Protection

Ultimatums

-Hello! Let me know if this chapter needs any warnings.-

Jimmy drew a deep breath, steadying his nerves. Lizzie and Lady Kathrine stood nervously behind him. In front of them, they could see a castle. They hadn't needed to look very hard, the structure had sprung up almost overnight and had corruption twisting up the walls and covering the spiraling towers. Jimmy was scared, scared for what they would find inside the palace, scared for his sister and friends and for himself. Mostly though, he was scared of who he might find when they rescued Scott, scared that the person he had known, maybe even loved, would have been changed, unrecognizable.

No, no, you don't know if Xornoth has done anything.

But what if he has, a small, traitorous voice whispered at the back of his mind, what if he hates you now, what if he-

Jimmy hadn't realized he had been shaking until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He saw Lizzie's worried expression, and offered her a shaky smile.

"Are you sure that you're ready for this?"

Jimmy took a moment to collect himself.

"Yeah."

Squaring his shoulders, he began to walk towards the castle. They all knew their roles, Katherine would be backup, if anything went wrong, she would call the other, non-corrupted rulers. Lizzie would destrace Xornoth, and Jimmy would find Scott.

"Alright, here we go."

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Lizzie PoV

The doors were even more intimidating up close. She could sense Jimmy's presence behind her as she raised her fist to knock. The rapping of her knuckles against the wood rang out in the still air. Jimmy quickly drank a potion of invisibility, disappearing from sight just as red vines pulled the doors open. Nervously, Lizzie stepped inside, following the red carpet towards what she hoped was the throne room. After a while, the corridor opened up into a grand chamber, high ceilings and columns covered in corruption. In the center of the room was an ornate throne, two people were standing next to it, one on the left and one on the right, the figure on the throne had vines crawling up their body and curved horns jutting from their head.

"Welcome Ocean Queen, have you come to join me?"

"Why would I want to join you?

"I can keep your brother safe."

Lizzie froze.

"I know you worry about him."

"I-I, SHUT UP!"

Xornoth raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst.

"Listen, I will never join you. I can protect Jimmy just fine without your help."

"Can't you see that I'm only trying to protect my brother as well?"

"Speaking of Smajor, where is he?"

Lizzie was trying to be casual, it was not working. Thankfully, Xornoth seemed to be humoring her.

"He is safely in his room, as he should be."

She felt the air next to her shift slightly, as Jimmy moved to sneak into the rest of the castle.

"Do you often kidnap your family members and imprison them?"

"It's not- he's not- you are infuriating you know that?"

"Thank you, I try."

The demon muttered something under their breath, seeming annoyed.

"Let me rephrase my earlier question. You will join me, or, I will kill you and your brother."

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Jimmy PoV

Great, guess I'm going to be running around this entire palace until I find the one room that Scott is in.

He dashed through the hallways, checking every door he came across. He suddenly stopped, noticing a spiral staircase to his left.

It would be so cliche if he was imprisoned in the tower.

Jimmy sighed.

Yup, he's going to be in the tower.

The cod hybrid began to ascend the steps. The closer to the top he got, the more his entire being screamed at him to turn back, to leave this place and never return. Despite this, he pushed forwards.

What if Scott hates me now? What if he... STOP. Shut up, me.

At last, Jimmy saw a heavy wooden door, reaching forwards, he carefully pushed at it. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. The hinges creaked as it slowly swung open. The corruption in the room was even worse than the rest of the palace, red covering almost every surface. There was a gasp from inside, and Jimmy finally noticed a cyan haired man sitting on the bed. Jimmy froze, indecision and excitement warring in his stomach. Scott's face broke into a smile, and he rushed to embrace Jimmy. The cod hybrid just stood there, shocked. Scott pulled out of the hug, still smiling, and... was he blushing!?!?!?!?! Jimmy's face began to heat up as well, and he finally took a chance to really look at the other emperor. He was wearing a long red dress with gold and white accents, around his neck was an intricate gold chain with a deep red gem hanging from it. He seemed to have high heels and stockings under the dress. Gold, red, and white gems decorated his hair. Jimmy knew he was blushing hard.

"I- um, I'm here to rescue you!"

His voice came out as more of a squeak. Scott frowned slightly.

"But I'm fine, I'm safe here."

"No, Xornoth is controlling you or something, we need to get you out of here."

"Flower-"

Why did that nickname feel so right?

"I'm better than I've ever been, no more responsibilities, no more pain."

Jimmy's breath caught as Scott stepped closer, his eyes were a deep crimson.

"Please, stay here with me, the corruption won't hurt you."

And oh, Jimmy really wanted to say yes, to be with Scott forever. He took a deep breath.

"I-"

-I am so sorry that this took so long to update, I have been working on another fic and got distracted. This chapter isn't exactly how I would like it to be, but I figured I should get something out. I am not sorry for the cliffhanger, I'm still deciding whether I want to corrupt Jimmy or not. If you like hermitcraft, I have started a Watcher!Xisuma fic, so check that out if you want to. Thank you so much for reading, have a great day/night. Love you all!-