"Found"

Part 3 - The Monster

Impulse's eyes widened as he heard what Martyn said, gulping a bit at the thought of the place he had escaped from. "Wait, wait- the Void? Why would they put her in the Void of all places?!"

"they're corrupting her...." Martyn says quietly.

Grian felt his heart skip a beat at the thought. He knew how corruptive the Void could be, and the thought of Valeri being put there made him sick. "So it is worse than we thought.. okay.."

He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and collected. This was going to be difficult, but they had to save her no matter what.

"I can take us all there, but I'm afraid I won't be able to help fight for a while because I'd have to recharge, I'll be weaker because it isn't my domain." Martyn speaks up, looking determined.

Grian nodded, understanding the situation. He glanced at Xisuma and the other Hermits, preparing for the journey to the Void. "Okay, we're ready when you are Martyn." 

"Hold hands." Martyn holds out his hand. Grian glances at Xisuma, who nods in agreement. Grian hesitantly takes Martyn's hand, preparing himself as best as he could for their journey.

Everyone links up in a circle and after blinding flash of green light they are standing in a empty room in the facility. Grian blinks as he looks around, his eyes adjusting to their new surroundings. The room was dull and empty, similar to how his cell was, all empty and cold. He shivers, glancing over at Martyn. Martyn is pale and stumbles, leaning on the wall for support

Grian catches him, worry filling his gaze. "Hey, woah-! You okay dude?" 

Martyn nods, taking off his blindfold. "Yeah... I underestimated how hard it was to transport six people."

He helps support Martyn, looking over at Xisuma, who nods.  "Everyone stick together. Let's go." Xisuma commands firmly. Mumbo, Scar, Pearl, Impulse, Xisuma, Grian and Martyn all head off into the hall, Grian leading the way because he knows the layout.

As they walk down the halls, Grian leads the way, but keeps a close eye on their surroundings. The halls were the exact same as when he first escaped, eerily familiar yet frightening at the same time. He glances around nervously, his wings ruffling a bit from the anxiety he felt.

He finally approaches the cell he once stayed in. "This is it.." Grian's breathing quickened as they all approached the cell, a fear growing inside of him as he thought about going into the cell again. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

When they open the door they are met with Valeri chained to a wall, tears streaming down her face as a watcher interrogates her. Grian's eyes widened as he saw Valeri bound and tied up, tears on her face. He was filled with anger and shock at the sight, his breathing becoming heavy and shaking as he watched the Watcher torment her.

"You are useless!" The watcher yells, striking her across the face "Tell me where he is!"

"I've already told you, I don't know!" Valeri cried, her eye no longer glowing.

"Ugh..." He growls. "Your memory is of no use to us..."

Grian's eyes widened as he listened, a realisation hitting him. This watcher was the same one he had talked to while he was captive. He was the same being who was tasked to convert him. He swallowed hard. He slowly started to step into the room quietly, watching the Watcher as they continued to interrogate and torment Valeri. His fists were still clenched into fists as he got closer and closer to being spotted. The watcher presses a clawed hand to Valeri's forehead and the eye lights up once again as her eyes glow purple, her body slumping against the wall, her head dropping to her chest.

Grian felt a rush of anger as he watched the eye start to glow and Valeri's body go limp. He finally had enough and snapped, his emotions overloading. "Hey! Leave her alone!"

The watcher turned around "Ahh, Xelqua!" He taunts. "Come to your senses have you?"

Grian glared at the Watcher, his wings ruffling behind him as they fully spread out. His eyes held a mixture of anger and determination as he stared down the Watcher. "Let. Her. Go."

"My oh my..." The Watcher looks at the others "Look at the menagerie! An admin... a celestial... a watcher... a wood nymph... a mage AND a redstonist... You spoil me Xelqua."

The other Hermits stepped forward, watching the interaction between Grian and the Watcher. Xisuma readied his Admin magic, the rest preparing their weapons and skills, ready to defend themselves if they needed to.

"And is that a Listener?" The Watcher laughs. "This will be fun!" He draws two curved blades.

Grian's eyes widened as he heard the word 'listener', quickly stepping back beside Martyn. "Leave him out of this." He quickly summons an amethyst knife, his hand holding it tensely and tightly. He was prepared to attack if the Watcher got any closer.

The watcher takes a step back as he sees the Amethyst. It's one of the only ores that can hurt Watchers. Grian glares at the Watcher as he steps back, the amethyst knife gleaming in the light. "I'm warning you. Leave my friends alone, and let Valeri go. Now."

He laughs "Who is Valeri? I don't even think she knows..." He snaps his fingers and the chains disappear, Valeri crumpling to the floor in an unconscious heap.

Grian's heart sank as he saw Valeri fall to the ground in a heap, his hand tightly gripping the amethyst knife. "You.. you did something to her, didn't you? You've brainwashed her..!"

He laughs "Oh I did nothing of the sort... just tampered with her memory a bit..."

Grian's eyes widened at the revelation, his knuckles going pale from his fists clenching so tight. "You- You.. messed with her MIND ?! You're a monster!"

"I'm the monster?" The Watcher laughs "Try looking in a mirror!"

Grian flinched slightly at his words, his anger rising further. He knew the Watchers were awful, but he didn't realise just how far they would go until now. "I'm NOT the monster here. You're the one who's torturing her and manipulating her, messing with her memories! You are the monster! Release her!"

"If you want her you can have her." The watcher snarls. "She is of no use for us.."

Grian's grip on the amethyst knife loosened slightly, a mix of hope and suspicion in his gaze. He glanced at the unconscious Valeri, silently debating what to do. But he couldn't risk the Watchers keeping her here any longer. So he lowered his weapon, and approached Valeri cautiously.

the watcher disappeared in a flurry of purple particles