Boatem has never been this quiet. Usually, there was always some kind of noise. Any kind of noise. Some sort of noise.

But now, even with all the members there, there was not a sound. There were supposed to be five, but they were down one, and it was so glaringly obvious. His absence was oh so visible, so depressing, that from a glance, it was as if nobody was there at all, even though the four were still there. The light had faded out, and even the moonlight seemed to dim above the lands.

Scar shivered as the night winds blew harshly across the terrain, covering all that was good, trees almost following the breeze. It’s been a long time since he saw the moon. It was cold. It was freezing.

He placed a hand on the wall of the cobblestone starter base, belonging to someone he knew, or at least someone he thought he knew. He needed to support his own weight just to stand, a kind of sadness running through his mind on repeat. It left an actual scar on his mind, destined to never heal no matter if he wanted it too.

It was then that he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he yelped in surprise.

“Scar- calm down,” He turned to see them, and it’s like all his muscles in his body immediately relaxed. “It’s just me.”

“Oh- Cub.” He chuckled nervously. “You nearly made my soul jump out of my body, jeez.”

“Sorry,” Cub hummed amusedly, though his expression was serious. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m-” He wanted to lie, he didn’t want to face it. He despised reality. But he saw the same sadness in the other’s eyes, and sighed, voice coming out more shaky than he intended. 

Looking down, he opened his mouth, voice coming out shaky. “No- N-no. I’m not alright. I’m not alright.”

He nearly collapsed then and there, falling into his friend for support, clutching him tightly. Cub was stunned for a second, but then returned the embrace, gently patting the other’s back. 

“Grian- he- I never expected that he would-” He let it out, let it all out. “That he was-”

“None of us expected this.” The ravenette muttered back soothingly, though his tone was stained with clear bitterness. “None of us could’ve anticipated this.”

“He was always a really good f-friend. I trusted him- I thought he was-” 

He couldn’t get himself to finish. He just couldn’t.

As Scar buried his face in the other’s chest, Cub’s moves were getting fairly restrained, but he said nothing. Looking down at the brunet’s honest despair, he had to force himself to speak. “We all did. We all thought he was on our side.” He said, putting a comforting hand on the brunet’s back. “You’re not alone, we’re all hurt. He hurt all of us.”

The next few minutes were just filled with audible, loud sobbing, ugly crying. The chatter of the other hermits in the area were barely decipherable, seeming to get more distant with more time passing by.

And then, a few footsteps sounded close by, really near, and stopped as they reached the back of the starter house. Everyone looked up at each other, caught off guard.

“Did we- interrupt something?” Pearl asked hesitantly, blinking nervously. “Sorry- we’ll go now.”

“Wait- no- it’s fine,” Scar looked up, realizing other people were there. “You guys can stay.”

Impulse and Pearl seemed to be stunned into place, seeing the other pair. They stood in quietness for the next few seconds, none knowing what to say to break the ice.

“...Pearl?” Cub sighed at last, still holding Scar.

The listener froze. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for being harsh to you back then.”

She blinked confusedly, before snapping back, smiling nervously. “Oh- it’s- it’s completely good.” She nodded stiffly, sighing. “I understand that none of you wanted to suspect Grian. It’s one of the main reasons I didn’t want to point him out immediately.”

“So is Grian really…?”

“Like Xisuma said, we listened to him reporting to someone, probably another watcher, about… destroying the server.” Impulse chimed in, voice still holdingthe same grimness from the meeting. “It really hurt. The way he sounded so… carefree about it…"

“Does he really want us d-" Scar took a sharp breath, rephrasing his question as he began to tear up again. "Did he always hate us? From the very beginning?”

“I don’t think so,” She seemed to sincerely think over the question. “He seemed to genuinely care about you guys. More than he did with the people back in EVO, I’d wager.” She frowned, barely allowing the following hope to creep into her mind. “I think he may be hesitant, which is why he stalled f-”

Scar hid his face in Cub’s coat again, and the scientist shot her a look that told her clearly that she was not helping in the slightest. It was silent for a couple of moments, the quiet sounds of sobbing and the wind rustling seeming to be the only thing that grounded them to earth. The only thing reminding them that this was reality.

Pearl was about to say something, but stopped herself midway upon remembering Scar's condition, instead looking away. Impulse kicked the dirt awkwardly, seeming a bit lost in his own thoughts. Scar was still attached to Cub.

"I think this is our cue to leave." Impulse sighed after a bit. 

"Yeah- uh- right-" Pearl murmured hesitantly, backing away. "Impulse, you wanna search for Grian?"

He shrugged indifferently, not turning. "You go ahead first."

She got the hint, and left the three alone.

"Scar, buddy." Impulse started carefully, biting his lip. "Listen, we're all hurting. None of us are feeling well." Sighing, his voice shook. "There's no way any of us could feel well after…"

"I know- I-" A portion of his soul felt empty. Torn apart. "I know."

