and the stars will be their guides (hermitcraft space au)

away (twenty-two)

*

~ i started running but there's nowhere to run to ~

or, alternatively,

~ you said you love me exactly the way i am ~

*

TWs: war, death

***

Unity between two enemies was beautiful . . . unless you and your friends were the reason for it.

In that case, you would be hunted.

In that case, you would be chased down.

In that case, you would be terrified that you'd lose everything you loved.

Etho was terrified.

***

Etho ducked as lazer bullets whizzed over his head, pulling Beef down with him via their interconnected hands. Through ringing ears, Etho heard a scream. He didn't turn around. He couldn't. Hopefully, if it was a hermit, one of the other hermits would go in and rescue them. 

Beef pulled Etho's hand, nudging him forward. They had to keep going. There were too many people coming after them to fight. All of the other hermits were running too, trying to stick as close to each other as possible. It was them against the universe now, or at least that's what it felt like.

There was a whoosh of air right behind Etho, so he turned around to meet a human with an electrified battle axe. The human narrowed his eyes, pulling the axe from the ground that it'd just been smashed into before Etho had an opportunity to get a free strike in. Etho watched him, waiting for him to swing and (hopefully) miss. 

He never got a chance to swing. 

While Etho had been keeping the man distracted, Beef had snuck up behind him and shot a round of lazer bullets into his back, killing him. Etho wished he could've had the chance to thank Beef for that, but they had to keep running, so Etho grabbed his hand and pulled him away. 

With Etho in front now, clearing the path with his sabre, Beef could shoot behind them. He made quick work of anyone who came close so Etho only had to focus on the people ahead of them. It was a good arrangement, and out of the corner of his eye, Etho saw other hermits copying them.

At this point, Etho was a bit lost, so he looked around for Xisuma. Surely he'd know what direction the Hermit-Craft was in, right? 

Too busy looking for Xisuma, Etho didn't notice that he and Beef were heading for the small gap between two big boulders, a spot where they could easily become sandwiched.

Too busy looking for Xisuma, Etho didn't notice people on the other side of the gap when he and Beef ran into it. 

Too busy looking for Xisuma, Etho only noticed the predicament he'd put himself and Beef in when they were fully surrounded. 

They were trapped . . . and then they weren't.

A chain of explosions rocked the earth. Little pieces of rock fractured from the boulders and rained down into the gap. Dust rose up and obscured Etho's view. He shielded his face with his arms and pulled Beef close. 

When the dust finally cleared, Etho saw the frostling he'd saved (Scott, right?) standing behind the line of deceased enemies in front of him. Etho looked away for a second, and when he looked back, they were gone, like they'd never existed in the first place. In his head, Etho thanked them for saving him and Beef. He had a strange feeling that they'd never meet again.