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Used to be God's Favorites

Summary:

Hermit Town was a place, hidden in a valley, far away from what was deemed the mainlands of this simple world. There lived brilliant minds, amazing builders, redstoners, decorators, terraformers, you name it. Everyone was brilliant there.
It's not a well heard of place though, despite all that. Why? Simple, they didn't want to be heard of. Not everyone was a fan of the way they lived. In fact, most people weren't. Why, you may ask?
Simple. Because in their town (village?), your species didn't matter. Some were angels, some were demons. They had humans and hybrids, fallen angels, (the fallen angels), beings that just existed. Didn't matter who or what you were. If you weren't there to harm them, then you were accepted with open arms.
And as such, they never really had problems they couldn't handle. Anyone who stumbled across them accidentally were taken care of easily, and no one had heard of them enough for people to come and visit on purpose.
Until suddenly they did. People were talking. People were coming.
This is how they deal with it.

Chapter 1: #1

Chapter Text

Cleo's never been one to question the family they've made here in Hermit Town. There's been no need to, really. They've always been a family, willing to fight for each other. Most outsiders soon become family, learning quickly how familiar and loving they are with each other.

A lot come and go, whether for long or little, and they always leave an impact. Love is easy for them to give. Cleo should know, she's given love easily, and has seen all her friends give it easily. It's just how they are. 

Cleo's been there since the beginning. She's an original 7, one of the first fallen ones from heaven who decided to disobey God's rule. One of the ones who followed Lucifer in the rebellion. She used to be Asmodeus. Now she's just Cleo. 

None of them are who they used to be. The 7 of them, Lucifer Xisuma, Satan False, Asmodeus Cleo, Mammon Keralis, Leviathan Jevin, Beelzebub TFC and Belphegor Bdubs, had spent a lot of time in Hell. Ruling it, simmering with thoughts of rage and revenge. But after a while, the urge for revenge, the urge to stay mad and hateful, just becomes… tiring. So they left, became new people, learned what it meant to be well, human. 

They watched a lot of time pass together, wandering. They never strayed far from one another, for they only truly trusted each other. And then they found a place to settle down. The 7 most deadly of sins, the original 7 fallen angels, who were feared by many, envied by the rest, were one of the most domestic families in the overworld.

Cleo, to this day, remembers the first of their new coming family to stumble upon them. And it was none other than Joe Hills. His accent was southern, nice on the ears. He claimed to hail from Tennessee, but none of them had ever heard of a place called Tennessee. And they knew a lot of places. No one could tell what Joe was, not even Joe himself. He just… existed.

It was nice. He was nice. He was big on helping others, always kind. He was thoughtful as well. He made nice jokes and wasn't unknown to let chaos slide as long as it wasn't going too far (if he didn't join in himself). He had ideas that ranged from silly to serious, an endless flow of creativity (like the 7 of them as well). 

It wasn't hard to see why he became Cleo's best friend. 

And it wasn't long after that that more people started joining them. 

Mumbo and Tango came next. They were an odd pair, to say the least. Tango, a fairly young fire demon (in demon years) with a mortal who claimed he was around 16, 17. The 8 could tell Mumbo definitely was not a mortal, but they saw no harm in letting them figure that out themself. And they also saw no harm in letting the 2 settle down.

Both of them had a knack for redstone and ended up getting along well with Xisuma and Bdubs.

Doc, Etho, and Impulse were the trio that came next. To say they were a trio even odder than Mumbo and Tango would be true, honestly. A cyborg, an ice demon, and a contract demon. It sounded like the beginning of those jokes about bars. (A cyborg, an ice demon, and a contract demon all walk into a bar…)  

Cleo remembers how awkward she felt when Impulse and Etho had instantly bowed at the 7 of them. Doc had looked so confused, Tango had laughed magmas ass off, and Xisuma had to spend 10 minutes explaining why they didn't have to bow and so forth.

Impulse and Tango got along like fire and kindling. They both were amazing at redstone and had similar interests. Doc and Mumbo spent a fair amount of time together, both redstone people. And Etho liked to hang with Bdubs, doing whatever the tinier could think of randomly. 

The number of people joining was increasing every time, it seemed. There were 4 people next, Iskall, Scar, Cub, and Ren. The 4 hadn't come all together, but they all stumbled there on the same day. Cub and Scar had stumbled in together, a human and an elf, both half dead. Letting them stay wasn't a decision that needed to be discussed once they woke up. Ren, a demon with the curse of the werewolf, had followed the scent of blood in the middle of the night and had almost killed someone. When he woke up, he instantly apologized. And he's been family ever since. Him and Doc became great friends since then too (Doc had been the one he almost killed).

Iskall just popped up one day, a cyborg similar to Doc, and just never left. They all accepted them, they didn't cause negative chaos and they seemed cool. They played pranks (who didn't, really), and Doc bonded with them about missing an eye and having it replaced with machinery. It was nice. 

