Chapter Text
There was a person in the End Portal Room.
Normally this wouldn’t be such a strange occurrence since the room is often used for travelling between servers before or after the event. However, this was not before or after MCC. This was in the big break and the room should by all means be deserted. That’s how it has always been and how it was supposed to be.
The person in front of him seemed like they could not care less about the societal standards of the Portal Room. They were sitting on the edge of the portal, humming an unknown melody while their feet were dangling in the Void (which should be impossible for Players) like it was some kind of swimming pool. Now that he thought about it, it kind of was. If only pools were magical and contained black and deadly water. Although this person seemed relatively unharmed, so maybe it was just a regular magic swimming pool for them, instead of the deadly kind.
One might think that Grian would feel more comfortable with someone familiar with the Void, considering that he has no one to rely on for Void related stuff, such as recharging. That was sadly not the case here, since there are very few people who can touch the Void, with the Watchers being a vast majority.
He would rather not be recaptured by the Watchers today, thank you very much.
No, he did not want anyone to see him perform this very scary and gruelling task of recharging his energy, and he definitely did not want any potential Watchers to discover who or what he was. He could manage this alone; he always did.
It wasn’t like he needed help with the panic attacks, anyway.
The stranger had to be a seriously dedicated fan of someone on the Lime Llamas team, judging by the lime green training jacket and the matching lime crown that was resting on top of their blonde hair. Grian could easily have mistaken them for a participant if it weren’t for the dragon wings on the person’s back. Now he was the first to admit, he might not be the most attentive person–at least when he chose not to be–but he was pretty sure he would notice two gigantic dragon wings on one of the contestants.
Even if Grian hadn't noticed the wings, the MCC code temporarily locked away any hybrid feature that could give someone an advantage in the games, so a competitor with wings would be impossible. But every server code had its weak link and the MCC server’s could be found in the Void. That was why Grian needed to go to the End Portal: so he could regain his energy.
That brought him back to the topic at hand. He had never been faced with this scenario before, and now he had to ask this complete stranger, who was just enjoying their day, to move so that he could feel more comfortable when restoring his energy. He couldn’t even tell them why they had to move; he had to just demand it from them.
Now he may have done a lot of healing on Hermitcraft, but he still needed to mentally prepare himself to disturb this stranger for such a selfish reason. The fact that he was even considering it showed how far he had come; although apparently, it’s not far enough or Scar would stop forcing him to attend his boring therapy sessions.
Grian knew that prioritising himself sometimes is not selfish, but he was not sure if all the comforting words Scar mutters ring true or if he just lies to Grian to make him feel better. He thought it better to not know.
If Scar could hear his thoughts right now, he would berate Grian for thinking so, and then have another impromptu therapy session.
Right, that’s it. No more distractions before he figured out what to do here. He considered his options. On one hand, he needed to recharge his energy from the Void, as the MCC code locking away his Watcher side was a very taxing experience. On the other hand, he did not want to bother the stranger in front of him for such a selfish reason, since doing so meant asking the person in front of him to become uncomfortable so that he would feel better about himself.
Contemplating this internal dilemma, Grian chose to go for option three instead: Staying completely still, observing the person in front of him, and hoping that they’ll leave before the break ends. He could pray that the person noticed him and left, but that didn’t seem to be happening considering they still haven’t discovered Grian standing right behind them.
Their unobservant nature reminded him of Mumbo. He felt a sting of jealousy. Mumbo hadn’t gone through what he had; he didn’t need to be as alert as him. Mumbo had never been punished for not noticing anything, for being too inattentive. And Grian knew, he knew that jealousy was an ugly emotion, and he hated himself for feeling it, but it didn’t change the fact that he did. It didn’t change the fact that he wished he could be caught by surprise more often than once in a blue moon.
The melody they were humming was a charming one but after hearing it five times in a row without noticing Grian, he needed to re-evaluate his opinion. After the sixth time, he took it all back. Being overly attentive beat being utterly oblivious every day. By the seventh rendition, his patience had started to run dry, and he hoped to never hear this melody ever again.
Would it be too much to strangle someone just to get a song to end? The Watchers would say no, and Grian found himself agreeing with them. Okay that was a bad sign, it was time to do something about the song that isn’t strangulation.
Completely oblivious to Grian’s murderous thoughts, the stranger started on their eight rendition. Right, Grian had had enough. If it required him being selfish to stop this accursed melody, then so be it. He could not listen to this song for another second or he might intentionally burst his ear drums. The fact that he was standing still was not helping either, as it was very boring, and he wasn’t exactly known for his long patience. Frankly, the fact that he hadn’t acted before now must be some sort of record.
