Chapter Text
Grian awakes knowing something is wrong.
It isn't impending doom, nothing calling out for imminent peril, no, just...something is not as it aught to be. It's like...you're in a warm room, warm clothes on and huddled in a blanket, and yet your body's shivering for no reason. It feels like that knowledge but just...existence.
Grian spreads his wings and leaves his home, heading for the pit beneath it. The Rift is humming more intensely, and he suddenly flares his wings out before diving to take Martyn's sword in his talons, ripping it from the man's hands with an avian cry. The blonde man looks at him, then his eyes widen as he looks at the one he was going to strike down and back. It's him, on the ground, arms and wings thrown in front of himself to shield against the weapon, eyes shut tight. Behind Martyn is Mumbo, Impulse, and Jimmy. Tim? Why Tim? The only time he saw him nowadays was the Life Games–wait.
It clicks.
This was–is–his Last Life crew, the ones he built a rapport with only a few months ago.
So why are they here, and why do they want to kill him? Or at least, why did Martyn?
Grian drops the blade, letting it clang loudly against the stone, then uses his foot to kick it behind him, out of sight and definitely out of reach of the man who'd previously wielded it. "What are you–what is going on here?" He demands, as Jimmy and Mumbo seem to finally clock that he's there. "WHAT?!"Jimmy cries, eyes wide, as Mumbo tilts his head and steps back half a step as though untrusting. "This isn't your guys' world, how are you here?" He continues, mostly speaking to Impulse and Martyn, who're the calmer two. Other Grian's begun to peek out behind his wings, confused at the commotion. "Because of him." Martyn growls, pointing at the Watcher. Grian folds his wings, perplexed. "What do you mean? What did I–or, other me–do?" He inquires. "He tried to kill me, and when I fought back, he brought us here." Martyn replies, revealing a small cut on his neck. "Boogeyman? But...I never became the Boogeyman." He wonders, and Martyn snorts. "Well, you did, so I don't know what to tell you. Get out of my way and let me finish." He states, but the Watcher shakes his head. He might not understand what's going on, but he knows that his other self is scared, and they aren't where they're meant to be, so they shouldn't risk killing someone in case A: they don't come back and therefore messes with their home and maybe some timeline stuff, B: there's something important to be found, or C: it just messes with things in general. "No. I don't know why you're here, but I know you lot are in, or supposed to be in, Last Life, right? What's going on? Where are you at? How is it you're all on red and Tim hasn't died yet? Or Mumbo?" Jimmy straightens with an indignant look on his face. "Excuse me?" Mumbo just gets more confused looking. "We're the last five left. We were living peacefully on Red, until this one tried to attack us." Martyn explains, and Grian frowns. "No, that-that's not what happens. We all split up. Tim dies, and Mumbo dies almost instantly after, because I killed them, Impulse, Martyn and I basically split up, and in the end, Martyn's the last Southlander, only to be killed by Scott when he tried to use an End Crystal. Scott wins." Martyn looks at Impulse, and Grian looks up at his other self, insurmountably puzzled, then warily stands up. "Scott died to Timmy. He shot him with a crossbow." He says, and Grian looks over to the man, impressed. "Good for you, Tim." Jimmy smiles a little, but then attention is drawn to Impulse as he shifts, arms crossed. "Now, I have no idea what's going on, but there's two Grians, and apparently they remember Last Life differently. This looks like an older version of that weird cave you made last I was on Hermitcraft, so I'll assume that's where we are. Or, some version of it." Grian nods slowly, he put that together very quickly. "Wait, really?" Mumbo says, taking a better look around. "Yeah. Does your Hermitcraft not have a massive purple thing?" He waves a wing at the Rift on the left, which warbles ominously.