The last 5, Gem, Pearl, Grian, Zed, and Stress got there under really bad circumstances. Where Scar and Cub had been half dead due to starvation, the 5 of them had been running. 

3 pure angels, 1 halfblood angel, and an avian (a near extinct species). It's not that hard to see what had happened. 

Cleo had been hanging out with Joe, Jev, Impulse, and Tango near the border of their village (town?). It had been like any normal day. Sometimes it's nice to hang out with other demons. And Cleo never left Joe out ever, they were best friends. 

It had been nice and peaceful. There was a tree that Cleo had been leaning on, Joe at her side, Impulse and Tango across from them with Jev laying in the space between where the pairs sat. She remembers Tango had been on a Tango ramble about a copper farm when the bushes had rustled. None of them thought anything of it, if it was a mob they all had weapons. 

Until Zed crashed into the ground beside them. At the time, they didn't know reds name, just what red looked like. But Cleo will always remember the pure fear that had been unfiltered on stones face as stone stared at the 5 of them. 

It confused her. It's easy to spot angels, especially for fallen angels and demons. If their wings didn't give them away, then demons, fallen angels, and angels could see their auras. Demons auras were tainted and stained, fallen angels black and dark purple n red, angels being mixes of greys and whites and cream colors. So she knew red was an angel. But angels weren't meant to fear demons, they were meant to hate them. 

It wasn't long after that the other 5 crashed into their bubble of shock, popping it. She'll never forget the way Grian's voice trembled or the way Gem's deer legs were knocking together with fear, or the way Pearl winced at too loud words, and how Stress was shaking as she stood protectively in front of the other 4. 

The hunters had descended upon them after that, a pack of 7 demons, all wielding weapons deadlier than Cleo's ever seen. The 5 of them though? They were deadly, all of them in their family were. They made quick work of them. 

(Cleo remembered smelling the lust on their skin, seeing it in their eyes as they looked at the angels, the halfblood, and the avian. It made her blood boil more than it already was. Not only were these demons hunting angels as if for sport, they had planned to do unspeakable things to them. She held no remorse as she slayed them)

It took an hour of Joe and Cub talking to the 5 for them to even consider coming back to the village with them. Cleo and Xisuma (who Jevin had called almost immediately after the hunters were dead) had planned on helping, but they hissed and grew tense whenever demons came close. It was understandable, none of them judged them for that. 

It took time and a lot of trust building for the 5 to open up and learn to not be scared. It was a long and hard process, but one all of the demons endured with no fuss.

The rest is history. Zedaph became the 3rd to Tango and Impulse, an unstoppable trio of chaos, fun, redstone, and shenanigans. Grian took a liking to, well, everybody, but especially Mumbo and Scar. An elf, an avian, and a Mumbo, now that's another start to a bar joke, (an elf, an avian, and a Mumbo walk into a bar…) . Pearl and Gem also got along well with Impulse, the 3 making another trio of chaos. Stress was nice and lovely, very kind, but also very funny. She and Iskall got along greatly, becoming a really funny duo. 

Others (just as wonderful as them) would come and go. They were all beautiful people, but it was mainly just the 22 of them in their little village. They spent time doing nothing and everything. Redstone, building, games, mining, pranks, you name it. It wasn't perfect, nothing is. They all had days where old trauma and memories bubbled to the surface. But they had each other. 

That's why Cleo's never questioned the family she's made. She doesn't need to. She loves them, they love her, no matter their species, gender, sexuality, or anything really. Simple as that. 

But that doesn't mean others don't.

 

It starts like this.

Cleo is out of the border, trying to find a nearby cave. She wants to see if she can find either a good place to start branch mining or some good greenery to decorate her ruins with.

She startles when she feels a hand grab her elbow. She twists almost instantly, summoning her axe from her inventory, and levels it with the person who grabbed her.

"Whoa!" They exclaim, hands up in a surrender position.

"What do you want?" She asks, voice hard, eyes narrowed.

"I'm not here to hurt you, if that's what you mean!" They exclaim, eyes wide, staring at the axe. 

She narrows her eyes a bit more before dropping her axe down. She doesn't put it away, but doesn't point it at them anymore.

"What do you want?" She repeats, her grip on her axe tightening. 

Their hands move down to their pockets. 

"I just came to learn about the group of people who reside nearby, and was wondering if you knew anything." They explain honesty. 

Cleo doesn't give a reaction, she can't. But worry and protectiveness flare in her instantly. 

"I might. Why?" She replies evenly. 

"Just, curious. I heard demons and angels are living together. It's confusing a lot of others, me included. It's hard to understand why demons and angels would live together, and even more why normal species would choose to live in the middle of that trainwreck." 

