Chapter 3

"ETHO?!"

BDubs was having a waking nightmare. He had to be. This was so far out of left field, he legitimately was having problems processing whatever this was.

Here he was, standing with Doc and Beef, watching a screen with their final NHO member beat to hell and back sitting in a chair next to EvilX. Not only that, but Xisuma himself had been acting so weird up till now, and now he seemed to be just as confused as the rest of them. He could hear Iskall and Grian already going off on Xisuma (which honestly he would normally be over there right along with them), but from the looks of it, Xisuma seemed to have no idea what he just did. Which was a whole thing to unload later, because right now he didn't like what he was seeing on the screen.

To start, Etho didn't have his mask on. BDubs had never seen Etho without his mask, never. He knew Beef had more than likely seen Etho without it, but that was one of those things all the Hermits had never brought up. You just didn't ask Etho to take off his mask, and he never removed it. Also, BDubs was absolutely horrified to realize that not only was Etho chained to the chair with cuffs that looked like they were spiked inside the cuffs, but he also had stakes in his arms to keep them completely immobile. Plus, Etho was still conscious, though how much so was difficult to discern from the TV alone. And they had no idea where Etho was. They didn't know where Etho was, and they were about to watch him probably get even more hurt. BDubs was about to pop a blood vessel, mark his words.

"Beef. Beef, we don't know where Etho is," pleaded BDubs to the open air as he continued to stare at the screen. He felt a solid hand on his left shoulder, and a slightly leafy one (as only creepers could have) on his right.

"We know BDubs," replied Beef, gripping onto the shorter one in a vague hope to comfort them both. "God, I know." Doc gave a quiet hiss of agreement, clawed grip a bit too tight to be comfortable.

While the Hermits devolved into chaos, EvilX had stood patiently beside his captive till in a brief lull in shouting he called out, "HERMITS!" Suddenly, the group was silent, all members anxiously awaiting his words. "I hope you are all doing well in your various business ventures, but we have called you together today for an important step in my business empire!" BDubs could not let this stand.

"OY!" Suddenly every eye was turned to BDubs. EvilX looked stoic as always, expression impossible to see beneath his mask. The rest of the hermits were in various states of confusion and worry. "Now you listen HERE, you… you OAF! What do you think you're trying to pull?! This isn't a business deal, you're holding Etho hostage and- !" Suddenly he was cut off by a worried looking Doc covering his mouth.

"Please BDubs, just a bit longer… we need to find out why first," mumbled Doc.

"I-I must agree with BDoubleO, EX." There was Xisuma, finally speaking up. "What you're doing here most assuredly doesn't seem like a business deal."

EvilX chuckled as he placed a hand on Etho's head and gripped his hair. "Oh, I assure you all, this is a business deal. A very pivotal one as well." Evil X gestured grandly as he spoke with his free hand. "You see, Derpcoin has hit a plateau. A major roadblock if you will. Some of it is due to inaccessibility in the markets, you know who you are who don't allow Derpcoin in your shops." Here EvilX paused, the mild grandiose gesturing stilling to allow him to give a meaningful stare at the camera. Then he continued. "I tried peaceable means of convincing you all to use Derpcoin. In fact Etho here was having productive discussions with us about potentially expanding into Iskall's prismarine business." BDubs glanced at Iskall to see a conflicted expression on his face. "But, he had his doubts, and so he was planning on going the route of Boatem." The air became tense as the Hermits waited with baited breath for the inevitable. The Boatem Crew in particular looked ill-at-ease, Grian's feathers fluffed and Mumbo looking like an anxious puppy beside him. "So in response, I decided to enact a new plan for Derpcoin expansion. If you all do not accept Derpcoins in your markets:" EvilX suddenly pulled at Etho's hair, lifting his head at an awkward angle and digging the spikes in the collar into the back of his neck. He barely let out a whimper. "I'll make an example of Ethoslab."

Understandably, the Hermits burst in furious bickering, not the least of which was the Boatem crew arguing heatedly amongst themselves. BDubs wanted to yell and scream; preferably at EvilX, though Etho was a close second. What he would yell at Etho for was undetermined, but he was ready to give someone a very loud series of rebukes. However, all 3 of the remaining NHO members had in one way or another ceded to EvilX's Derpcoin cult. They had heard about Boatem being a diamond exclusive economic zone, but never in their wildest dreams had they thought this would be the end result of any of their choices. To be honest, BDubs now felt dirty accepting Derpcoin. If this was what it meant to use it, he wanted no part of it. But now, not allowing Derpcoin would lead to EvilX doing something terrible to Etho.

"Well Hermits? Will you allow Derpcoin in all your markets?" Seemed like EvilX had become impatient with them. And now all the server was staring directly at the Boatem crew because they all knew who it was EvilX wanted a response from. Mumbo, who was the most nervous, yet also CEO of their megacorp, was pushed to the front of their group. He stuttered for a few moments, looking just as terrified and lost as everyone else in the group was feeling.

But before Mumbo could say anything, they could hear Etho say, "D-don't do it." EvilX slowly turned his head towards Etho.

"Would you like to repeat that Ethoslab?" Never had BDubs felt so helpless. It was like watching a trainwreck in slow motion, knowing that at least one person would die in the process but there was not a single thing he could do to change it.