*Martyn and the peeps show up! What is going on? Nothing they’re talking about is as Grian remembers!*
*Context: Martyn nearly killed LL!Grian(again) and so after being forcibly restrained by Doc, they wrestle him into the best thing they can manage for a prison, that being a box of stone with two glass panes as windows(and a small hole for air and conversation, but not big enough for Martyn to get out through. Martyn's a little crazy rn, agitated and...well, people have been saying he's acting weird, including the Southlanders. You'll see.*
"You wouldn't get it. You don't understand what I'm trying to do." Martyn seethes, pacing back and forth. They have no prisons, so it's only half as sure as Grian would like that Martyn won't just try to break the glass and attack him, too. "Then explain it to me." He replies, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Why? Thinking you can prevent it?" Martyn asks, whipping his head around to glare at him. He's like an agitated beast, even the slightest touch makes him defensive. "Preferably. I don't really like the idea of having a dead, alternate version of me in my world. I want to help you get back home. And if LG caused the Rift, then I think we may need him to accomplish a return." Martyn growls, looking away and returning to pacing. "What'd he even do? You seem so...angry at him." The Lifer falters for a moment, pace slowing for a moment before continuing. "That doesn't matter to you. It doesn't concern you." Grian frowns, and leans forward. "I think it does. Do you even know? Because he doesn't. I asked him why you're so intent on disliking and killing him, and he said he has no idea." He presses, once again making the man pause. He has an answer, they both know it, Grian just has to get him to say it. "I...don't know." Martyn finally admits, though interestingly, it sounds more like a realization than a begrudging admittance. "Why don't I know?" He asks, now growing confused. "They told me they wanted him gone, and I said okay, but I found it weird they singled him out, that they sounded so angry and hateful about him. Then...I woke up and then I needed him dead. Gone." Martyn shakes his head, no longer talking to Grian, more to himself. "When did that happen?" Grian stands up and approaches the glass. "We'll figure this out, okay? I promise. Can you tell me anything else that sticks out to you? Or who 'they' are?" He asks, gently tapping the clear air where the glass is to get the man's attention again.
Martyn looks up, then suddenly he's directly in front of it and has slammed a fist against the clear barrier, which causes cracks. Totally not concerning at all. Grian has moved back, wings flared, and recognizes that Martyn is obviously not himself now. The wild look in his eyes and how the irises have shrunk are a good indicator, if it weren't the malicious intent visible in his posture or the dark grin spreading across his face. For a moment, Grian even wonders if he saw a flare of purple dance across his eyes. Whatever the case, Martyn chuckles at the Avian's reaction and leans on his arm, making the glass creak and groan a little under his weight, which only makes the cracks worse. Grian reminds himself that Martyn has been stripped of weapons and items, and therefore cannot shoot him down if he tries to fly away, and therefore he could just jump into the sky to avoid him. "I don't think so, else I'd have to kill you, too. And believe me, I don't really want to. But I will." Grian flicks his wings, hoping to regain his composure. "Is this that 'they' you just mentioned?" He inquires, and the slight curl of Martyn's lip is all the answer he needs. "Right. Hello, 'they'. Who are you exactly? What am I dealing with?" Martyn huffs and finally steps back from the window. It looks like someone left weird chalk lines in the air, now.
"You should already know. Think. What does this remind you of?" As he speaks, Martyn's voice changes and warps. There's something just under the surface, and Grian doesn't like it. It's not just that it rubs him the wrong way, but as much as it feels malicious, it feels almost predatory. It knows Grian knows that it could hurt him, badly, and relishes that. "I have a guess, but I'd like to think I'm wrong." Martyn grins at him. "Yeah, but I wanna hear you say it." He replies, almost slipping back into his normal voice. "If I had to guess, you're the Watchers. Aren't you?" Martyn dips his head ever so slightly, then shrugs, closing his eyes for a moment. "Took you long enough." Grian shifts, uneasy as much as he tries to hide it. "Right. So why don't we have a chat, then? What do you want from me--or, other me? Why are you so intent on getting rid of me? And why force Martyn to do it?" Grian isn't scared of them, but he very well knows they're far stronger than he is. Xisuma may be able to hold them off, but if he can avoid it, he would prefer to not test that faith. He pulls up his communicator, beginning to write a message to the Admin. "I wouldn't do that." Grian pauses, glancing up at the man before going to keep typing. "We will help him escape. He thinks he wants to kill him. We can make him want to do worse." Grian snorts. "You'd do it anyway. The fact I'm still breathing right now is a threat to this little scheme of yours, isn't it?" He's trying to sound cocky and sure of himself, but in reality, he's trying to evaluate his options. Give himself time, maybe make them a hesitant.
