AAAAAAAAND WE'RE BACK! 

WITH ETHO!

WOOOOOOOO!

WC: ~600 (*internal screeching*

Enjoy!

"You said you had a plan?" Etho asked, looking at the Watcher in front of him. Xanthus nodded.

"It's risky, weird, dangerous, generally stupid, and could get someone killed," Xay offered. "But it's a plan!" Etho laughed, although it was slightly strained.

"Well, what is it?" he was eager to know. 

"Can I ask you something, first?" Xanthus said, earning a nod from Etho. "I'm going to describe a Watcher. I want you to tell me if they sound familiar."

"I don't know many Watchers," Etho warned. Xanthus shrugged.

"I have a feeling you'll know this one," he explained, answering none of Etho's questions.

"Short blonde hair. Red sweater. Pale-ish skin, but not as pale as yours." Etho blinked.

I thought Watchers could only have pure black or white hair...

Wait-

"I do know that one," Etho said, his voice suddenly cold like ice.

"He's the one that took me."

Xanthus's shoulder's stiffened, and Etho was pretty sure he had widened his eyes in surprise.

"Oh..." he mumbled. "Well... that makes everything harder."

"What do you mean?" Etho asked slowly, his voice remaining cold. 

"I found a way to get to the server," Xay explained. "But it involves working with him."

"What?!" Etho snapped. 

"Well, not exactly working with him," Xanthus clarified. "Rather... erm... using him. To put it bluntly." Etho raised an eyebrow. 

"That doesn't sound good," he observed, earning an eye roll from Xay. The Watcher teleported into the prison, next to Etho. 

"I might as well explain how it works," Xay started. "It's using a lot of Watcher magic and other trickery. Even a bit of Voidwalker stuff, which you know I'm an expert in." A small laugh from Etho. 

"It involves, well, breaching the server. This Watcher's mindspace has a bit of a weakness, you could say. When he's consciously in it, there's a way to... enter it. I've already done it, but all I did was explain to him how to escape, because he was in the distorted bit of it." Etho nodded along, Xay having already explained this kind of thing to him. "Long story short, I can pull energy from there and basically use it as teleportation." Etho blinked, the sudden information needing a second to process.

"Wait, if we can do this... doesn't that mean Zena can too?" he realized. Xanthus winced. 

"Erm, yes," he replied. "Which is why we need to act quickly." Etho practically leaped up.

"What if she's already there?" he yelped. "What if he already entered, and she's there, and-" 

"Relax, Etho," Xay soothed, although he internally wanted to laugh at Etho's sudden panic. "I doubt he's in it. I checked just before I came." Etho cocked his head.

"Checked?" he echoed. Xay shrugged.

"It's like reaching out with a mental rope," he explained. "Sometimes you don't even know where you're going. Like tossing a rope into darkness. That's when he's not there. When he's there but you can't reach him is like tossing a rope that's short and tied to the ground on the other end. It just doesn't work. And if he grabs the rope, then you're connected. Mindspaces are a tricky thing..." Xay trailed off after that, and a small sigh escaped his lips.

"Alright," Etho responded hesitantly. "Sure this'll work?" Xay laughed.

"Nope!" he replied, seemingly unbothered by the fact. "But it's worth a shot, isn't it?" Etho couldn't help but sigh.

A shot that they couldn't throw away. 

This was the only chance they had.

The only way the return home.

The only method to go back.

Their last hope.

And Etho was not giving up on it.

*silently grabs notebook and starts writing*

-Storm