Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Allies in Tumble Town

           False found herself leaving the meeting with Grian and Pearl. "Grian, what do we do?" Pearl asked him. "About the Watchers?" Grian asked somewhat sarcastically. "I don't know! I guess prepare for war or whatever!" The other two hermits stopped to stare at him as Grian paused to calm down. "Sorry." He muttered after a second. "I just don't want a repeat of last time."

           Pearl made a sad smile and hugged him. "I don't either," She murmured, "But history doesn't always repeat itself. This time we can fight back. This time we'll win." Out of the corner of her eye False noticed Scott, Jimmy, and Scar whispering to each other and then flying off in a similar direction. 

           "Hey, where are they going?" She wondered aloud. Silently she thought they looked suspicious. Grian and Pearl looked at them too. "Let's follow them," Grian decided. "Shouldn't we be preparing against the Watchers or something?" Pearl asked worriedly. "Do you have any idea how to?" Grian asked. Pearl thought for a second and then shook her head. "Then we might as well do this. Besides, if Timmy's going to canary curse and die I want to bother him one last time." 

           So they all followed the three of them to Tumble Town where they landed by the saloon and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Someone's unfamiliar voice asked. "Me, Jimmy, and Scar." Scott said and then the door opened to reveal a strange person that False didn't recognize. Then the person shifted form and became Gem. 

           "Gem?!" Pearl cried out and rushed forward. Gem paled at the sight of her and then retreated into the saloon, banging the door shut. Pearl ran up the steps and knocked lightly. "Gem, it's just me! Why're you hiding?" There was a pause before Gem quietly opened the door again. "Wasn't expecting to see me here, huh?" She asked.

           To everyone's surprise, most of all Gem's, Pearl embraced her before answering. Gem awkwardly pulled away. "Gem, you've been here the whole time?!" Pearl asked in disbelief. "Yeah, ever since you found out about... it." Gem sighed as a lock of her red hair changed color to brown and then back again. "I was looking for you everywhere and I couldn't find you!" Pearl burst out. 

           "We all were looking." False informed Gem, walking closer. "Oh, no one told me that." Scar said, looking amused. Gem looked taken aback. "You were... looking for me?" She asked. "Not all of us." Grian huffed, crossing his arms. False shot him an annoyed look. Gem seemed... different. Like she wasn't in the proper state of mind. Couldn't Grian see that and at least be a little bit nicer?

           "I thought none of you wanted to see me again." Gem said to the hermits. "Why wouldn't we? Who said that?" Pearl asked, and then she glanced at Grian. In fact, everyone was looking at Grian. "What? She's a Watcher." Grian said like that explained everything. "She's our friend!" Pearl almost shouted at him, but then Scott came and gently put a restraining hand on her shoulder. 

           "Can we all calm down and then sort this mess out?" He asked calmly. "Because I can tell that there's been at least one misunderstanding here." Everyone listened to him. "Okay, good." Scott said. "Now, I do believe we should do this indoors where it's a lot less hot and a lot more shady."

           They moved into the saloon and started to talk. Gem started off by saying how she left to stay in Tumble Town indefinitely because she assumed none of her friends wanted to be her friends anymore. Pearl and False then objected and said that they simply didn't know where she had gone and had been looking for her. Grian added that he'd assumed she'd abandoned the world. 

           "Oh." Gem said. She hesitated a moment before adding, "So you guys actually still want to be my friends?" "Yes!" Pearl and False said simultaneously. "Why wouldn't we?" "Because..." Gem bit her lip. "No one else wanted to." "Do you mean the other emperors?" Grian asked in confusion; they seemed like a fairly wholesome bunch other than maybe Pirate Joe. "No, none of them even know I'm here except maybe Lizzie." Gem said, shaking her head.