*Grian escapes cuz Martyn attacks him and finds both versions of his favorite Vampire*
Grian crashes to the ground, grunting painfully as he picks himself up and barrels into the room. Both Mumbos look up in confusion, but it's his that comes forward to help him, supporting him up and guiding him to a chair. Lifer Mumbo stays back, however his gaze is transfixed upon him. "What happened to you?!" Hermit Mumbo exclaims, trying to see where exactly he's been hurt, so Grian indicates to the gash on his side. "Martyn tried to shoot me. Cut a little bit closer than I'd have liked." He explains, and Mumbo pauses. "A little bit??" He replies skeptically. "Where's Martyn now?" LM asks, not exactly sharp in tone, but there's still an edge to it. "Um..." Grian thinks. "We were somewhere between Doc's Perimeter and my own base." The vampire nods, then tilts his head. "Why was he chasing you to begin with?" Grian lifts his wings a little in a shrug. "He wanted to kill LG, which you know. Don't know if he's gone crazy or something, but I think I'm on that list, too." He won't tell them about the Watchers. Not until he finds either his counterpart or Xisuma. "Oh." LM says quietly, and Grian flexes his wings anxiously. HM is trying to make sure the wound is dealt with properly, and he has more sense than to move until the vampire is done. "Do you think he'll come after me, still, or just go right after LG again?" LM considers, then tips his head to one side. "He's stubborn but smart. If he doesn't have any weapons, he'll probably fall back, but if he has a plan and a shot, he'll probably take it." He has a bow. "Good to know." He flaps his wings to gently shoo HM back, then thanks them both and leaves, closing the door and moving off to get some room to spread his wings. Mumbo helped, but the pain still makes him wince. "Grian, wait!" He pauses, turning to see his version of Mumbo exiting the building to come over. "If you're going after him again, do you want help? It's not like you to be so easily hit." Grian looks away, out at the rest of the Server. He had a lot on his mind at the moment, and it caught him off-guard. "I'll be fine. Make sure LM stays nearby. If you see Martyn...be careful." The Vampire nods grimly, wishes him good luck, and watches him fly away. Grian heads for Scar's tree. His other self likes it there, mostly because he missed Scar and the tree was very peaceful. Sure enough, he's there, watching Scar and Hypno talk about something involving flowers. He doesn't pay close attention to it as he lands beside the Avian. "He's escaped, then?" Grian nods, pulling out his communicator. "Wanted to make sure you knew before I called for anyone else. Then we can start looking for him, too." He replies, quickly messaging Xisuma and Doc. He tells them to meet him over by False's eagle, then turns to LG. "There's something else." He starts, moving to get a better hold on the branch. "I discovered that the Watchers are messing with him. I can't tell if they're just influencing his actions, but he mentioned something about them wanting you gone in return for the others making it to the end, and then a sudden change in behavior before he snapped. They spoke to me." LG's eyes widen and he glances down at the Hermits, ensuring they can't hear them before replying. "That explains a lot, actually. Martyn sometimes has bad dreams, we all heard them. He was talking to someone, and a few nights before he attacked me, he was the most upset we'd heard him. He sounded betrayed, upset, and argumentative. That gives that some more context."
*The whole dream thing is associated with my headcanon on sleep that I explain in Eyes Like Stars(Too Many). basically, sleep is the Soul seeking other company. For most beings it's usually half-lucid adventures(which is why they're so weird) and for beings like Watchers, it's a way to communicate with those they can't directly contact. This all came from Martyn's suggestion that the other servers the Lifers visit while resting in the Void between Seasons are just dreams.*
*Grian, LG, and some sorta cursed/possessed Martyn venture out through the Rift to try and confront the Watchers and get them to release Martyn. Our favorite feral and slightly murderous boy is kinda salty about being tied up. Poor Martyn.*
Grian hisses under his breath, feathers running over the uneven stones and messing with them. He'll have to fix them, but after. This takes importance. He turns to see LG standing up, then spots Martyn glowering at him, on his side and watching him. His eyes are still purple. "Right, let's get you on your feet." He sighs, beginning the wrestle that it is to make Martyn do anything as he is now. It's not his fault, the Watchers are messing with his head, but when he jerks his head back, causing Grian's nose to bleed, he can't help but get a bit annoyed. LG comes over and struggles with the blond man until he's standing, then moves to make sure the Hermit is okay. "I'm fine." It very well may be the least of his concerns soon. "If you're sure...now, how do we find these guys...?" Grian flaps his wings, painfully aware of the messed-up feathers. "I doubt we'll find them. If they aren't aware that we're here, I'll be shocked." He replies, but starts forward anyway, nudging Martyn to make him start walking.
