WC: 2074
Things are changing again--in more ways than one.
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It'd never been this hard for Etho to start a conversation with Impulse.
"So...what's up?" Impulse had to raise his voice to be heard above the din made by the rest of the Wanderers, even though they were sitting right next to each other.
Etho raised an eyebrow. He was going to stretch this out, huh? Fine. He didn't have things to do now, anyway.
"I wanted to talk about some things with you."
Neither of them were really sure how to take the conversation from there. Etho didn't have to be overly observant to notice the awkwardness between them. It reminded him--again--of how they used to act back in the Keep, after things had gotten sour between them and Tango.
Impulse had always scolded Tango for being too reckless and impulsive. He did his best to prevent him from doing anything too stupid. In a way, they made a good pair: Impulse's personality balanced Tango's out, and vice versa.
After Tango had let the Ravagers get away, Impulse had never really got over it. He told Etho in private how Tango had crossed the line with the risks he was taking, and that all of this was his fault. Etho didn't want to get dragged into their feud, but he ended up in the center of it anyway.
Whenever Etho went to visit the two in the castle, Tango and Impulse would always deteriorate into a heated argument. It didn't help that some other person would constantly come into the throne room, bearing the bad news of something else happening--the wither roses, the power outages, the increasing deaths due to Ravagers...the list went on.
Pretty soon, Etho started staying away from the castle. That's when he met False, and she kind of took over where Impulse and Tango used to be in Etho's friend group. Impulse used to check on him every once in a while, but things just weren't the same between them anymore.
They acted like they did now--like they weren't quite sure what to do with one another.
Then, a little over a month after they started to drift apart, Impulse went into the Forest and didn't come back.
Etho didn't learn about his disappearance until a week later, when he'd decided to check in on Tango again. When he'd walked into the throne room and didn't hear the faint arguing he was used to at that point, he automatically knew something was wrong.
Etho didn't want to think about what happened next. He regretted doing it, but the bad news Tango broke to him moments later was too much for him to handle. He ended up yelling at Tango, blaming him and saying that all of this was his fault--the Ravagers getting loose, the power outages, and now Impulse's disappearance.
Impulse had been right about you all along.
That had been the last time they talked. Etho didn't go back into the castle again.
"Etho?"
Back in the present, Impulse tried for conversation again. Etho glanced over at him, his mind doing a hard reset after the abrupt flashback he'd gotten.
Impulse cocked his head to one side, staring at him with a slight hint of confusion. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Uh, yeah." Etho decided to go for it--they'd be beating around the bush for hours if one of them didn't initiate what was on both of their minds. "Why are you sitting off to the side like this?"
Impulse tried to mimic a loose shrug, but Etho noticed the tension in his shoulders. "I could ask the same to you."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Despite the awkwardness between them, Etho mustered a smile. It was reminiscent of how they used to talk, before all this happened--Etho could always evade Impulse more than the latter could with vague questions and answers. Impulse must have recognized it, too, because he returned the grin.
Etho breathed an inward sigh of relief as he felt some of the tension ease between. Not all, but some--and that was a start.
Impulse held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. I'm...thinking. About some stuff."
Etho rolled his hand in an impatient go on gesture.
"I dunno. Things have been kind of hectic lately with everything that's been going on. I've been stressed out by all of it--we all have. What more d'you want?"
"Okay, yeah, I get that, but--"
"And the operation for killing that final Ravager." Impulse cut off Etho before he could continue. "We didn't know how it was going to go, y'know?"
Etho let out a sharp exhale, irritated with how vague Impulse was being. "C'mon, Impulse. You know what I mean."
"Oh, do you mean the mild chaos caused by Scar's teal vines growing haywire? You weren't around to see it, but it took a while for us to clean it up..."
Etho crossed his arms, not sure whether he could laugh or be annoyed. "I don't know if you're messing with me on purpose or not."
He decided to go for it before Impulse spoke again. "Why aren't you celebrating like the rest of the Wanderers? I mean--all of the Ravagers are dead now. You--I mean we did it. You should be excited, right?"
He paused before continuing again.
"So...why aren't you?"
Impulse paused, then let out a small sigh.
"It's been months, Etho. Things change over time--you know that. I hate to admit this, but the whole meaning, with killing those Ravagers, has changed a lot for me since I started it."
Etho tensed, remembering how he was questioning this whole operation in the Fortress a while back. He and Impulse might have more things in common than both of them thought.
"Anyway, when the group first started doing this, it was fine," Impulse went on. "Our main goal was to take down the Ravagers. You know that. But as the Ravagers started dwindling in numbers, it--for me--kind of turned from wanting them all gone and saving everyone to just...wanting this to go back to normal. Back to what they used to be, before all this happened."
It took a while for Etho to register his words. Then it clicked for him. Impulse missed the old group, before all the fighting broke out. After the Wanderers killed all the Ravagers, he hoped to get back with Etho and Tango again.
For a moment, he felt happy that Impulse missed how things were. Then, he realized something else, and the feeling faded away.
