Taurtis laughed, trailing his hand through the water, sitting on top of a clay wall next to Grian.

"Come on Gri, it's not that far away," Taurtis persuaded, tugging on Grian's sleeve playfully, pointing out towards the ocean.

"Is that a dare?" Grian asked, raising an eyebrow as Taurtis nodded fervently, an almost threatening glint in his eyes that Grian didn't notice.

"Well, I don't suppose I can turn down a dare now, can I?" Grian asked, hopping into the water and laughing as he and Taurtis swam to the shore, both climbing out as Grian decided it would be a smart idea to craft a boat. When the tower started to come into render distance, Grian's vision started to blur, fading into black.

***

Grian shot up, shivering slightly with cold as he slowly crept out of bed, frowning as he thought back on the dream. It was an old memory from back in Evo, at least he thought, but his memory was a bit fuzzy.

Grian pulled out the piece of paper and scribbled the IP address onto it, placing it on the table as he focused, smiling when the purple fire erupted in his hand, clenching his fist and extinguishing the fire, smiling as he saw the letter disappear, a portal almost indistinguishable from a nether portal, yet Grian could feel the difference when he stuck his hand through it, putting his items into a chest and smiling as he pushed his way through, the world of Evo coming into focus.

It was daytime there, and Grian looked around, locking eyes with Pearl and smiling at her. She waved at him, and he walked towards her, pulling out his items from the chest and equipping his armour.

"How was season 7?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"It was alright, any wars been started here?" Grian asked, raising an eyebrow, sniggering when she shuffled slightly.

"I didn't mean to, it was an accident," she said innocently, raising her hands as Grian laughed.

"I'm not judging you," he said, smiling. "Considering the number of wars I've started..." he trailed off, his face dropping as he remembered Taurtis. Pearl squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, picking up on his thoughts as she walked away slowly.

One of the listeners called Jace walked up to him, looking down slightly due to his height.

"Back already?" They asked their words muffled by the mask slightly.

"I needed to make sure everyone was OK here," Grian brushed off. "I didn't want a repeat of... You know." The listener nodded, their face seeming emotionless behind the mask.

"Any progress?" Jace asked, tilting their head.

"In terms of the IP address, no. I think I'm getting better at using Watcher magic though," Grian said, looking down slightly, unable to help but be intimidated by them.

"That's good. On our side, we've managed to track down the watcher on a public server and should be able to gain information about the watchers in question," Jace said, a hint of concern in their voice.

Grian nodded, shuffling awkwardly under their gaze. "Should I go now?" He asked, looking up questioningly.

"If you wish, or I could get Syra to help you hone your powers," Jace answered, and Grian nodded, relaxing slightly.

"I'll take you up on that offer," he said, smiling slightly.

"Let's get started then."

***

"How long do we have?" Taurtis asked Xenori, pausing his mine to look at his non-existent friend.

"I dunno, check the clock," Xenori stated, and Taurtis smiled, reaching into his inventory and cursing under his breath when he realised the time.

"Damnit, we've got 10 minutes at most until sunset," Taurtis said, grabbing a piece of stone and starting to climb up the stairs, racing towards the hole in the hill, wincing as he felt a skeleton arrow pierce his shoulder blade, (Lucid this is not permanent I promise he has healing potions probably don't disown me) ducking through the door and slamming it shut.

He winced as he felt the blood drip down his hoodie, ignoring all medical advice as he pulled the bloody arrow out, pressing his hand against it to stop the blood flow, reaching for a potion of healing and messily pouring it on, hissing slightly as it took effect, stopping the blood flow as Taurtis slumped slightly with the relief of the pain. He gently pressed the wound, wincing slightly at the pain, looking down at the blood-stained arrow he'd left on the floor.

"That looks nasty," Xenori said, and Taurtis looked up, raising his eyebrows.

"You think?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't ask me, I'm just a crazy figment of your imagination you made because you're crazy," Xenori snorted, and Taurtis grumbled slightly.

"Gees, I don't need the reminder," he grumbled, rolling his eyes and trying to find a bandage in one of his chests, reminded of the last time he had bandages covering a wound. Xenori shrugged, walking over to Taurtis and resting an incorporeal hand on his shoulder. 

"He'll come back for you Taurtis," he reassured him, smiling slightly as Taurtis wrapped up the wound. 

"It's been over a year - you'd think if he cared about me then-"

"He does care about you. You've been best friends for years, and the watchers are probably smart enough to stop him somehow."

"I mean, I guess a year is enough time to send someone insane," Taurtis said bitterly, smiling slightly when his tamed cat he'd named Pit (YES I WENT THERE) rubbed against him.

"You're not insane, Taurtis."

"Coming up with imaginary friends to pass the time? I'm like, 99% certain I'm insane at this point."

Xenori sighed, disappearing as Taurtis pulled himself into bed, ignoring the throbbing pain in his shoulder.

"Grian please, come soon," Taurtis whispered, closing his eyes as he fell into an uneasy sleep, oblivious to the figure watching through the window.