I'll edit this eventually over time, but this is a "what if Martyn's whole 'I can take you to the end along with your friends' thing with the Watchers happened? For some reason or other, Grian attacks Martyn(either Insanity or Watchers force a Boogeyman for angst purposes, or something else that's probably smarter), and Martyn uses that to his advantage to try and get rid of Grian, as per the thing where the Watchers wanted him to eliminate him to begin with. Martyn thinks he can stay with his friends after, but it still follows the lore where that wasn't the end they meant. Anyway, Martyn attacks Grian, much to everyone's confusion, and in the panic, LL!Grian accidentally makes a mini Rift that takes them to Hermitcraft or sum' iouno
Cue chaos and a whole lot of confusion
Also some headcanons:
Grian's Watcher powers can peek through when his emotions are high(so during the fight with Martyn he was sorta like super scared and sad and desperate and like, 'I wanna go HOME' and that caused the Rift when his powers manifested for a second)
Mumbo is a Vampire, and bcs he's on Red, he needs blood(he usually tries to use animal blood but all these people are a little messed up and war-hardened so he isn't entirely against human blood), and doesn't care too well in the sunlight. Also has the Cryoskin vampire idea(if you don't know what that is, I can tag you to the chapter as well)
LL!Grian cannot fly, but he can glide and open his wings at the last second for clutches to avoid fall damage. He also can use them in fights, to whack someone or block attacks(therefore he has some gashes and scars on his wings), and unlike HC!Grian, he hasn't cut the talons on his hands so he can lash out with his feet or hands if he has no weapon readily available.
Jimmy's actually really good at archery
Impulse is sorta just himself here, do as you will with him(I just made him a bit more perceptive and calculating bcs I imagine he be like that)
People on Red have enhanced strength, endurance, stamina, etc. This means that they are stronger(so in theory Jimmy would be able to do something like throw Scar across a room, or maybe only Doc((cuz I imagine him to be like, really strong and just under 7 feet tall)) could pin one down, stuff like that), faster, and can go farther and longer on less. They rarely sleep(mostly due to an instinctive fear of the Boogeyman, night is no longer safe to simply sleep through), and the enhanced stats are mostly for like, war adrenaline, to make the fights more aggressive and exciting bcs they're thusly made solely to kill. Basically, they've been given the advantages of an adrenaline rush (minus some things, the lack of sleep gets to them a bit and they're more violent and aggressive than nervous or jittery) but it doesn't end. The only reason HC!Grian was able to get Martyn's sword was because he was caught off guard by the sudden change of location and HC!Grian appearing seemingly out of nowhere.
Notes
To avoid confusion or making one feel belittled, the duplicated people(Mumbo, Grian, and Impulse have decided to simply be referred to as LG, LM, and LI(Lifer Grian, Lifer Mumbo, and Lifer Impulse) and HG, HM, and HI(Hermit Grian, Hermit Mumbo, and Hermit Impulse). It makes it more convenient to differentiate between them and still make them feel the same.
Martyn's plot motivation is heavily if not entirely based around the Watchers manipulating him. Kinda the antagonist? More like confused, corrupted/desperate protagonist doing the bad things, sometimes the Watchers actually come in and forcibly take control/influence his actions to make him more ruthless or get closer to doing what they want him to do. I wouldn't call it possession, but it's pretty dang close, he starts to feel the hate and anger against Grian they have, and so he doesn't recognize it isn't his own. They also can speak through him and control his body, but it doesn't last forever. Only for like, 10-20 minutes tops. Also, during those periods, it's not like Martyn entirely loses control, he just slips into a weird, half-lucid state where he isn't in control or entirely aware of his actions, but he's still like, conscious and sorta him. This helps the Watchers control him easier bcs he's more compliant and doesn't fight as much because he isn't even aware of what he's doing. I also made a bunch of words yesterday I thought suited the vibe of his confusion when he's like "wait why am I so mad at Grian again", and here it is: "Did I say no? Did I say yes? Why don't I know? Why must I guess?" and that sorta explains that pretty well, I think.
At some point(maybe after a pivotal moment where Martyn tries REALLY hard to kill LL!Grian and is being held back or down, something like that) Martyn sorta breaks, shouting, angry, and desperate bcs he thinks he literally has no other choice, either to win with his friends or to just get back home in general, and that's when he references the Watchers, though he doesn't know they're Watchers(the scene I made up as a rough draft for that is the part where HG tries to interrogate Martyn)