The Fourth Star - Rewrite

V

Doc stomped through the forest, grumbling to himself as the last remaining bit of sunlight began to slip away. It was getting dark, though the creeper could care less. How did no one else feel skeptical? How come the other Hermits didn't realize that something was going on? Xisuma wasn't himself. He wasn't acting like the admin that Doc knew. And Grian...They knew nothing about him! Why didn't X talk to everyone? He just sprung this new member onto everyone without warning!

"Wait, Doc!" Ren called, jogging after the cyborg. "Dude, what the heck?! That was so rude!"

He let out an annoyed sigh, coming to a stop in the middle of a darkened clearing in the forest. Doc turned to look at Ren, his expression a mix of distress and annoyance. "I'm sorry, okay? But there's something going on. I just know it!"

"Would you stop with that?" The hybrid asked, grabbing Doc's arm as he tried to walk away. "Grian seems like a great addition! And X was probably too busy to talk to us! He's been stressed ever since we joined the new world!"

Pulling his arm away, Doc scoffed. "He's hiding something! I just know it. And I think you know something is wrong too."

Ren's ears flattened against his head like a nervous dog, his eyes darting away. The creeper immediately straightened his posture, crossing his arms. "I know that look, you do think something is wrong!"

"Okay, okay. Maybe he is." The dog admitted, "But it's none of our business. Xisuma would tell us if something is wrong."

"Well, I want answers. Whatever is going on, I'm going to get to the bottom of it." Doc said, walking off to head further into the forest. Ren waited for a couple moments, tail between his legs, before he reluctantly followed the cyborg into the darkened woods.

He stuck close to Doc, the darkness of night fully overtaking the world. "Where are we going? I-I mean, we should probably head back, mobs should start spawning soon."

"There's a heat signature. I can see it. Someone is up ahead." The creeper said, his cybernetic eye glowing as he spoke.

"It could just be a pig or something." Ren grumbled.

Doc rolled his eyes. "Head back if you want. I'm going to check what X is up to."

"No way, I'm here to babysit you. You aren't gonna yell at Xisuma like you yelled at Grian."

"Fine, just stay quiet." He hushed, moving slower as they got closer.

They crept silently through the forest, the only sound being the faint crunching of the grass underneath their feet. Up ahead was the sound of faint talking, like two people were speaking with one another. Along with that was a sudden blue light glowing through the trees, like something out of a Sci-Fi movie. Ren looked puzzled at the sight, though Doc's frown simply deepened. He stepped closer, peering out from behind a tree.

X stood in the center of a small clearing, dark blue energy radiating around him. Rocks, sticks, anything on the ground was pulled into the energy and lifted off of the ground, swirling like a vortex around the admin. After a few moments, the magic suddenly faded, causing all of the random items to fall back down. Xisuma bent over, struggling to catch his breath.

"Was—...was that better?" He asked, glancing up as he spoke.

"Much better. But a few sticks and rocks are not enough. You need to be more prepared." Someone responded to him, though Doc couldn't spot another person.