Corrupted - A Hermitcraft (and Empires) Fanfiction

35: Scar

Bad news: Ember has been replaced with Ill-ber for the foreseeable future

Good news: more chapters because there's not a lot you can do when you're now part-blanket and anywhere except sofa and bed seem like a lot of effort

Bad news: it turns out Ill-bur has only 2 states - watching TV and resting. No writing has been done yet

But the coming chapters are fun :)

I don't move.

I don't speak, and I don't move. 

I signal for the other hermits hiding around me outside Decked Out to do the same. Xisuma wants us to move. But we can wait him out. As long as he doesn't sense us in the sculk.

And Vex is dead.

All  I can see lying there on the ground in a pool of blood is Cub. Dead. I have to remind myself over and over it isn't him. He's safe. He's at the base. Badtimes is struggling to escape, swearing somehow even more fruitfully than normal.

A hand next to me. It takes a moment to realise it's holding a scrap of paper. EX. 

What now? 

I take it, writing back.

Surprise them

When? Scribbles back EX

 Whenever we can.

False is already aiming an arrow tipped with Pix's sculkn't potion we still haven't tested. Mumbo's just staring at Grian. Iskall looks ready to attack. He's not alone... of the hermits I can see, Jevin, Wels, Gem, xB, Etho and Cleo appear equally ready. Xisuma's still pacing, but the others are losing their nerve. Grian's barely keeping Badtimes in check... Tango's fidgety. My only worry is that I can't see Pearl, or the wolf she had with her before. But I still write the final note.

Now.

Everyone glances over as I raise a hand. The first half of the signal. Those not prepared arm themselves quickly. I summon all the powers of the vex to my fingers, ready to fight. 

I drop my arm.

And the fight begins. 

I drop behind Tango, landing, hitting with a blast of fire. In that time alone, the world's turned from unbearable silence to utter chaos. But I can only focus on Tango as he screams, turning and nearly knocking me off the bridge with sculk. I fight back, sidestepping away from danger, swiping with my claws. He attacks back with his before there's another exchange of vex fire and sculk. He's weakening, but still stronger than me. I need to tire him down, keep distance,  distract him-

I hit the ground. 

Something drags me down and I twist around, out of the grip of a smaller sculk wolf. I barely catch Pearl, hiding in the shadow, too weak to fight but still guiding her pets on... claws down my leg. I claw back, struggling free, pulling my way up. Tango attacks again with sculk. A blast of vex magic is enough to hold him back for a moment, but my leg's still bleeding and I can barely stand. After a moment of stumbling backwards, avoiding more blows, I realise I don't have to. I jump off the edge of the bridge and take to the air. Neither of them can hit me as I circle above, switching to using potions instead. Every hit on Tango is a scream I can't erase from my mind. But I have to keep going. I have to- 

I hit the wall, pinned by Grian, unable to fight my way free. He's grinning, insane, sculk tangling closer. But I'm not trapped.

I faze through the wall. There's a scream of fury back, I ignore, gliding around, searching for a spot to land.  I'm stuck in the giant incomplete interior of the citadel, away from the fighting and free to rest for a second. I hit the snowy ground harder than I hoped, falling onto my hands and knees. I don't move for a moment, but eventually sit normally, covering. my bleeding leg. Deciding the cuts from Grian are too shallow to waste potions or bandages on, I gain health with a couple golden carrots before fazing back through the wall and into the fight again.

It looks like xB and False have taken over from me fighting Tango, and Mumbo and Iskall have Grian cornered, so for a moment I just perch out of range and scan the area... EX, Etho and Keralis are trying to fight Xisuma, Ren's distracting a lot of the sculk wolf cubs with Jevin and Cleo. Gem's trying to get close enough to Pearl to knock her out and hopefully stop the wolves, but the largest wolf Tilly isn't letting her.

Badtimes isn't there.

Unexpected panic fills me as I scour the area again... he can't be dead or sculky, right? He can't be. He's too good a fighter to...

There.

Away from the fight, hugging Vex's body and just sobbing. Not fighting. For once in his life, Badtimes isn't choosing to fight. Every instinct tells me to fly over and comfort him, but I can't. He won't want to be disturbed, and I don't want to be too close to what still looks like Cub dead.

A yell of pain.

'F***! KERALIS, GET HIM TO SAFETY!'

My attention snaps to where Etho's collapsed, even paler than normal, in Keralis's arms. Blood escapes past his arms from a deep gash across his chest. 

'ETHO!' Bdubs runs over, helping Keralis. Xisuma's laughing, taking the few seconds of panic to recover, backing towards where Gem's still bravely fighting Tilly. Bdubs and Keralis get Etho out of the way. EX is left alone to fight, immediately hit with soul fire, falling away. 

I have to help.

I shoot down, landing between the fighting siblings. A quick vex magic shield blocks a couple hits from the sculk as EX thanks me. I don't have time to reply as the sculk wraps around my feet instead, pulling me to the ground. The shield disappears. Xisuma attacks.

In seconds I'm struggling to breath as sculk wraps around my neck and hands and legs, tight, unstoppable. I can tell X is smiling under his helmet as he watches me wrestling hopelessly for freedom. I need to get free. But I can't. There's nothing I can do... I black out for a second, barely able to hear the sounds of EX fighting Xisuma. The sculk digs deeper still, painfully deep, until breath isn't my only concern, it's bloodloss. I'm barely conscious, silently screaming for EX to DO SOMETHING. 

Xisuma screams.

The sculk loosens.

I scramble up, gasping for breath, to see Xisuma collapsed in EX's arms.

Free from the sculk.