He walked up to the stranger and tapped them on their shoulder.
Their reaction was instantaneous. The stranger grabbed Grian’s shoulder faster than he thought humanly possible and pulled him down towards the floor. In less than one second, the stranger had somehow managed to get a leg around his stomach, and suddenly he laid flat on his back with the stranger on top of him leaving him straddled in place.
Well, he certainly got his wish of a surprise. Grian had to give the stranger credit, he was not expecting that.
For a second, they were both quiet. The stranger–a young boy by the looks of it–seemed to be evaluating him, curiosity schooling his features for just a moment before it was replaced with what he presumed is supposed to be a threatening face but ended up looking more like a spoiled child not getting what they wanted. Really, the only thing that was remotely threatening in this entire situation was the sharp black horns that were sticking out under the boy’s crown.
Grian tried giving him a Grian-Certified Cheeky Grin, hoping that it would prove his good intentions and lower the tension. Recognition flashed throughout the person’s eyes and his expression changed from the scary mask he was previously putting on to genuine fear.
How he managed to mess up with a cheeky grin would forever remain a mystery.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god.” The stranger seemed to be muttering to himself, not directing anything towards Grian yet. “Great job, attacking the one person who could literally end your entire MCC career.”
Oh nevermind, that was how.
Realising that he still had not acknowledged Grian, he seemed to calm down, and Grian watched how quickly he schooled his expression from fear to a guilty, but solemn mask.
“I am so sorry, sir; this is all my fault. I promise you, I’ll do better in the future.”
Still trying to wrap his mind around what just happened, Grian didn’t register much more than the “sir” part. A thousand questions flowed through his mind. Were all children his age just as polite, or was this kid an outlier? How does he even respond to a kid calling him “sir?” How does he even tell the kid that it is all right? Was this how the Hermits felt when he joined? How would Grian from two years ago want to be comforted?
Well, the best way out of an awkward situation was to make an even more awkward joke.
“No need to call me a ‘Sir’ yet. Although if my team does place eighth or above, you are legally obligated to call me ‘Lord.’”
Sometimes Grian wanted to smack himself in the head. How would this random supporter, who didn’t even watch his team, understand an inside joke created a few hours ago?
The stranger looked confused, which is better than frightened, Grian supposed. At least his dignity didn’t die for nothing. He seemed to try and figure out a way to respond to that for at least ten seconds before giving up, and just nodded his head instead. Grian couldn’t blame him.
Grian quickly realised that he hadn’t introduced himself yet.
“Until then, you can just call me Grian.” He supposed they already knew his name but confirming that it was actually okay to call him Grian would hopefully lift some of the tension.
The stranger seemed to consider this before nodding again. Is this really how Grian acted when he joined Hermitcraft? Maybe therapy wasn’t such a bad idea, after all.
“It’s nice to meet you, Grian.” He paused, seemingly debating something. “My name is Tubbo.” The stranger–no, Tubbo–said. The name seemed familiar, but he had no idea where he possibly could have heard it.
“Nice to meet you as well, then, Tubbo.” Neither party seemed to know what to do from here. An awkward silence filled the air before Grian realised that he was still lying flat on the floor.
“I don’t suppose you could, you know, let me go?”
Tubbo looked confused for a moment before coming to the same conclusion as him. He got up and extended a helping hand to Grian on the floor, muttering another apology.
“No, no, no, seriously, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have snuck up onto a random Player, and I should definitely not have grabbed their shoulder.” Replaying the incident in his head, he could not believe how stupid he was sometimes. If he kept this up, he’d steal Mumbo’s title of “biggest spoon.”
Tubbo still had the look of a child being caught stealing candy plastered all over his face, but his shoulders sank, so Grian considered that a win.
Now Grian knew very well that he could easily turn this situation in his favour. Tubbo would leave the room now out of peer guilt, if asked. However, he realised with an astonished thought, he would feel guilty–and isn’t that a wonderful thing–about manipulating this clearly nervous child’s emotions. Grian, an ex-Watcher, would feel guilty.
The Watchers would look at him with disdain, would punish him for not seizing the opportunity, for caring about a random boy’s feelings. He figured it was a good sign.
Instead of manipulating the poor boy, Grian headed to the edge of the portal and sat down, letting his feet swing in the Void. He could hear a gasp coming from behind. Why he showed Tubbo this, he didn’t know. Maybe his brain was too tired to work, maybe he was still high on the previous revelation. There was no use pondering on it, anyway.
