Fall of Hermitcraft

3

Pearl

"Close your eyes. Feel the bow. Listen to it. The arrow wants to hit its target. But you have to find it first." I said softly. Gem let out a calm breath, the steam of it blowing away gently in the cool November breeze.

I gently nudged her arm and foot a little bit, adjusting her stance ever so slightly.

"Ready?" I said softly. She nodded, letting the arrow go.

It slapped into the target hard, just to the right of the blood-red bullseye.

Gem opened her eyes, letting out a loud whoop of victory.

"I did it! Finally!" she cheered. I laughed, the kind of laugh only my younger sister can get out of me, watching as she happily skipped over and pulled the arrow out.

"Good job." I chuckled as Impulse landed next to us with Mumbo.

"How's flying lessons?" I asked them. Impulse shook his head.

"Cancelled for now. Somebody broke into Xisuma's bunker last night, right as Cleo, TFC, and I were talking to X himself, and stole sensitive information." he explained, looking directly at me. I raised my hands defensively.

"I didn't do it, Impulse. There's nothing there that I, and the majority of the Hermits, don't know." I said. He shook his head.

"I'm not saying it was you, and neither is X." he sighed.

"Grian disappeared last night." Mumbo said hollowly. My eyebrows went up.

"Ok, he's a troublemaker, but he wouldn't go that far." I said.

"He headed this way, presumably to Gem's tree. And I saw, out of the corner of my eye from the moment I took off, what I originally thought was a bird following me all the way to the Crastle." Impulse said.

"It could've just been a bird." I said, already doubting myself.

Impulse handed me a singular red feather with a slight green tinge towards the top.

My heart skipped a beat.

"You're his sister. Is this his?" he asked.

I gingerly took it, examining it in my hands. Gem peeked over my shoulder at it.

"Yes. Yes, this is his feather." I said numbly.

"The shape stopped following me around the Crastle. Cleo came back this morning, and lo and behold, she found a couple of feathers. We found a few in the bunker as well." Impulse said. My shoulders sagged. Why would he have done that?

"What exactly did he take?" I asked.

"Footage and information from one of Xisuma's... trips to a corrupt Server." Impulse said. My blood went cold.

"We need to find him now. Before he does something stupid." I said.

Impulses communicator buzzed suddenly, making us all turn.

"X found him. Shopping District, by the Entity." he said.

We didn't even have to say anything. We all immediately took off, blasting over to the Entity.

Grian was restocking glass when we got there, casually talking to X. But I could see his nervousness.

I softly landed behind him, gently slapping the back of his head. He shouted in surprise, whirling around to take a swing.

I laughed, knocking it aside with ease. He let out a pent-up breath, releasing a nervous laugh.

"Pearl. Impulse. Gem. Mumbo. What're you guys doing here?" he asked, trying to play it casual. I shrugged.