Chapter Text
“Etho!”
The first thing Etho could feel as he woke up was hands on his vest, shaking him violently. He tried to ignore him, but the nauseating motion was getting really annoying.
“Etho, wake up!”
Etho’s lids inevitably fluttered open, the world too bright for his sleepy eyes. He slurred something out, enough to tell Beef he was somewhat conscious. Already, Beef took it as a sign to keep talking.
“Hypno’s missing! I can’t find him anywhere!”
Beef’s report was frantic, with sharp moments where his voice crackled like a wildfire.
Etho just blinked tiredly, letting out an exhausted groan. He sat up, his body still swaying from the deep sleep his best friend had just crashed into. He let out a yawn, smacking his lips beneath his mask as he shook the sleepiness out of his voice.
“Did you really have to wake me up for that?”
“Yes!” Beef’s ears perked up, not backing down. “We need to go look for him!”
Etho just rubbed his eye, groaning. He let his tail cover one leg, giving a tired flick. The warm blanket that once wrapped around his shoulders had been removed, lying right under Beef’s knees and folded over awkwardly.
“He’s probably just hiding somewhere else. Either that or he left.” Etho let out a tired yawn, grumbling as he stood up. “You know how he can be. Teleporting places, taking other people’s stuff…”
Beef looked around. Everything was how it was when he fell asleep. The old boat still rocked on the water, all of their belongings were scattered across the beach, and Etho’s old blanket was still there next to him. The only change was the fire, snuffed out as the night dragged on.
“Nothing’s missing.”
“Eh, probably just an illusion.” Etho brushed it off, finally standing up to stretch. “He must have stolen something.”
Beef turned back towards his pan, the residue of old food still clinging to the sides. Beef had yet to wash it since dinner. He grabbed it without hesitation, feeling the familiar iron sides and shiny handle in his hands. The pan twirled in his palms as he looked at all the sides. He could see every scratch, every chip, every dent.
He thoughtlessly swung the pan around as he tried to find a place to put it down, only for it to make contact with Etho’s head with a thud. It was enough to disorient him for a moment, his legs stumbling as they readjusted, not yet falling.
“Ow! Beef!”
Beef hissed cautiously. “Oh, sorry.”
“Well, at least we know the frying pan’s still there.” Etho teased, taking the pan away from him so he wouldn’t lose more of his brain cells. “We kinda need that."
Beef chuckled. “Fair.”
Etho turned his head upwards, looking at the sky. Beef did the same, noting the grey tone of the sky. Clouds huddled like a herd, stamping above the ocean. The waves beat themselves against the sand in response, harsher than usual.
“Looks like it might rain soon.”
“Gee, what gave you that idea?”
Etho didn’t say another word. Instead, he stepped towards the trees, picking up Beef’s old hatchet and holding it in his hand.
For something so old and used, it held up well. It was the last gift his old server gave him, a warm present a friend gave him for the long journey ahead. He got plenty of uses out of it, from chopping down trees to protecting himself.
He never let anyone else touch it, especially not Etho.
Beef loved Etho, but he was prone to lose things. His bases always looked messy, with unused parts scrambled everywhere and pages of plans pinned to the wall. He was neater than other players, but Beef still didn’t trust him with it.
“Hey, where are you going with that?”
Etho dashed into the forest without answering, frolicking without a care in the world. The bushes gave way, shaking off their leaves as Etho disappeared in them. Most of his body told him to chase after Etho, but a heavy part of him told him to stay put.
With a sigh, Beef gazed longingly into the sea for signs of life floating above the surface, just for a second. No matter where he looked, he saw nothing. Just the vast, empty void of blue blinking back at him.
Hypno wasn’t coming back, was he?
~~~~~
Beef’s eyes returned to the water hours afterwards.
Etho had found a small mount, complete with a tiny den to hide in, covered by bushy plants. He had already started to settle there, grabbing things from the beach and dragging them into the small hole overlooking the other side of the island.
Beef kept watch, saying that he was protecting Etho’s stuff, but even Etho knew the truth.
The sky got progressively darker, with silver clouds turning an eerie shade of near-black as they grew heavy with rain. Beef had already heard a few roars of monstrous thunder and saw lightning split the sky as the wind picked up with a wild ferocity. The birds had already fled as lizards hid beneath rocks. Plants that were prepared for the coming downpour embraced the rain like the coming of a savior, absorbing every stray raindrop.
Etho reemerged with more stuff in his hands. His blanket, a nearly empty first aid kit, and some shells he had gathered from the shoreline to brighten Beef’s spirit.
“That should be everything.”
Beef didn’t respond, still staring out onto the beach. Other than a small gathering of stones in an uneven circle, the beach was bare. There were no boats, no logs in the stony circle, not even a few blades of seagrass that poked up from the barren sand.
