The Ones Who Survived - An MCYT fanfic

Ch 24

Tw: disturbing imagery in the italic dream section

Another week passes.

Joel, Sausage, Scoff and Fwhip are told about everything. Pearl explains what happened to our group, and how they caught everyone. Martyn explains what happened to them. Ren and Cub recover enough to appear. I avoid the latter as much as I can, my decision constantly haunting me. Tango also wakes up, but doesn't emerge. Impulse gives us updates. I avoid him too. And Joel. The constant guilt is too much, and I spend more and more time alone. I killed Jimmy. I gave up on Scar. I let everyone down. It's my fault, and I can't fix it.

It's another few days until Tango does appear, but he's still shaken, almost lost. Something was taken from him with Jimmy's death that's more than the rest of us faced. Impulse spends most of his time with him, checking he's ok through the emotions of what his best friend must be feeling. I avoid Tango too, until I call the meeting.

Everyone gathers in front of my tent as I prepare to speak. There are a lot of us by this point. I let out a sigh before starting.

'Hey... everyone.' I start weakly. 'I... have something to say about what's happening next.' It shouldn't be this formal. Everyone's looking at me like I'm sharing some huge personal thing. I don't speak for a moment. Martyn's looking at the ground. He knows what I'm going to say.

'We... we can't go back for Scar.' 

No one speaks. 

'Its what they'll want us to do. Keep going back for him until...' I catch a glimpse of Cub's expression. 'Until...'

I can't do it. 

'I'm sorry.' I mumble. 'I'm sorry.'

'Etho died so I could save anyone trapped.' Bdubs is first to complain. 'If we don't get Scar back...'

'... then someone else will've died for nothing?' I snap, not even thinking. 'Yeah, that's what the Watcher do, Bdubs. They kill people until they've won. And Jimmy died so we could get out, so if we return and get killed he died for nothing. You know why? BECAUSE THE WATCHERS ARE F***ING MONSTERS!'

Again, no one speaks. 

'WE CAN'T FIGHT THEM!'

'We have to try! We can't let them win!'

'They've already won, Bdubs.' 

'Scar's my friend, Grian. I'm not gonna let a group of magical bullies take him from me.'

'He's my friend too! He's my best friend! He saved my life... multiple times. He's the only reason I'm HERE. I don't want to let him go but I can't put any of you in danger again to get him back.'

'Then go yourself.' Joel joins in. 'Go and give yourself up as a sacrifice to the eye-gods.'

'I did that before and they still destroyed Evo.' 

'Everyone calm down.' I let out a sigh of relief as Martyn interrupts. 'Seriously. Grian doesn't want to do this, but it's the only thing he we can do. He knows more than the rest of us what the Watchers can do so believe him.'

'Thank you.' I regain composure for a second, looking down as I continue. 'The next thing we should do is find where the hermits who escaped are. What world they would've gone to... does anyone know?'

No one replies, whether from lack of knowledge or lack of interest. I sigh.

'If anyone can find out, do.'

'So we're just accepting that we're never going to see Scar again then?' Bdubs snaps. 'Great, yeah. Oh our survival is doing great. We're so good at rescuing our friends.'

'SHUT UP!' I scream, and he does. 'SCAR'S NEVER COMING BACK UNLESS THE WATCHERS GIVE HIM BACK, OK?' Every emotion building up since this began explodes out. A sound of someone flying away. I look to see Cub gone. Bdubs is glaring at me, about to cry.

'You're the worst leader ever.' Is all he says before walking away, joined by Joel and many others. I slump to the ground, sobbing, the truth of his words cutting deep. 

'Grian...' I shuffle away from Mumbo's voice. 'It'll... it'll be ok.'

'Scar's gone forever.' I mumble back. 'And I want to get him back but I know we can't.' 

'We can get him back.'

'How? What's your miraculous plan to save him?' 

'I don't know.' He admits. 'But what I do know is that you're my friend and I'm not going to let you blame yourself for everything the Watchers have done. This is their fault, not yours.'

'I want to kill all of them.' I admit. 'I want to go to their base and scream at them until they give Scar back or they kill me.'

'I understand.' It's all Mumbo says. 'Come on, you need more rest.'

'I've been basically sleeping the whole time since I got back...'

'Grian. Seriously.'

I scuff the ground with my foot. 

'Mumbo?'

'Yeah?'

'Did I make the right choice to... you know?'

'I don't know. But you know more about the watchers and their capabilities than everyone else here. We should wait until we get Xisuma and anyone else who went with him back. Now sleep, ok? You look as tired as you did when you were a mooner.'

'So do you.' I reply. 'We both need sleep.'

'Yeah. I'll see you when you're not tired, ok?'

'Ok...' I give Mumbo a smile and a quick hug as we stand before entering my tent and lying down to sleep. 

'Amantes? Xelqua?' I wake sharply at the All-Creating Watcher's voice. 'You're late to your class.'

'I'm sorry, Omnis Creando.' I reply as I climb out of bed, grabbing my cloak and mask before following out of my tower bedroom. The staircase is long, spiralling down to the rest of the fortress... down, down, down a bit more, until we reach the bottom. Through a door, and then into what must be the prison area. 

'Now, today I will be teaching you about Vexlings.' I almost stumble at the word.

'What?'

We enter a locked room. There's a cage in it. I blink at the sight of the hunched figure within.

Scar.

'Now, can you tell me how Vexlings are dangerous?'

'Your... friend... is a lying, malicious, chaotic murderer. An arsonist... a demon... a freak with unnatural powers...' Another voice. I frown as I hear the leader of the all-protecting watchers in my mind, turning, confused. I'm standing in the central room, watching the 'fight' with Jimmy again. Watching as he falls. I run over, but it isn't Jimmy at all. It's not even Scar.

It's Mumbo.

And all the other hermits and my friends. 

Dead.

Because I let them die.

'Come back to us, Amantes. We don't want to hurt anyone else.' 

I don't speak, as much as I want to tear the mask from my face and break it. Fight them. I'm stuck there as my senses fade to nothing, except Cub standing in front of me with the same expression of loss and betrayal on his face as before. I try to tell him it isn't my fault, apologise, but all I can say is that Scar's gone, Scar's gone, Scar's gone, Scar's...

And then I wake up.