"Xisuma's already on it, everything's going to be okay." While Impulse’s voice was calm, soothing, it did very little to comfort Scar. Especially since his tone did very little to cover up the deep hurt.

"I'll catch up with Pearl now- see you guys later?" Impulse asked, already grabbing his rockets in preparation to take off.

"Bye, Impulse!"

The moments after the initial rocket cracks were once again silent. Scar momentarily tugged on Cub’s already soaked lab coat, before he reluctantly detached himself from the scientist.

"Scar, are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I'm not great." He admitted, palming his forehead. "But I'll manage.” He went silent, before sighing. “I think I’d like to get some fresh air, be right back, Cub."

Without another word, he separated himself from the scientist. Cub didn’t try reaching out to him. 

“Be safe.” Was the only thing he heard from the other before he started walking off.

He wandered aimlessly, just hoping to get away. He eventually took a bit of shelter in the spruce woods near boatem, leaning into a tree with a blank stare. He glazed over the area, eyes travelling around without a destination, before looking down and resting a hand on his head.

It hurt. Everything hurt. Without noticing, he almost started crying again to his own thoughts. The midnight wind did nothing to quell his sorrows, the moon seemed to be growing bigger in the sight of his glassy eyes.

It was tranquil. Nobody else was around.

Well, that's what he thought anyway.

"You bastard!"

Starled, he jumped up from his position when he heard someone screaming. It sounded a bit like Iskall? 

He then heard barely audible, but still very loud arguing somewhere nearby. After a moment of shock, he regained his thoughts to go look for the source of the voices.

He got pretty close, the arguing getting louder with every step he took. Then, after looking around, he brushed a heap of leaves aside, to reveal the scene.

His eyes widened at the sight of a certain blond in a red sweater, the one he’d been really hoping not to see anytime soon - albeit with his back against the trees. And he wasn't alone. Iskall and Mumbo were also at the other side of the opening, at a distance with each other. One seemed angry and the other seemed frightened. They seemed to be fighting, voices raised beyond what he's ever heard from the trio.

“You guys don’t understand a thing!” Grian yelled. Except, he didn’t sound like Grian. At least, not in anyway he’d ever sounded before. His voice was far colder, harsher, for a start, filled with so much more apathy. At this point, it was almost a sneer. “How could you ever understand!?”

“Then just explain already!” Iskall was growing angrier and angrier with every word Grian said. Once upon a time he would’ve taken them as something tragic, something to pity Grian for, but that was all gone now. Replaced by the knowledge of who he really was. “We’re done with your lies! We’re done with everything!” 

“Iskall-”

“We trusted you. We thought you were our friend! ”

Grian’s face was indecipherable. His eyebrows were visibly scrunched up, but his eyes were almost hollow, lifeless, a plastered frown on his face. He looked frustrated, but at the same time also… disappointed.

He stayed silent, though his eyes were staring narrowly at the robot. They seemed unfocused. Without Emotion.

Some of the tension in Iskall’s expression dissipated into disturbance in how Grian was practically glaring at him. Unwarned and suddenly, he drew a blade from his inventory.

This seemed to surprise Mumbo, and also Grian to an extent.

“I-Iskall- wait-” Mumbo seemed scared. Really scared.

Iskall blocked him, voice lowering into a whisper. “I’m not going to kill him.” He gritted his teeth. “I can’t kill him. But…”

“Iskall,” Grian said, almost in an amused, but still warning voice. “Do you really see right in what you’re doing?”

“Just shut up. You betrayed us.” He growled in reply, voice coming out shaky despite his wishes. He held the sword up as a threat, spitting out his next words in disgust. “You’re nothing but a backstabber. A filthy liar.”

“I told you guys.” Grian mumbled, barely audible. By now, the lie was hollow, exhausted. It felt more like a taunt than anything. False, innocent siren-like eyes denying the blood spilled obviously in its palms, even when witnessed tearing the fabric with its bare hands. “I didn’t do anything. ”

“Liar!” The brunet shouted through gritted teeth. “Everything you’ve said so far are just lies!”

Scar noticed some purple shaded sparks starting to form inside Grian’s clenched hands. It was almost like electricity, though unformed and unstable. His eyes widened, recognizing what they were.

“It’s obvious,” He scoffed, cold eyes glowing dangerously. “You know nothing about me.”

“That’s something we both can agree on.” Iskall scorned, preparing himself.

“Guys- wait-” Scar desperately reached out and grabbed hold of Grian’s arm, maybe to try restrain him, maybe to try reaching out to him. But the intention really didn’t matter.

Because then everything stopped.

Time slowed. 

The last thing he saw was the blond turning around startled, eyes widened.

Next, he felt electricity running through his veins.