“Still mourning over your one-night stand, eh?”
Beef’s ear flicked tiredly as he tried not to crumble under Etho’s playful words. He wasn’t in the mood for it right now.
“Here. I got you something.”
Etho grabbed Beef’s hand, forcing a small shell into it. It was shiny and spiraled, left behind by a growing hermit crab that drifted out to sea. Beef just sighed, looking solemnly at it as he placed it back down on the ground.
As he stood back up, Beef’s eyes moved towards something in the turbulent sea as lightning split the darkening sky, raindrops blurring his vision. It looked like a boat capsizing just kilometers from shore, the survivors flailing about. Beef’s eyes widened in surprise, not thinking twice about what he was going to do next.
Something pushed against Etho. Not enough to knock him over, but enough to jolt him out of Beef’s way as he noticed his friend running recklessly down the hill, hooves kicking up the grass beneath him. Etho followed behind carefully, not even bothering to drop his belongings.
As the two of them ran, the rain got more intense. Not a drizzle, not a shower, but a heavy cascade of heavy raindrops against their skin. The water drenched their hair, their clothes were washed with wild petrichor. The wind picked up, howling like wolves in the dense tundras of their homeland.
“Beefers! What are you—”
Before Etho had the chance to finish, Beef had already plunged into the violent waves.
He swam further and further away from shore. Deeper and deeper in the choppy waters, thrown about by the waves like a rubber duck in a bathtub of rising water. Eventually, Etho saw Beef go completely underneath the waves, the steady stream of bubbles slowing down before stopping altogether.
Etho’s heart stopped for a second before Beef popped out of the water with a limp figure in his arms. He carefully traversed over to the beach as quickly as he could, fighting the waves tooth and nail. He managed to reach the wet sand, dropping the small figure off like a package.
“ETHO!”
Beef shouted, but the wind and the thunder were louder than his voice.
“Take care of him! There’s another one!”
“What?”
Etho shouted back, trying to hear through the whipping wind and thunder, but Beef was already back in the water, swimming out to sea with strong strokes.
“BEEF!”
Beef opened his eyes, ignoring how the salt stung them. He looked around the tumultuous waters until he noticed something just below the waves, sinking into the dark. There was a person. Sun-kissed skin, closed eyes, a limp hand reaching out towards him. One dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, tousled by the water, pulling him down like a heavy stone.
Without a second to lose, Beef grabbed his torso, drawing him closer as if he were as light as a feather. He lifted the man over his shoulders before breaking through the surface, the chilled air biting his face and lungs. The man on his shoulder seemed like dead weight, quite literally, but Beef didn’t give up on him yet.
Just like with the first man, Beef lifted him up onto the sandy beach. Beef breathed heavily, taking in as much air as he could when he noticed something terrifying about the man he just pulled out. He waited for a moment, hoping he wasn’t going to overreact, but it was true.
He wasn’t breathing.
The other castaway was screaming wildly in the background, a voice too familiar not to notice. Between the overwhelming storm and the sudden rush of adrenaline, Beef couldn’t pick up on what any of them said.
Thirty chest compressions, two rescue breaths. That’s all that Beef needed to do.
Beef knew it wasn’t going to work. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was a backup until medical professionals got there, and even then, it only had a slim chance of recovery. If the heart wanted to beat, it would. If not, there was nothing they could do.
But for now, Beef wasn’t ready to share that with the other shipwrecked soul.
With firm thrusts, Beef pushed against the shorter man’s chest in a rhythmic pattern. Each moment felt like an eon of deafening noise with an undercurrent of cold air making him shiver uncontrollably. On the off-chance he stopped, it was only to fill the corpse’s lungs with the air of his own.
As the minutes dragged on, Beef was losing his patience. His arms got tired, his breathing coming out in heavy huffs. Quitting was inevitable, but so was the disappointment from the conscious survivor.
“Breathe, dammit!” He half-yelled, half-bellowed into the salty air, pounding on the lifeless man’s chest like a drum.
By some miracle, the man beneath him rose with a start, snapping open his eyes with a cough that clapped in everyone’s ears like thunder. Beef flipped him over onto his side, allowing him to purge his lungs of the briny water.
Beef couldn’t help but feel a tinge of empathy. He looked so small, so thin, like a young child who was sick with a bad flu. Beef kneeled next to him, patting his back with every movement until the water stopped pouring out of his salt-coated lungs and he could finally take in oxygen.
“There we go.” Beef reassured the smaller man as he coughed and wheezed, patting his back to help him cough out any extra water. “That’s it. Just keep breathing. You’re safe now.”
There was a word, a whispered expression of praise that fell out of his rescuee’s mouth, but it sounded too unfamiliar for him to interpret. Beef concluded that it was a thank you of sorts.