He motioned for Tubbo to join him, ignoring the look of surprise on Tubbo’s face. He suspected that the surprised look didn’t come from the revelation that touching the Void was possible, but more so from the fact that another person could do it.
“Isn’t contact with the Void supposed to be instant transportation to the Main Hub for ordinary Players?”
Grian did not miss the way Tubbo twisted the words there, creating loopholes and half-truths in a way that reminded him of Scar. The way he formulated the words “ordinary Players” as an accusation, and a confession alike.
“Well, I could ask you the same question. Besides, who said anything about me being ordinary?”
Grian did not know why he would reveal all of this to a random stranger, (maybe it was the dragon wings, or the way that the stranger’s dark eyebrows, dark roots and manners resembled Scar’s, or that he saw himself in Tubbo), but the break was halfway done, and he really needed to recharge his energy. At this point, there was no way he was going to achieve enough energy for the next few hours without a full-on trip into the Void, but with Tubbo here that was not going to happen.
Tubbo might be similar to Scar, but he wasn’t him, and Grian had no intention of showing this random kid his biggest secret. Maybe he could beg Scott for a regen potion, although that would raise far too many questions.
Turning his attention back to Tubbo, he looked at him and had to stop himself from laughing. Tubbo looked like a human question mark at that point. His eyes were comically wide, and his eyebrows were disappearing into his hairline. Grian was sure the only thing stopping Tubbo from bombarding him with questions was the fact that they had only met two minutes ago and the fact that he wouldn’t want to offend a competitor. However, Tubbo’s marvellous show of self-restraint began nearing its final act and Grian did not have the time or energy–seriously he needed this trip to the Void, and he needed it now–to answer all the questions he was currently holding back.
Grian really needed to start thinking before he acted. Luckily, he had a failsafe way to deal with this and that was the same way he dealt with all his problems: by procrastinating and pushing them away, giving the problem to Tomorrow-Grian instead. And how did he give this problem to Tomorrow-Grian? By running away before Tubbo’s self-control ran out. Sure, that meant he would perform badly in the later games, and sure, that meant he would disappoint his teammates, but whose problem is that? Tomorrow-Grian’s.
Of course, Tubbo would probably suspect that he was a Watcher. The boy seemed smart enough, and there were only so many people that could touch the Void. Parrot hybrids, which was what Grian was officially, could not. But even if Tubbo had figured it out, what could he do about it? Nobody would believe Tubbo (a random fan) over Grian (the actual competitor), especially considering that without seeing Grian’s Watcher form, the boy had no actual evidence. Running away meant that he would never face the boy’s questions, since the chances of them meeting again were low, and therefore Tubbo would never know the full truth.
He should probably stop running away and just face his problems head on, but he was insanely tired and not ready for that level of exposure therapy just yet. He would rather disappoint his team with his performance instead. It’s not like they expect much from him anyways.
With that in mind, he stood up as fast as he could, wanting to get out of there as quickly as humanly possible. He swayed on top of the portal for a few seconds, trying to find his footing so that he didn't end up on the floor a second time. After he called on his magic for support he finally managed to stand still, but had to rely on his magic to keep him up. However, the small amount of magic used, plus the MCC code constantly tapping away his energy, was enough to completely drain him of all the energy in his body. His feet crumbled and the magic that had previously supported him disappeared.
Grian managed to mutter, “Oh no,” before he promptly fell right backwards into the End Portal. For a second, he was grateful for the Void softening his fall before he quickly realised that he had no energy to fight back the Void surrounding him. He panicked as he sunk lower into the Void, completely trapped and with no energy to escape. He could barely see Tubbo’s shocked expression before the Void swallowed him whole.
Contradictory to what most people would assume, the Void was not made of air. It was not a vacuum, without particles and all that. The Void was like a thick black liquid, with a viscosity like lava. Thankfully the Watchers had decided to be kind (or they thought Players beneath anything similar to the Void) and made lava a bright orange colour.
The first time Grian ended up in lava after he escaped, he panicked so badly that he somehow teleported out of the server and into the Main Hub. Thankfully Iskall, who removed the lava awaiting him, assumed that he panicked because he didn’t want to lose his stuff, although he did give him some weird looks when Grian explained the accidental teleportation.
