Hermitcraft/Empires oneshots/drabbles

The Tyrant (Pride month special) Pt 3

Finally out! Sorry for the few days of delay, I didn't have access to wattpad! Enjoy!

Tws: Mentions of death

Xanthos sneaked across the rooftops. Above him, the night sky twinkled with thousands of stars, spread out in the dome of the heavens. But the moon was in stark contrast to the black and white; Tonight, a blood moon rose.

Soundlessly, Xanthos jumped over a narrow alleyway, landing on Scar's house, sliding through a window. Inside, the Hermits were gathered around a map of the Tyrant's palace. They had chosen Scar's base since it was the closest to the stronghold walls; together, they had all been tunnelling for hours, undetected, into the castle. The tunnels had been in work for years; But it was still a grind to get them done today.

All heads turned as Xanthos's feet hit the wooden floor. 'It's time.' He said, pointing outside. The crimson moon was creeping across the sky, halfway between the ground and the highest point above them. Everyone nodded, and started to pile, one by one, into the tunnel. Each Hermit was geared up in armour, equipped with their preferred weapons, and armed with as many potions as they could brew with their limited resources, with emphasis placed on offensive potions like poison or weakness, and invisibility. Lots of it.

Hels nudged Ex's shoulder. 'Try not to die.' It said with a wry smile. 'I hate to say it, but you're my only friend.'

Ex returned the grin. 'You, too. I will personally kill you again if you die.' His smile dropped off his face when Xisuma turned to him, face cold under his helmet. 'If anybody dies,' He growled, 'I blame you.'

And he disappeared after the others.

________

'How do you have that?' The jailer snarled, pulling his crossbow off his back. Iskall froze, turning off his communicator, but it was too late. The guard trained his weapon on them. 'Drop it. Now.'

Jerkily, Iskall reached through the bars and let the chain fall. It hit the obsidian below, smashing open on impact. The guard scooped up the bundle of wires, still holding the crossbow. 'Now, what were you doing with it?' He asked, suspicious.

'N- Nothing!' Iskall stammered. Behind them, Tango and Zed both gave the guard the middle finger. Iskall continued. 'Uh... We were just texting our friends... goodbye.'

'Goodbye?' The jailer's posture visibly relaxed. He didn't seem the brightest. 'Then thats fine... I guess.' Slowly, he backed out of the room, leaving the imprisoned Hermits alone again. Iskall slumped against the bars of their cage. 'Oh, man. That was close.'

'Iskall, you ok?' Mumbo asked, concerned. Iskall nodded silently. 'I can't see you, mate.' Mumbo added.

'Yeah, I am.' They reassured the other.

'Mumbo, what were you saying about escaping?' Tango asked. He had managed to swing his cage closer to Zed's, and locked the two together with his tail. Zed was leaning against the bars, Tango running his hands through Zed's hair. Impulse looked on enviously.

'Right, yeah.' Mumbo glanced down before continuing. 'These bars look fragile, and if you look at the cages from below, you might not be able to tell they're empty. If we break out, make sure the cages look untampered, and hide, we could... Escape?'

'Hmm...' Impulse tested the bars, bending one. Almost immediately, it broke with a snap. He caught it before it could fall and hit the ground. 'It worked?' He wriggled another one, which came loose.

'Uh, problem.' Tango gestured down. 'The floor is far away. And I'm the only one who can fly.'

'Another problem,' Zed interjected, 'How do we know theres no guards right outside the door, waiting to ambush us?'

'We have to risk it.' Mumbo broke one of his bars. 'If we stay here, we're going to die anyways.'

'Yeah, but what about our friends?' Iskall asked. 'Won't they save us? If we move away from here and they can't find us...'

Impulse had managed to break five of his bars, and was squeezing through the gap. Tango had already made it out, fluttering his wings to fly over to Impulse.

'Iskall, think of it this way... Wouldn't it be easier for our friends to come here and find us on the ground, free, rather than in these?' Impulse tapped the steel of his birdcage.

They did think about it, then responded with, 'Screw it. If I stay here, I'm going to die anyways.' They started to twist their bars open.

________

Grian crept along the stronghold walls, invisible and silent. Around him, his fellow Hermits fanned out around him, keeping their distance. Wisely. His inner Watcher was screaming and surging, trying to drag itself out. He had to struggle to prevent it; Occasionally, he would look at his wings, see dark purple creeping up them, and had to slam the lid over Inner Watcher. Sure, Grian would use it. When he was desperate. So he hoped it wouldn't reach that point.

On the ground, heading towards the heart of the stronghold with her little army, was Pearl. All her animal friends- Hordes of dogs, cats, birds, horses, everything- Followed her. She really didn't want to risk them, but every number counted for the Hermits. She just had to cross her fingers and hope casualties were minor.

Already at the pre-decided side entrance, Xisuma and Xanthos studied the door, trying to pick it. As he worked, Xisuma replayed the plan in his head. They had studied the guard watch cycles over the years that they had spent under the Tyrant's rule. That effort paid off today. Each Hermit was assigned in pairs to take and capture a certain part of the palace, slowly working their way towards the prisons.

He probably had to make something clear, though. Pausing, he turned out his wrist communicator and typed a private message to everyone.

<Private Message from Xisuma> Guys, just to clarify, this is a rescue mission.

<Private Message from Xisuma> Tonight, all we do is get out friends. We move in on the Tyrant once our friends are back to full health

<Private Message from Xisuma> Do not be afraid to kill guards. Good luck, and try not to die.

He shut his device and went back to work on the lock.

________

All five of the imprisoned Hermits were free and on the ground. Tango doubled over, panting; Carrying his friends up and down had taxed him. His wings hurt. 'Give me a second.' He gasped, twitching.

'We don't have a second. Sorry, Tango.' Impulse scooped him up. 'Uh, where next?'

'Lets get out of here.' Zed pointed at the closed door, barely visible in the darkness. The five carefully made their way over, only for it to open when they were a few meters away.

:]

I think there'll be two parts after this, but we'll see

Peace out, drink some water and take care of yourself