EvilX slowly let go of Etho's hair, and went back to crouching, though now slightly to the side so the camera could see everything that they both were doing. Etho, meanwhile, glared at EvilX the entire time, and finally huffed out, "they shouldn't do it." EvilX didn't do anything, so Etho kept going. "You and I both know there's more t-to this than what you're asking." BDubs could see how nervous Etho was, how his hands spasmed and the rest of him was set more still than stone. BDubs could also see that EvilX had a knife in his hand, and he looked about ready to use it.

"Etho!" BDubs shouted, and lurched at the screen in a failed attempt to stop the inevitable. Just as he called out, EvilX stabbed down into the meatiest part of Etho's thigh, and left the knife there. Etho threw his head back and grit his teeth, moaning through them as he seemed to adjust. The rest of the assembled Hermits let out various noises of shock and dismay; a particularly angry screech came from Cleo, and BDubs could hear Doc angrily hissing to himself behind him.

"Let that be a lesson," said EvilX, standing back up and turning back to face the camera. "Now, with no further interruptions," he took a moment to turn his head back towards Etho in a meaningful gesture. "I would like your answer."

BDubs felt his heart sink as he watched a furious flurry of whispers start up in the boatem group again while Mumbo looked uncharacteristically serious beneath all the anxiety. Mumbo pushed out from the group, though Grian latched onto his suit jacket; whether for moral support or to try to pull him back in was unclear to BDubs. "We have an answer for you." BDubs felt Beef come back beside him to grip onto his shoulder. "We…" Everyone seemed to hold their breath, or maybe that was just him. "… will NOT accept Derpcoin as a legitimate form of currency in our shops." He felt his breath leave him. His feelings were mixed up in a boiling stew, though if he had to pick a predominant one, it would have to be dread. "We can't justify allowing the use of alternate forms of currency until there is a transparent, stable conversion rate between them and diamonds; as well as a way to easily convert the currency to diamonds. If people on the server want to use derpcoins at our shops, they should be able to exchange them for diamonds so that we are all aware of the actual value they are using in our shops." Mumbo deflated a bit after he had said his piece, almost seeming to fall back into Grian's white knuckled grip on his suit. They all knew that he had doomed Etho. BDubs could feel Beef behind him getting tenser, and he thought that if he looked behind, he'd see the rage building on the alien face.

"He did not just sacrifice Etho for his shopping district," muttered Beef from behind. "He absolutely did not just sacrifice Etho to guarantee a profit for his fucking mega-corp." BDubs heard a whirr of machinery, and Doc hissing behind him, "Beef, you know why he did it. Etho himself didn't want them to give in to EX's demands."

"That doesn't make it right, though!" angrily whisper-screamed Beef.

"Will you two just drop it?!" exclaimed BDubs, turning around to them both. Doc and Beef both looked mildly shocked and embarrassed. "There are bigger things we gotta deal with, like trying to save Etho from whatever horror show EvilX has cooked up right now!"

A sudden laugh from the screen shut him down however, as EvilX faced the camera. "Oh please. By the time you find me, I will already be done! But how about a challenge then?" EvilX gestured at the surrounding stone on his end of the screen. "I shall give you an x coordinate, and you can have Etho back once you find him! However, at least one of you has to stay back and watch, and I've messed with the respawn mechanics. Now, you respawn where you die, and you only come back with two hearts. I think you can connect the dots. And remember, I am doing this, because the kiddie gloves are off. You forced my hand. I would never have done this if you had just accepted Derpcoin when I offered it to you."

"And now," with a flourish, EvilX brought up his communicator and typed a quick command into it. "You can find me at x=537."

BDubs frantically tried to remember coordinates, but his usual estimations were falling through his brain like sand through his fingers. "Say, that's not too far from our base!" called out Stress, Tay and False nodding along beside her. "We could start at my base and work out from there perhaps?" Suddenly it seemed like every hermit was piping in.

"I'm fairly certain the Goatem Pole is by those coordinates!" called out Impulse.

"My base is nearby as well!" called out iJevin.

"Our base is along that axis as well!" called out Cleo, Joe looking ill-at-ease beside her, though nodding along.

"Fucker couldn't make it easy, could he?" mumbled Beef, glaring intently at the screen. It's a point somewhere along the longest axis of the island with the most players situated along it, realized BDubs a moment too late. It would take them hours to search along that x coordinate.

"I'll stay," called Mumbo, an odd mixture of sheepish and serious sounding. "It was my choice that put Etho into this situation, so I will stay to see the consequences of my actions and be with him the best way I can be." Here Mumbo looked fully ashamed. "Plus, I will be the first to admit I am not good at finding my way around, muchless finding a hidden bunker."

"I'll stay with you," stated TFC from the opposite end of the crowd. "I'm not in my prime anymore, so I would be best with those staying behind with Etho."

"I'll help with the search," said BDubs, unable to contain himself any longer. He wanted, no needed, to find Etho, and the only way he could do that would be to go with the search group.

And after a bit more haggling, the groups were divided up as to who would stay, and who would go.

Going was the gals, BDubs, iJevin, the Boatem Crew minus Mumbo and Scar, Beef, Ren, Horsehead Farms, and Welsknight

Staying was TFC, Xisuma, Mumbo, Scar, Joe, and Doc.

With that, BDubs and the rest of the search party shot off, plan set up and in motion; and all BDubs could do was hope they wouldn't be too late.