Banished: Resistance is Futile

[4]

"Jellie? Oh Jellieee." Grian sat perched on one of the trees in Scar's village, glancing downward to the bustling community below him for a chance to spot the silver and white familiar. "Jelli-" Grian let out a high-pitched squeak as Jellie appeared from out of nowhere, standing next to him. "Oh my Notch, Jellie! Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Jellie just inclined her head and walked over to Grian, settling herself in the hermit's lap. Grian's blue eyes twinkled with some unknown emotion. "Now, hear me out, Jellie..." He stroked her head. "There's this thing I do with my friends called Hermit Challenges, and... someone challenged me to..." He paused for a moment.

Sighing, Grian placed the furry cat on the branch next to him, Jellie casting a confused glance as to why the head scratches had stopped. "Someone challenged me to... s-steal you... I don't- I don't want to, but it's a challenge... I don't know what to do." Pulling his wings around him and curling in on himself, he placed his head in his hands. "And I'm talking to a cat."

Jellie looked at the Resistance leader with sympathy. 'It's ok, Grian.'

Grian jumped at the new voice. He rushed to stand, losing his balance and falling into the village below him. Jellie cringed at the sound of flesh meeting earth, rolled her eyes, and climbed down the tree gracefully.

Groaning, Grian slowly sat up. "Wh-what... was that y-you?" Grian stuttered, backing away from the cat, pushing himself on scrapped and bloody hands, wincing at the searing pain.

'No, it was the wind. YES, it was me.' Jellie rolled her eyes, exasperated. 'I forgot that Scar didn't tell you I could do this.'

"But your mouth-"

'Doesn't need to move for me to talk. Only you can hear this.'

Grian closed his eyes and took in a shaky breath. "Alright, then." Opening his eyes, he summoned his magic to heal his wounds. Jellie sat patiently, her Aussie voice silent inside his head. (I imagine her voice to be something like Pearlescentmoon's, but sassier. SASSY KITTY-)

"So," Grian said, breaking the silence. "Can I... 'borrow' you?"

'Fine.'

Grian brought himself up to a standing position, grunting as he placed his weight on his right ankle, still sore from the fall. Thankfully, his almost-unbreakable wings cushioned most of the impact, leaving the feathers dirty. "Guess I'll have to clean those later."

'Now are we going to go?'

"Yes, yes. Jeez..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Didn't know Scar had to put up with you."

'More like the other way around. I love that purple stuff that's stained on your sweater...' The pair started off on the short walk to the mansion.

Glancing down at the front of his shirt, Grian hastily wiped his hand, rubbing off the dirt and mycelium that cling to it. Then it clicked. "Wait, are you saying...?"

'I'll be happy to join your Resistance. Scar isn't really making any progress with the Agency, and he already suspects me to like the mushrooms that once were on the island. I guess he isn't wrong-" Jellie contentedly swung her tail back and forth, Grian pondering this information.

'Maybe this challenge will pay off after all,' he thought.

^*^

Armor clinked and clanged against each other as Helsknight adjusted his position, hissing at all the noise he had made. He'd been spying on his alter, Welsknight, as he had been restocking Welsmart. 'Welsmart... what a stupid name.' He cackled quietly.

Wels exited the store, making his way to the Town Hall's portal. Hels waited a few minutes before making his move to follow Wels to his base.

His plans from the mayor had been simple:

Flashback

"So, you're the one that summoned me."

The brown-haired man huddled in the corner, his purple robes shaking from fear, along with the rest of his body. "Y-yes. I... I need help. There are a bunch of annoying Mycelium supporters on the server, and I want to stop them."

"So what do you want me to do?" Hels twirled his sword around lazily.

"First off... I need you to replace your alter, so to s-speak."

"Replace Wels?" Hels thought for a moment.

Scar nodded, trying to calm his nerves. "Yes. Lock him up or something, I don't know. But then p-pretend to be him, and join the Resistance."

"I am a fan of grass, if I had any say in the matter."

Scar smiled nervously, his emerald green eyes darting away from Hels' red stare. "Perfect."

End flashback

So here he was, trying to... dispose of Wels. And if things got out of hand—which they wouldn't—he could always call for help from... a "friend."

Hels equipped his elytra—a gift from Scar—and glided down to the portal, slipping into the fiery dimension he called home.

^*^

"And that concludes today's episode, and I hope to see you in the next one!" Wels waved to the camera floating in front of him, sighing as the red light went out. "Another video done." Grabbing the camera, he tucked it under his arm and strode outside his front door. His goal was to put the third-person camera away into a chest, but a lectern and accompanying shulker box  outside his door stopped him. 'How odd...' Placing the camera on the ground next to him, Wels read the first page:

Hello neighbor!

Just wanted to leave some more wheat for your leather project.

'More wheat? But no one's ever dropped off any wheat befooore...' His inner thoughts trailed off as he pulled out his sword, getting into a defensive position and glancing around, looking for his evil alter ego. "I know you're there, Hels. Come out an play."

From his spot hidden out at the edge of the forest, Hels threw an enderpeal, materializing right in front of Wels. "Long time no see, Wels," he spat out, hitting Wels over the head with the flat of his sword.

Stumbling backwards and falling against the house, Wels put a hand to his ringing head, the netherite helmet dented and applying a direct source of pain to his skull. "Good to see you too," was the good knight's reply, tasting blood on his tongue. As he spoke, some ended up on his lips.

"Awww, knighty bit his lip?" Hels made a mocking pouty face, hugging his iron sword like a stuff animal. "Time for bed, Wels." Hand reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a milky white splash potion, stepped back, and threw it at the injured warrior.

^*^

Some of y'all are getting close on the theories!!!! But wait, there will be more! Next chapter... oh ho ho, there's gonna be a curve ball. >:}

Also, if you've noticed, I've been updating this one a lot more than I have with WTUS or the one-shots or ANY. That's because I love this AU so much, and I don't think there's much, or anything else, like it out there. Thanks to all the people that have given me ideas (even unknowingly).
Your contribution has been GREATLY appreciated. Here, have a cat:

=^.^=

Theorists, theorize here. —>

Maya <3