The labyrinth of monsters (a Hermitcraft and third life AU fanfic)

Chapter 5 - Tango

Another couple of days have passed since Grian, Impulse and Joe got back. Grian's still recovering. I have to feel sorry for him, since these are still his first few days here, and I know from experience that it sucks. 

As I wander aimlessly down the street, Etho waves over to me, and I smile back, heading to where the ninja is standing, equally bored.

'Hey, Tango.' He greets. Having known him as long as I have, I quickly notice the sadness in his voice.

'Are you ok? You seem... down?'

'I'm fine. Smajor's been giving me a hard time. And Impulse is still ignoring me.'

'Oof... I'll see if I can get Impy to actually acknowledge your feelings again. He's been grumpy at everyone lately.' 

'It's not really surprising, given that...' Etho trails off. I don't finish his sentence for him. 

'Yeah... but you've done nothing wrong.'

'Not in his eyes...' 

With a sigh, Etho begins to walk away, but I quickly call him back. 

'Come on, let's just chat. I've got nothing to do, and it doesn't look like you do either. Anything interesting happened lately? What's the latest info on all the people in the maze?'

'Just Slay's name. No one's been sighed since then, and we know what happened before to Jimmy...'

I nod grimly. 

'How's Hypno?'

'Stress let him go earlier today. Jevin's been telling everyone how he still smells after this, and that he no longer has any room.'

'It's Jevin. What else would he do?' I laugh back. 'Grian's recovering well?' 

'He woke up again today. Impulse's been staying away from him too.'

'Oh... I'll talk to him. Don't worry.'

'I'm not. Anyway, I should get on with stuff...'

'Stuff?'

'My archery's getting bad again...'

'You're the best archer here! After xB...'

'Exactly.'

I watch as the ninja walks away, sighing and knowing inside I have to fix another one of the broken farms. Knowing I'm not in the mood, and that I taught Zed enough about redstone for him to fix it himself, I instead follow Etho over to the training area. 

It's a large place, with a sandy floor and targets along one wall. False is fighting against an armour stand as always, and Etho has already started shooting perfect bullseyes. I grab a crossbow, finding a spot next to Hypno and beginning to practice.

'Hey, Hypno!' With a grin, I greet the black-clad player. 

'Oh, hi Tango. How are you doing?'

'Good. You ok too?'

'Yeah. I see you've recovered well.'

'Well, Stress let me out. Probably because Grian was taking up the rest of the space, and I was complaining a lot.' 

'Makes sense. I've never really been in a proper fight out there before. What was it like?'

'The fight? Abosolutely terrifying. I thought I was going to die. Genuinely.' 

'That's... bad?' I know how weak is sounds, but Hypno only laughs.

'Yeah, just a little bit. But I know I'm not heading out into the maze in a hurry now.'

'Yeah...' I turn back to the target ahead of me and shoot an arrow that - to my great surprise - actually hits the target. Hypno nods over after hitting his fifth bullseye. It's hard to hide my jealously, but before I can comment, I hear chaos behind. 

As I look out the exit of the training area, I see Bdubs running into view - covered in sweat and blood. He looks over, sees me, and signals for me to come.

'What happened?' I call over as I rush over. Etho also notices and joins me. 

'In... the maze... help... now... come...' Bdubs explains in a rush, barely standing. 'Everyone... chaos... blood...' 

'Where is this?' I quickly grab a sword, and Etho takes out some more arrows.

'Just show us. Now.' 

Despite the fact he's obviously exhausted, Bdubs runs back into the maze. Glancing over at Etho, I follow, with the ninja close behind. 

The maze is as dark and confusing as normal, but Bdubs knows it well enough to guide us. Etho's got an arrow ready to fire, as we skid around a corner and face a bloodbath. 

Keralis is unconscious against the wall, and Zedaph's barely moving. Bdubs has run straight into the fight again, and I look over to where Impulse is desperately struggling to battle someone we all thought was dead.

'Podzol guy's here?!' Etho cries, letting the arrow fly. 'I swear I'd killed him before?' 

'Well, you didn't!' Impulse snarls from the middle of the fight. Dirt and vines are tangling up his legs, all part of Mr Podzolificator's freaky powers. I run over to him, shoving him away before it gets too out of control. Barely noticing the glare he gives me back, I swing at Podzol's face, and completely miss. It takes a total of three seconds for him to pin me to the wall with mud, and send me collapsing to the ground. Impulse has got to his feet, but doesn't help me up. An arrow shoots past, hitting Podzol's arm. Blackness spreads from the wound, and I manage to look over at Etho, who's already aiming another wither-effect arrow. 

'You know those don't work how you expect, Canada!' Impulse retorts, slicing a tangle of vines. 'So why are you trying them again.'

'Because they're the best I've got, ok? Stop blaming everything on me.'

'STOP ARGUING AND FIGHT!' Comes a yell from Bdubs, who's crouching next to Zed, trying to stop the constant flow of blood. 'WE CAN'T LET HIM KILL US!'

'Got that... working on it...' I mutter sarcastically. 'Definitely not still trying to recover...' I try and stand up, getting my balance and preparing to strike. Pozdol punches Impulse, and he hits the wall, sliding down. My sword hits the outsider's shoulder, and blood oozes out of the wound, getting his attention. With a gulp, I begin to back away, looking back at Impulse, who's still against the wall. I squash down the concern for my friend and turn back to Pozdol, who's grinning at me. I resolve to shoving him away, against the wall, and his surprise give me enough time to grab Impy's hand and pull him to safety. 

'We should just run.' I suggest. Etho and Impulse both nod, and Bdubs helps Zedaph onto shaky feet. 

'I'll hold off this freak while you run.' Impulse points his sword at Pozdol, but I snatch it Impulsively (get it?) out of his hands. 

'No way! You're injured, and I'm not letting him kill you!' 

'I'm fine! I actually know my way back, unlike you,' As Impulse reaches for his sword, I hold it away from him.

'Impulse! Come on!'

'BOTH of you, come on!' Bdubs orders. 'Canada can't carry Diamond forever!' Guiltily, the two of us look from each other to the ground.

'Sorry...' I apologise. Impy follows, and we walk off together out of the maze. 

Back in the safe-zone, Stress is waiting for us, even though no one's told her what happened. She quickly realises something's wrong - based on the fact we're all coated in mud and blood - and helps Etho get Keralis down, and busies herself with healing potions before he dies. I glance at Impulse again.

'Who told you we were in trouble?' I ask suspiciously. Stress glances up, daring a smile,

'Grian's awake.'