Xisuma pov:
When Keralis came back without our little anxious birdy, I knew something had gone down. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that whatever had happened with those two impostors, it had shaken him up. Honestly, I was relieved Keralis had gotten him out of the room, especially since I’d forced the two to drop their glimmers. Now, they didn’t look like Mumbo and Scar anymore.
What stood in their place wasn’t what I expected—one was a rabbit hybrid, and judging by the look on Keralis’ face earlier, that explained a lot about why our birdy was so terrified. The other seemed human, but I knew better than to assume that was all there was to him.
I stepped forward, crossing my arms as I studied them both. My voice was calm, but firm. “Who are you guys, and why are you on our server? Where are Mumbo and Scar?”
The bunny hybrid shot a glare at the human, silently commanding him not to answer. It didn’t sit well with me, the tension thickening in the air as the human hesitated, clearly caught between wanting to speak and following his companion’s lead. I wasn’t about to let this stand.
With a flick of my fingers, I tightened the admin restriction chains around them, the metallic clinks echoing through the room. “I suggest you answer,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument. The room fell into a heavy silence, all eyes on the two figures, waiting for them to crack. I needed to know where Mumbo and Scar were, and I wasn’t leaving without answers.
"My name is Taurtis, and that's Sam," the human finally spoke, struggling against the chains as if he could break free. I could hear the panic in his voice, see the desperation in his movements. Good. Let him panic. They had terrified our little birdy, and for that, I felt no sympathy.
"We don't know where your friends are," Taurtis added, trying to sound confident, like he wasn’t lying through his teeth. But I wasn’t fooled. His eyes darted nervously, his voice shaky beneath the false bravado.
I narrowed my eyes, my patience thinning. "You’re lying," I said flatly, the weight of my words hanging in the room. The hermits behind me exchanged uneasy glances, their confusion mounting, but I wasn’t about to back down. Taurtis’ facade was cracking, and I would push until we had the truth.
"You don’t just show up on our server, disguised as our friends, and not know where they are. So, I’ll ask one last time: Where. Are. Mumbo. And. Scar?"
As the chains tightened around them, the tension in the room grew palpable. Taurtis winced, his panic more visible, but it was Sam’s reaction that stopped me cold. He started to laugh—an unhinged, psychotic laugh that echoed in the room, sharp and unsettling. It wasn’t just the sound of someone finding humor in a dire situation; it was something darker, twisted. The kind of laugh that crawls under your skin and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
I paused, my fingers twitching as I contemplated the chains. Everyone in the room had gone dead silent, their eyes flickering between Sam and me. Even Taurtis looked unnerved by the sound, casting quick glances at his partner as if he hadn’t expected this either.
Sam’s laughter grew louder, more manic, as if something about the situation had become unbearably amusing to him. It set the whole room on edge. The hermits shifted uneasily, whispering among themselves, while I stood there, trying to make sense of it.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, my voice cutting through the eerie laughter. I could feel the weight of everyone’s eyes on me, waiting for my next move. But Sam kept laughing, his head thrown back as if he were unraveling right in front of us.
The sound of it was maddening, and I could feel the unease spreading like wildfire. Something was off—more than we had first thought. Whatever we were dealing with, it wasn’t just an impostor situation. It was far more dangerous than that.