Things have changed since the Ravagers got loose--permanently. Not just because of the beasts, too. It was also because of the mistakes Etho, Tango, and Impulse made: Tango letting the Ravagers loose. Impulse not forgiving him afterward. Etho blaming Tango for Impulse's disappearance.
Even if the Ravagers were all gone now, Etho didn't think things would be the same between him and his old friends. There was just too much that changed for them to reset and go back three years.
And Etho had a sneaking suspicion Impulse knew that, too. He just didn't want to admit the truth out loud.
"Impulse," he said, "You know that can't happen, right? Things can't return to what they used to be."
Impulse sighed again, looking so disappointed that Etho felt bad for being brutally honest. He just confirmed what Impulse had probably been thinking for a long time.
"I know," he said. "And I think that's why I didn't celebrate with the rest of the group, because, now...what is there to expect? I don't know what's going to happen next from here. I mean, how much more is going to change, right?"
"Hey." Etho leaned closer to him. He thought about putting his hand on Impulse's shoulder but decided against it. "...I don't know what's gonna happen after this, either. I don't think any of us do."
He waved his hand around the Ruins camp, and towards the still-celebrating Wanderers.
"But now that the Ravagers are gone...things will get better, right? That's at least one thing you know."
Impulse fell silent, and Etho was worried he said something wrong. He didn't know if Impulse was going to react the same way he did, but as he spoke those words, he felt himself feel better about the whole thing. It'd been a message for him, too, not just Impulse.
Then, Impulse gave him a small smile, reaching out and taking Etho by the shoulder. The gesture was at once familiar, but...not. Etho had forgotten how it felt to hang out with an old friend. It was reassuring, and Etho returned the smile.
"Well, whatever happens, we'll get through it together."
The moment was interrupted by a sudden loud crash. Everyone's heads turned abruptly to see Grian crash into the base camp, looking shaken. Etho hadn't even realized he was gone.
Impulse stood up, taking his hand off Etho's shoulder. Etho tried to ignore the lingering disappointment he felt, instead turning to Grian like everyone else.
"Grian?" Impulse asked. "What happened? What's the rush?"
Grian looked like he had run the whole way back to the Ruins. He leaned against a pillar, catching his breath before speaking again. "I...fuck. There's something you guys need to see."
The whole group trailed after him, the loud din that was made earlier fading into worried murmurs. Etho found himself at the front of the group, with Grian and Impulse.
"I was following my compass to the Fortress," Grian said, still breathing heavily. Etho didn't think it was from being tired this time, though--he was worried, scared even, about whatever he saw.
"Since the Fortress is relatively safe now, y'know? With the Ravager gone? Anyway, I was on the Crossroads, and I noticed something different about the Keep's entrance..."
Etho felt a sense of dread bubble up in him. He knew where this was going. Judging by the looks of everyone around them, so did they.
The Wanderers walked in silence as they passed through the Ruins. Grian's bad news had changed the group's entire mood, who'd been so happy just a few minutes ago.
When they stepped foot on the Crossroads' bridges, Grian made a beeline straight towards the Keep. Etho noticed many of the Wanderers hesitate before following him--they weren't used to following this route, especially since they were technically hiding from the kingdom.
As they neared the Keep, Etho started to notice what was wrong. The first red flag was the silence. The Keep was never silent--it was always bustling with activity in every sector.
Now, all he heard was the popping of lava far below them.
Grian peered through the rusting iron bars and sucked in a breath. "It got worse since the last time I was here. Look."
Etho looked through the bars as well and pulled back quickly. The sector in front of them was completely destroyed--houses reduced to rubble, splintered wood everywhere, deep gouges in the stone walkways.
Etho didn't see anyone around either--were they okay? What had happened here? He hated to see the village ruined like this.
As if to answer his question, Grian pointed to one of the more critically damaged houses--specifically, to the wall closest to them. "That's what I wanted you guys to see. Look at the size and shape."
Etho shifted his gaze over to the wall Grian was pointing at. There was a hole in the dead center, like someone had crashed straight through it. Cracks spiderwebbed outwards from the hole. The wall was barely intact, it was a miracle it was still standing.
No hostile monster could have made that hole, it was way too big. The cracks coming from the hole indicated that large amounts of force had been used, and Etho doubted anyone from the Keep would--or could--do this much damage to the Keep, even on purpose.
And then there was the size of the hole itself. Etho only knew one thing that could do this much damage with that much force--he'd watched it do exactly that on many occasions.
The hole was the size of a Ravager.
And as Etho glanced over at the rest of the group, who were staring at the hole in shock, he knew they realized what this meant, too.
There was one more Ravager they needed to kill. One that no one knew existed, not even Impulse.
And, right now, it was loose in the Keep, attacking everything.
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:)
Shorter chapter this time, but I didn't want to draw out the conversation for too long ^^;
I think this section was lowkey inspired by Omori, I've been playing the game recently and the section about Sunny's old friends and how far they've grown apart in four years really got to me hshshs--it's a really good story element, though, the breakup between Etho, Tango, and Impulse needed something else to make it hit hard, so I'm glad I added that extra pop <3
Until next update!