While most people assumed that the Void was mostly black, there were places in the Void that actually looked similar to lava, although nobody in their right mind would venture close to that. The further down one travelled in the Void, the more and more star-like light sources appeared, creating a beautifully twisted trap and making the Void around those stars light up. In a way, he supposed it was like a liquid night sky but way more enticing and way more dangerous, as the closer one ventured towards the lights, the further away one was from the exit. As a young Watcher, Grian had fallen for the light trick many a time.
He was stuck in the void. He had been trying to get out for days (or was it weeks now?) without luck. He had ventured back and forth in the void, tried every possible direction, but there was no exit in sight. He didnt know how much longer he could take this, how much longer he could be alone. Any presence (no, not any, not Theirs) where a comfort at this point.
The Watchers knew that he wouldn’t know about the tricky lights at first. They knew that he would get lost and find himself stuck in there, completely sensory deprived for weeks before They collected him. They told him to be grateful. They told him They saved him. They expected him to show gratitude. He never did.
They were yelling at him again. Yelling at him for getting stuck in the void (it was Them who sent him there), yelling at him for not being grateful for saving him. Grian didn't mind the yelling or the punches (after all, he’d never known anything else). It was the feeling of not being good enough, of being useless that stung.
The Void was always an unforgiving place with the same twisted humour as the Watchers. Changing his code so that his energy levels were dependent on the Void, the very place that sent him into panic attacks every time he visited, was one of Their cruellest jokes.
He felt a familiar numbness washing over him. He needed to breathe. He needed to be prepared for what was to come. While the energy dependency took the number one spot of cruel Watcher pranks, this transformation was definitely a close runner-up. Grian’s form began to change, a multitude of wings manifested on his back. His pink jacket turned into purple robes and his eyes changed from the familiar Void-black to glowing purple. Eyes began popping up next to him everywhere, depicting thousands of images all at once.
Martyn referring to Joel as “my lord,” a smile covering his face.
He could feel his body trembling.
Scar pulling his hair in frustration, staring down at a sketch.
His head spun around.
A ram hybrid throwing a bottle in anger.
He couldn't breathe
A crying child.
The pounding was too loud.
Tubbo.
His heartbeat slowed (When had it increased?).
Tubbo was still waiting on him. He needed to pull himself together, Tubbo could not see him like this. It would only make the boy feel more guilty. (Why did the boy’s feelings matter to him anyways?)
He looked at Tubbo again. Tubbo was staring right into the portal, anxiety covering all his features. He needed to get up. He needed to show Tubbo that he was all right.
With renewed energy, he started on his ascent towards the surface. He swam towards the top as the darkness engulfed him until finally, he broke the surface and emerged from the End Portal.
Tubbo drew back from the portal just in time to avoid being hit by one of Grian’s added limbs. His face went through an extreme number of different expressions (shock, curiosity and, for a small moment, fear) before it settled on a mix between excitement and glee. Was it possible that Tubbo didn’t know who the Watchers were?
He had to admire Tubbo’s reaction. For being someone who just watched a normal-looking Player fall into the Void and emerge with new sets of wings and an extreme wardrobe change, he was holding himself rather well. Although Grian considered not fainting or not calling the Moderators a good reaction, so who was he to judge?
Tubbo opened his mouth but seemed to reconsider and closed it again. He sent Grian a requesting look instead. A tense silence filled the air until Grian realised that Tubbo was waiting for permission to speak up. He gave him a small nod, deciding that there was no way out of this pickle he had created.
“So, are you like a Watcher? Do I get immortality now since I defeated you? Why does falling into the Void give you a fashion change? Is being a Watcher the reason you can float in the Void as well?”
After that last question, Tubbo abruptly closed his mouth, his previous excitement gone and replaced with caution.
The fact that he waited on permission to fire all these questions really says something about Tubbo’s self-control that not even accidentally oversharing could remove. Although, if Grian was completely honest with himself, he was thrilled Tubbo accidentally revealed that last tidbit of information, as it stopped the endless number of questions.
“I literally see through a thousand eyes, and somehow you, a tiny kid,” he made some wild gestures at Tubbo at that part, “managed to single-handedly become the most overwhelming part of today.”
Tubbo looked offended at the slight. “Hey, I’m sixteen.”
“Sixteen is still a kid, kiddo.” Okay he didn’t need to add the “kiddo” part, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Tubbo somehow managed to look more offended than before and opened his mouth to retort, but Grian was on a rant and he was not about to be cut off by some kid that looked greener than his set of Lime Llamas fan clothes.
