Illusory freedom.

It begins..

(A/N: Thank you so much to my dear friend goda_cheese for telling me to work on things while we were on a google meet.
I know you wanted another chapter.
And to FishbeeBoop  for being so helpful with ideas.
Both of you are amazing! -Flora)

The bone white watcher mask lifted from its place, Grian remained still, fear holding him in his place.
He wanted to run.
He wanted to flee to Pearls base, Where she could protect him, she didn't fear Xian, Which was both a blessing and a curse.
He wanted to hide behind her, With her large soft moth wings.
He wanted to shelter with his sister and fight off the high watcher together.
He wanted to feel safe.
But he couldn't move as the mask floated over, as if it was carried by ghostly puppet strings.
Moving with such eerily jerky precision.
It covered his face as his eyes slowly glazed over with a rather dim purple light.
"Very good" purred Xian.
After all. His plan was working.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The sunlight reflected off the white mask on G̶r̶i̶a̶n̶s Xelquas face.
His torn purple wings fluttered lazily behind him and a shimmering black sword hung from his belt.
This was no sword.
This sword happened to be an Obsidian blade, the only known weapon to cause perma-death.
Usually, Scars would heal and disappear.
But a mark from an obsidian blade would always stand out against your skin.
Forever reminding you of your past.
A cold breeze swished through Xelquas' Hair.
A sinisterly haunting smile was plastered on his Face.

"I wonder" Xian said "if you could charade as Grian"
Xelqua made a face of extreme distaste. 
"Why would I want to do that?"
Xelqua said, When Xian responded, Xelqua could hear the smile in their voice.
"You could earn their trust. It'll hurt them so much more when you break them."
That earned a malicious grin from Xelqua.
"In that case, absolutely."
A swirl of purple light passed over Xelqua as he changed his appearance to look once again like Grian.
Xian hummed in content with how smoothly it was all going.
"Perfect. Now find someone, anyone to talk to."

Meanwhile, Gem was helping Scar with his base. The two of them sung various songs as they built.
They were singing Soldier, Poet, King as they placed the last two blocks.
"Thanks Gem"
Scar said as he brushed his hands against his shirt, getting the excess sandstone dust off.
"No problem" The ginger haired elf responded as she put her supplies away, a good natured smile on her face.
Scar appreciated the company of the other elf, she was a delight to be around, no matter how chaotic she'd been during Secret life, they were once again friends.

Gem soon left, Waving goodbye before flying way away, her elytra catching the wind as she soared through the air.
Leaving Scar with his thoughts.
After being trapped in secret life, being alone had rocketed to top of Scars list of fears.
He hadn't seen Grian in a few days, maybe he should go see him, after all, Grian lived next door.
After some not so careful consideration Scar stepped out into the cold breeze, His hair immediately flying into his face.
"Damn it's cold today" he complained, if Gem had still been there, she probably would have teased him for his lack of resistance to the chilly air.

He began to make his way to Grians, Walking the path they'd made in between their bases.
He saw Grian standing outside, Perhaps enjoying the brisk air?
"Grian!" Scar called out
"Oh! Hello Scar!" Grian responded with a grin, "it's cold today is it not?"
Scar shivered. "Hell yeah it is, Could we go inside?"
Grian paused for a second, then looked back at Scar "Of course! Let's head in now, it looks like it's going to rain."
As Grian spoke, Dark clouds did indeed cluster overhead. Dark grey and ominous.
"Lead the way" Scar said, Extremely thankful for an opportunity to become warm.

The two headed inside and sat down in Grians living room.
Grian was lounging on a scarlet couch, his red, yellow and blue parrot wings splayed behind him, the feathers ruffled and fluffed by the winds.
"So." Grian began "how've you been?"
Scar, Who was sitting on the other side of the room on another scarlet couch gestured vaguely with his hands.
"Same old, Same old. Worked on my base with gem for a little while today."
A campfire was crackling gently in the fireplace.
The room was warm, the couch was soft, the air felt comfortable and the vibes were good.
The perfect rainy afternoon.

After a while in their comfy silence, Grian got up and went to make tea, Soon returned with two hot mugs of leaf water.

(I do love me some hot leaf water)

"Thank you." Scar said as Grian handed him a mug.
"No problem" Grian responded, sitting back down on the couch on the other side of the room.
The sound of soft rain pattering outside and on the roof was like a symphony of nature's finest white noise.
Constant and kinda soothing.
Scar slowly began to drift off.
He tried to keep his eyes open, it was only about three in the afternoon, but his eyelids were heavy with sleep, and he was exhausted from building all morning.
He put his mug of tea down, and lay on the couch as he slowly closed his eyes.
He was embarrassed to admit it, but alone in his base, it was so difficult to go to sleep while he was alone.
Finally having a decent rest, Scar drifted off.

Xelqua watched Scar fall asleep.
He had a sudden urge to pull a blanket over the sleeping elf, But he resisted it.
"Hmm. So Grian does have some form of mental control." Mused Xian.
"I can handle it." Xelqua snapped back.
"Okay, Suit yourself."

Xelqua began exploring Grians base.
It was going smoothly and a little boringly, until Xelqua found the room Grian had used for N.A.R.

(Not a resistance)

Xelqua took in the sculk covered walls.
Running his hand over the thick substance.
Then he had an idea as he remembered something.
"What's the name of the other vex? The one with the lab coat?" He inquired.
"Cubfan I believe" Xian said.
"If Grian remembers correctly, he got possessed by the sculk on the Empires server."
Xelqua mused.
"Indeed he did." Xian confirmed.
"Why don't we find this dear.. Cubfan. And remind him of Empires." Xelqua said, A smirk plastered onto his face.
"I like the way you think." Xian said as Xelqua grabbed some Sculk and headed for Cubs base.
Leaving Scar asleep on the couch.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Xian was sitting in his office, when a knock came at the door.
"Come in!" He called.
A teal winged watcher walked in.
"High watcher Xian" she began
"I wish to visit my friends on the hermitcraft server."
Xian grimaced as he heard her words.
"I'm afraid I'll have to decline your request."
He said. If she got onto hermitcraft, it would ruin everything.
With suspicion and concern etched on her face, the teal winged watcher left the room, bowing as she did so.
"So, What did he say?" A bee winged half-watcher asked her.
"He said no. Something is wrong."
The bee winged watcher sighed at this response.
"We can't enter the server without his permission. We have to trust that Pearl can take care of the situation. If anything seems to arise, We contact Martyn."
"Phoebee, what if-"
"Page, They'll be fine."

(Woo! Longest chapter yet!
Phoebee and Page I hope you enjoyed your cameos!)