Cleo resists the urge to scowl. They are far from a trainwreck. They've always gotten along, no matter their species.

She fake sighs. "Can't help ya kid," she guessing they're a teen by how they look. "I'm just out this far looking for lush caves," she half lies. She could help, if wanted, and she's out here because she lives nearby. But she is looking for lush caves. 

She would never tell them anything. Because that's her family.

They sigh. "That's alright! Thanks for listening!" They wave as they start to walk off. 

"Wait!" She exclaims, making them stop. "What's your name?" She asks hurriedly. 

They smile. "Karl, Karl Jacobs," they say before they disappear with a blink. 

She shrugs that off, it's most likely hybrid powers. But then she remembers what they wanted and rushes to get back home.

She wastes no time when she gets home, rushing to Xisuma’s base. When she gets there, Joe and Keralis are there as well. The 3 are chatting on an outside patio Cleo forgot was there, sipping on some tea. 

"Cleo?" Joe spots her first, confusion easy to read on his face. 

"What's wrong?" Xisuma asks, worry coating voids tone.

"There was," she takes a gasping breath. "Someone was here, questioning our way of life. We've become popular in the mainlands." She manages to explain. 

Xisuma seems to stiffen, Keralis' eyes sharpening, and Joe sets down his cup of tea.

They've never questioned their way of life. But they’ve known for a long while that others will if wind of them got to the mainland. With that questioning comes the people. And with the people comes the danger. 

"Call a meeting," Xisuma replies. "I need to change my armor." Voi turns, starting to walk to voids room. 

Cleo nods. "C'mon now, let's go gather the others." 

 

Cleo paces nervously at what they call spawn. The other hermits stand around, all confused besides Joe and Keralis, who are staying near her. She's worried that the kid is going to attempt to research them. That won't end well for anybody. 

Xisuma finally comes walking down the path from voids base, wearing voids netherite armor. Voi takes off voids helmet as soon as voi is close enough to the group, showing off voids pursed lips and the worry clear on voids face.

"Thank you all for coming so quickly," voi begins, holding voids helmet beneath voids elbow.

"What's happening, X?" Grian asks, wings fluttering behind it anxiously. Mumbo places a soft hand on his back, between his wings.

 “People from the mainland have discovered we exist,” Xisuma says quietly.

The reactions varied across the different Hermits, but they all shared one single emotion; fear.

The way they lived was unconventional compared to everywhere else. It was mostly unheard of for demons to live with anyone besides other demons and half-lings, let alone angels. It also didn’t help that 7 of them were fallen angels, the first of the fallen, the main 7 who are supposed to be ruling Hell at the moment. 

"What do we do?" Iskall's voice cuts through the chatter. 

"Nothing at the moment," Xisuma replies. "We haven't been threatened, yet. Just be prepared; have your com at all times, always have a weapon, stick in groups with no less than 2 people, and so forth." Voi explains. 

And that's that. They split up into groups. Cleo ends up with Jev and Joe. They go to Cleo's ruins, which are still a work in progress at the moment. She leads them to her sparse bedroom, flopping down to sit on her bed as soon as she can. 

Joe sits down beside the gorgon, giving her shoulder a few pats. Jev sits in front of the bed, wary of his slime getting everywhere. 

"How are y'all feeling?" Joe asks the 2 fallen angels. 

"Scared," Cleo says honestly. "Which, is dumb. I'm a ruler of Hell, mortals don't phase me, shouldn't phase me."

"We all have things that scare us, Cleo," Jev replies. "And I don't think you're scared for yourself, I think you're scared for us." He adds. 

Cleo sighs. 

"You wanna know something?" She asks the 2. 

"What's up?" Jev cranes his head back to look at the 2 on the bed. 

"Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if we had never left Hell, and just kept ruling over it," Cleo pauses, gauging the other 2's reactions. 

Joe is giving her a look, the one that says he doesn't like what she just said. Jevin's eyes are narrowed, lips pursed. 

She chuckles before continuing. 

"It's in those moments I think, what if we never met each other could have been safer for them? And then I remember, some of our friends, our family , came to us in their worst moments. Cub and Scar were half dead. Tango and Mumbo didn't have anywhere with anyone, just each other. Our angels and our avian were being hunted. Ren kept on hurting people he didn't want to. Without us, they could've been dead or worse. And without them, who knows where we would be. We might've gone back to hell if we had been here by ourselves too long." Her explanation is done so fondly, and with a smile. 

Jev's face is relaxed now, a lazy grin on it. Joe's look is gone, instead replaced with a smile that splits nicely across his face. 

"Awww, Cleo, you care!" Jev jokes. 

Cleo scoffs. "Of course I care!" She snaps back. 

Joe grins at the 2. His first thought is that they're being dumb, but honestly? That doesn't matter. All that matters is that they're okay.