“Also, how was that your reaction to seeing a Watcher? You should be scared of me and running away and all that. Do you not realise how dangerous Watchers can be? Where’s your self-preservation skills?” Grian was starting to seriously worry for this kid.
“Don’t have any!” Tubbo exclaimed a bit too proudly. “Besides, I defeated you, didn’t I? And I do believe I asked first.”
He groaned. “Fine” This kid was going to be a menace, he could feel it.
“Just so you know, the only reason I’m not making you forget this is because of how tired I am.” And because that’s exactly what the Watchers did to him, but Tubbo didn’t need to know that. Although if Tubbo didn’t wipe that grin off his face soon, he would become subject to Grian’s new form for exposure therapy.
“Firstly, you defeated me because I was unprepared. Any other day and I could have easily taken you down.”
Tubbo just nodded sarcastically. “Sure, bossman, whatever you say.”
He paused for a second as the look of realisation crossed his face. His grin extended even more.
“I’m better at PVP than the Watchers now. This is great. I never knew I had such power.”
Grian sighed. Out of all the possible people who could have discovered his secret, why did it have to be Tubbo?
“Wait, hang on. What do you mean ‘as well?’ I’m pretty sure that dragon hybrids should not be able to float in the Void, considering it, you know, kills you?”
Now, he already knew that Tubbo could sit with his feet in the Void. He saw that already, that wasn’t a shocker. But floating in the Void? Grian had never heard of any non-Watcher being able to do that.
“I don’t know, bossman. Ask my DNA.”
Well, that was an S-tier deflection right there. Tubbo seemed fluent in the language of loopholes. He and Scar would have a grand ole time together. The similarities between Tubbo and Scar were a bit too close for comfort, but that was a problem for another day.
Grian was going to respect Tubbo’s wishes for now. If Tubbo didn’t want to talk, then he was not going to pry. What he was going to do was research dragon hybrids as soon as he got home because there was the possibility of Tubbo not actually knowing the answers.
“Anyway, you didn’t answer my other questions. Why do you get a whole new wardrobe from just visiting the Void?”
He noticed the quick subject change but did not dwell too much on it.
“Comes with the Watcher territory, I suppose. Maybe some Watchers felt that it was too much to have to change by themselves every time they entered the Void. You might find this hard to believe, but Watchers aren’t exactly the most patient of creatures.” Grian learned that the hard way.
Tubbo opened his mouth, presumably to assault Grian with even more questions, but right then the MCC music started, signaling the end of the break. Grian sighed. Saved by the bell, he supposed.
“You might want to run to get a good viewing point of the competition. It was nice meeting you.” Grian knew that the likelihood of him meeting Tubbo again was probably close to zero, considering that Tubbo was a Lime Llamas fan and not a Grian fan.
Tubbo looked at him with a strange expression. “I’ll see you in the games later, right? Just you wait, I’m going to kick your ass in Survival Games to prove my sup- super- superioty.”
“Superiority?” Apparently, Tubbo was not fluent in the language of the British.
“Yes, that one. I’m going to prove my superiority in PVP!”
He looked down at Grian’s outfit. “You do need to have another outfit change, as you are not on Purple Pandas,” he said right before he bolted, leaving Grian alone in the Portal Room.
Well, that was certainly a conversation. At least he never had to deal with Tubbo again.
He changed back into his normal clothes and started walking towards the arena when he finally realised the implications of Tubbo’s goodbye.
“Wait what do you mean kick my butt? Hang on for a minute, Tubbo, what do you mean see you in the games?” Grian’s questions were left unanswered as the boy was already gone. “TUBBO?”
***
Grian later searched for Tubbo in the Decision Dome and, sure enough, the boy was inside the Lime Llamas cube engaged in conversation with another teammate. The wings on his back were gone and the horns looked a bit duller, but it was definitely him. He seemed to have caught Grian’s stare and winked enthusiastically at the stunned man. Grian sent him a horrified expression back.
How could he forget that Tubbo is one of the new competitors for MCC? Tubbo wasn’t exactly a very common name, nor did Grian meet anyone new outside of MCC. How he didn’t put two and two together is beyond him. When he went back to Hermitcraft he would definitely force Mumbo to pass along his title of “biggest spoon.”
***
Grian’s team members noticed that he had an unusual amount of energy for Survival Games, but who were they to complain when he single-handedly took out three people? Luckily they didn’t see his satisfied and slightly crazed look as he brought down the axe, eliminating Tubbo from the game. If they had, they would never insult Grian’s honour ever again.