples."