art stuff

just a thing I wrote real late

Don't take this seriously in any way, I was really tired but energetic and I just wanted to write this out.

Anyway, this is that 'end of 3rd Life but with Xerean bcs I was too lazy to do the perspective of another person' thing so here ig? I'm a bit proud of how it turned out which is why I'm sharing it but like, it's not anything TOO special either. The scene starts where Grian gets killed by Scar, then goes to attack him and Bdubs. edits to fonts will happen later.

"Traitor!!" Grian howls, descending upon the two and taking Bdubs with him into the pool with an enormous splash, then getting dragged away by Scar to allow Bdubs to come up and breathe. He lashes out, blade blocked by the Lifer's shield, putting him on the defensive while Grian attacks. "Traitor Scar!" The man pivots around Grian, shoving him in the back so he stumbles forward and falls again, and then he turns around and promptly runs his blade through Bdubs. "Sorry, buddy." He murmurs, letting him fall back so he can face Grian again. "Traitor!" Grian hisses, now facing him, though his anger changes to confusion when he sees the fresh blood on Scar's sword and more of it pooling into the water. Scar smiles a little, like he already knows what he expects to happen, lowering his sword to his side, before dropping it completely. "What is he doing???" Martyn mutters under his breath, ripples of curiosity and interest going through the spectators. Meanwhile, Tango and Impulse are soothing Bdubs' short-lived outrage, before he calms down to try and see what's going on, too.

"You can kill me." Scar assures the Watcher. Grian stops, blade raised, and everyone watching takes a collective gasp. "Wait, what?" The Avian says. "You can kill me. For everything I've done..." Scar gets down on his knees in the water, bowing his head so his neck is accessible, Vex wings almost glowing, like Skizz's wings did at the start of the Season. "You may slay me, and take the Enchanter." Oh. Xerean sucks in a breath. When Scar offered his hearts to Skizz, that made Grian and Scott specifically react. She isn't sure what it meant to Scott, but to Grian, maybe this felt similar? It would make sense. In any case, Grian's shaking his head. "N–no, I–I can't. I literally can't." He states, stepping back and sheathing his sword. "Grian, one of us has to die, here." Scar points out, unmoving. His voice carries the weight of someone who's experienced lots, and processed that only barely enough to know he's near his end, and he accepts it. "No, I know, but–I can't do it." Grian tells him, wings opening and closing now in the emotional turmoil that's evident on his face. He's tired, pumped full of rising and falling adrenaline, and he'd just turned Red about three hours ago. He's going through a lot, clearly. "We can't just let them leave it in peace, though!" Ren objects, and Martyn already has his communicator up. Both he and Ren call for blood, and Impulse simply yells for them to fight, several other people joining in to egg the two on. "At the very least, let this just end so we can all go back home." Bdubs says sullenly. "They want a fight..." Grian says, reading the chat. "I–okay." Scar sighs, standing up. "Can we–can we at least do it at Pizza's grave?" He asks, and Grian twitches his wings. "Fine." He concedes, dipping his head. "This is gonna be good." Martyn comments, and as an awkward trip of two men walking to their willing murder and death followed by the ghosts of their fallen Servermates, the journey back to Monopoly Mountain starts. "Who do you think'll win?" Jimmy asks, if not only to fill the silence as they watch and follow the two survivors trudging back home. "Oh, it's gotta be Scar, right?" Etho replies, floating up beside the man. "He's killed a surprising amount of people quite fast, and, well, look at Grian. He's got a disadvantage in size, right?" "And muscle." Cleo calls from the back of the group, getting a few amused snorts and chuckles. Tango flicks his tail. "Well, keep in mind, that means Grian's quicker, too. Besides, what if Scar still lets him win? Loses deliberately? My money's on Grian." He declares. "We have no money to bet this on!" Martyn objects, but they all voice their expected champion, which lightens the dreary mood somewhat. Finally, as mid-morning approaches, they crest the hill to the desert. Grian and Scar stop, and while Scar looks down at his ally, Grian looks out over the war-torn, desolate place, and sighs shakily. Scar gently puts a hand on his shoulder, which Grian puts his own on and squeezes tightly, without looking at him. Evidently neither of them truly want to do this. After all, who would? "So, they're just...fistfighting, yeah?" Xerean clarifies, and Ren nods solemnly. "We'll give them instructions later. But yes, that seems reasonable." He agrees, and Scar takes the first step toward the desert.

Once they're back on the mountain, they tell Grian and Scar they get 10 minutes to say final goodbyes, mostly because Scar directly asks them if he can say goodbye to Pizza, which he does. When he's finished, however, he slowly turns to Grian, and silently, the two embrace. Xerean doubts she'll ever actually understand the gravity of why this is so important to them, or what it meant, but she can still recognize the dread they're both experiencing, Grian wrapping his wings around Scar and both of them already crying. They in fact give them 15 minutes, letting them get the sadness out and apologize and make whatever peace they feel they need to, until finally, Grian withdraws and wipes his eyes. Scar stands, and once again addresses the dead: "So, uh...what are we supposed to do?" He asks. Ren explains that they should have a fistfight, with no weapons, food, armour, tools, or items of any kind, and Martyn suggests a ring of cactus to make an adequate fighting ring. Scar nods, and they remove all items they have, before building the ring of cacti. Scar lights the entryway with fire, then throws away the flint and steel. "Oh–wait, wait, wait!" He says suddenly, and draws out a banner. A Dogwarts banner. "Oh, no he's not." Xerean sighs. Scar burns it, much to Ren's dismay and Martyn's fake outrage. It's again, far more light-hearted this time. It means almost nothing now, a final laugh between the two combatants before they're forced to fight. "Scar, I don't–I don't feel good about this..." Grian states, talons digging into the sand. "Me neither." Scar admits. "You know what–" Grian raises his voice a little, some sort of sudden, defiant gleam in his eye. "No matter what, Scar, I think we can claim this as a double victory." He declares. The Watchers evidently wouldn't like that. The whole point is only one winner. It's like the Hunger Games. There isn't supposed to be two victors. Even in Double Life, apparently. "Ghosts? You gonna–gonna count us in?" Grian asks, and after a few moments, Ren, Etho, and Martyn decide to do it. On 'Go', Scar leaps forward, the Watcher skirting around him as the man wheels to try again. Grian lands a hit, a blow to the back of Scar's head before hopping just out of range. They dart around one another for a few minutes, wary but determined, then something seems to come over them both, or they may have had the same thought process, because at the same time, they both meet one another in the center of the ring, trading punches and trying to drive one another into the cactus. Scar punches Grian out of the ring, both men bruised and bloody, but the taller is evidently worse for wear, on a severely low number of hearts and quite close to the edge of the mountain. "Scar, I'm so sorry!" Grian tells him, blinking repeatedly as he ducks a swipe to the side of his head. They begin apologizing to one another, the dead onlookers drawing closer to one another as though subconsciously seeking comfort, but finally, it ends: Grian jumps, flapping his wings to try and get higher, and delivers one last fist into Scar's face to finish him off. Scar immediately falls, crumpling on the spot in front of him. "No!" Grian cries, and Scar's Spectator self rises. It's only when he wipes away tears that Xerean realizes she and several other people are crying as well. "Well, that's that, then." Martyn says, as Grian takes a moment over Scar's body. "I don't feel good..." He whispers, hugging his arms to his chest. The Avian's crying again, a strange smile on his face. It's sad, but also happy, and Xerean can't understand how he's both at once. Grian then stands, edging closer to the sheer drop off the mountain, and looks at the sky. "That's it, everyone. It is done." He calls, then smiles, closes his eyes, and steps out over the edge,

and falls.

As soon as Grian hits the ground, Xerean blacks out, feeling pulled away and shoved down, into something new.

She smells pine and spruce, feels cool winds and hears a faraway howl. Opening her eyes, she finds herself in a circle with several people, faces surprised, but a few that actually recognize her. They all seem fresh and energetic, unscarred(except one certain man) and happy.

The next Season has begun.