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

Chapter 15 - Tango

The end of this chapter is literally what sparked the entire idea for this story. 

I'm excited.

The maze is silent. 

Everyone else is asleep - Bdubs, Grian, Etho, Impulse. All four of them. My friends. Night has fully set, even though it's very hard to see from inside the maze. But everything is dark, and dead silent as I sit on my self-inflicted vigil. Keeping watch, and mourning Zedaph. Another friend. My roommate. Dead.

I can barely stop myself from crying. My friend's dead. Dead and never coming back. I won't ever hear his laugh, his jokes, his endless suggestions of blowing up everything. Another tear rolls down my already-soaked cheek. I wipe it away silently, hearing a shuffle next to me. 

With a groan, Grian wakes up. I smile weakly at him as he gets into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

'Hey, Tango.' He whispers hoarsely. 'You... surviving?'

'Barely.' I admit back. Both of us glance over at Zed's body. 

'There was nothing anyone could've done. Etho didn't mean to do it.' 

'I know.' Nothing else is said for a good few minutes. Grian places a hand on my shoulder. 

'I've... never lost anyone very close to me before. I guess Scott was my friend, but... not much of one. But Zedaph...'

'First day, showed you around.'

'I remember. It was only a week ago.'

How was that only a week ago?! I think to myself. I manage to shake the thoughts away. 

'How's your lack-of wing?'

'Painful still. I think it's stopped bleeding...'

'One of us should've definitely brought some kind of healing stuff. I'm amazed you didn't remember it with the map and weapon...'

'I didn't think we'd actually need it this seriously... none of us really knew what Hels would do.'

'None of us KNEW Hels was going to attack.' I reply. I'm still staring at Zedaph's body. 'Or that... he would be that strong. I always thought him as the weakest of all the people in here...'

'How many are there?'

'6. I think you've met all of them already.'

'I never met that Podzol guy that attacked you...'

'True. But other than that... Dog-guy, Iskall, one of the convex, and now Hels... that's pretty much all of them.'

'I hope that Cub's friend is ok.'

'Why?' Frowning, I look at Grian. He's fixated on the floor, and sighs before answering. 

'Because he seemed genuinely like not too bad a person.'

'They killed Skizz in front of Impulse, Grian. How much worse can it get.'

'But... but Impulse said Etho killed Skizz...' He replies quietly. 

'And you believed him?'

'You didn't?' 

I'm left without anything to say, so I shuffle my position awkwardly instead. 

'I don't know what to think. I know Impy's my friend, and I would probably kill myself if he died-'

'Please don't.'

'But he's changed. Ever since Skizz's death he's been much more reclusive and bitter. I wish I could help him. I'd kill to know how to help him. He's my best friend. It hurts to see him like this.' I let myself cry again, head in my hands. Grian tries to comfort me. 

'I wish I could help too...' 

Right then, there's a scuffling behind and I look to see Impulse, panting and scared. Nightmare. Probably the same one as normal. 

'Are you ok?' I ask worriedly. Impulse looks over at me, calming himself down enough to speak.

'Y...yeah, I think.'

'Nightmare?' 

'You know it is. Where's Etho?'

'Etho? He's asleep?'

'I want to speak to him.'

'Why?' 

Impy doesn't respond, and I know immediately that he's hiding something. Instead, he grabs his ruined t-shirt and pulls it on, finding his knife on the floor and pocketing it too. 

'I just want to speak to him, ok?'

'Ok...' 

'What'ya want?' Etho turns to face us, eyes still half closed and hair a mess. Somehow, he's still wearing his ninja mask. 

'I want to speak to you. In... private.' 

Etho shuffles to his feet, and Impulse follows, walking off ahead. I stand, and grab the ninja's hand. 

'Be careful, ok?' I can't to reveal my suspicions, in case Impulse finds out. Now concerned, Etho nods slowly back. 'I don't want either of you to get hurt.' 

'I'll make sure we're fine.' He assures back, before following Impulse into the darkness. My hand falls to my side. Grian's looking over at Bdubs. 

'He's still not woken up?'

'Who? Bdubs? He could probably sleep through a thunderstorm if he was tired enough... and if it does wake him, then it'll disappear instantly out of fear. Moral of the story? Don't wake Bdubs.'

Grian laughs back, but the noise sounds wrong. The maze falls silent again, and I look down the way that Etho and Impulse went. 

'I'm worried about them.' Grian mirrors my thoughts. 'Both of them. Something bad's going to happen.'

'An attack?'

'I don't know, but I've got a horrible feeling that at least one of them won't come back...' 

Concerned, I glance over at my winged friend, before deciding. 

'I'm going to find them. See what's happening. If I don't return, wake Bdubs.'

'Why wouldn't you return?' 

'I don't know.' My chest's tight as I look into the shadows, then back to Grian again. He's got a grim look on his face. 

'Good luck.' 

I pause, picking up Hels's sword before walking off, absently noticing that Impulse's knife has disappeared the ground. Someone just picked it up, right? I think, ignoring the alternative. The moon's bright enough to let me see where the path turns, left and right, before I hear familiar voices ahead. 

'Impulse... please...' It's Etho. My heart freezes as I realise he's pleading. For his life? 'Mercy? Please...'

'You gave up your chance for mercy when you killed Zedaph. Prepare to meet him in the underworld. 

'Impulse... IMPULSE! NO! IMPUL-' 

Etho's voice cuts suddenly off. I'm running. Full-pelt down through the darkness. I come across a dead end and swear, cutting back on myself. It takes what feels like forever to find where they were. As i turn the last corner, I stop, paralysed with the horror of the sight ahead of me.

Impulse is standing there, facing away from me. His knife is dripping with blood. His arms are covered in it. In front of him is Etho's body, sprawled on the ground, eyes glassy, lying in the spotlight of moonlight through a hole in the roof. More red surrounds him. And then, on the wall behind, three words, written in blood. 

I KILLED ETHO.