“KERALIS!”
A familiar voice shouted, running into Beef’s rescuee with all the grace of an overprotective mother, cloaked in the large, dirty blanket Etho had held onto for years and years. He wrapped Keralis up in it, staying close as he sat down next to him.
“Bubbles, I—"
“Don’t you dare do that to me again, okay?” Keralis’ friend cut off his suave voice, putting both hands on his cheeks and forcing him to stare into his sorrowful eyes, leaking with tears. “I thought I… I thought I lost you… I thought you were…”
“I know, I know.” Keralis tried to comfort him, but even words couldn’t comfort his trembling concern. “I didn’t mean to. Papa K would never try to leave you.”
“Of course not, you idiot!” The man threw out his arms and tightly hugged Keralis, trying to halt the tears that just kept coming as he let out a rueful laugh, which Keralis joined in as well.
As he took a few seconds to breathe, Beef couldn’t help but notice that familiar voice. A voice that carried like the scent of flowers through the air, mixed with a kick of something sharp and pungent.
But Bdubs was dead.
He died a long time ago. Died by Beef’s hands, alone and in pain, licked by the fire and flames he fanned across the jungle. There was no way he was alive.
He couldn’t be here. Not in front of them.
But he was.
“Bdubs?”
Etho’s voice carried all the sorrow and grief that Beef was feeling. Yet, under the heartache, there was a spark of relief that roared with joy
The shortest man on the island turned his head instinctively. Beef could see his dark brown eyes, with new specks of something green and purple inside them as a reminder of whatever he went through. A red headband covered his forehead, a sloppy attempt to cover a small scar cutting his eyebrow in two, barely missing his eye.
It was Bdubs in the flesh, sitting right in front of them. Changed, but still himself.
Etho didn’t wait. He rushed over, grabbing Bdubs like a hawk with a rabbit as he squealed. Half in surprise, half in joy.
“Etho! Let me go this instant!”
Etho just chuckled back. “Nope, I don’t think I will.”
Bdubs squirmed like a puppy being held, limbs flailing about before he succumbed to Etho’s tender embrace. He still wore a grumpy face as Etho rubbed his cheek against his back. Despite the resistance, Bdubs didn’t shy away from it.
Beef looked at the pit just a few meters or so away from them, the only reminder that Hypno was actually there. Not a dream, not a hallucination, but there in person.
It was completely untouched, not a stone out of place. It stood still like a monument to a lost civilization, telling a story that others couldn’t. Beef knew the story, even if some of the details were a little different than Etho’s retelling.
“Hey!”
A loud voice caused Beef to jolt. He turned in the direction of the voice calling him and saw Bdubs’ wide eyes staring at him.
“Get over here and give me love, you stupid cow!”
Getting up off his knees, Beef charged at his two old friends. He threw his arms out, grabbing both of them tightly. Keralis grabbed onto Beef’s shirt, dragging himself upwards to join them.
No matter what, they had each other now.
~~~~~
By the time the quartet got back to the small underground chamber, the rain was still coming down heavily. Droplets dripped from leaf to leaf as animals were stirring underneath the dry shade. All four of them had started to dry themselves off in the den, trying to ignore their wet clothes that dragged them down like chains. It was hardly enough to hold all of them, but by some miracle, it did.
In the dryness of the natural shelter, all four of them huddled together for warmth. Beef sat in the dim light, letting Keralis use him as a pillow. He wrapped himself up in Beef’s warm apron, sheltered in the den before the storm hit and soaked the clothes on his body. Keralis sprawled out in a worn-out haze, smiling as he put his head next to Beef’s bare chest. A hand gripped onto his scarred shoulder, calloused but gentle.
The scars. Reminders of a deep-rooted friendship and all the sacrifices that went with it. Beef never liked them, even for a moment. He hated the feeling of wet clothes on his back, but he hated remembering those scars even more.
Trying to tear himself away from his thoughts, Beef looked on the other side of the narrow, sheltered space. Bdubs was small enough to squish in, leaving enough room for Etho to sit comfortably, sticking his head out to keep an eye on the untrustworthy world. Bdubs had taken off his shirt, replacing it with one of Etho’s dry ones that was tucked away in his bag. He latched onto Etho like a koala on a tree, refusing to let go.
The den was oddly quiet. The only sound that came from the claustrophobic hideaway was the chorus of heavy, fatigued breathing.
Beef stared at the wall beside him, noticing little scratch marks in the rock and dirt. They looked like the claws of a small creature, not much larger than a cat. Beef’s mind drifted to Max and how he must have made a home here with Hypno at some point. Either that, or there was another creature lurking on the island that he didn’t know about.
“So, what are you doing here?”
Etho’s words cut through Beef’s thoughts like a knife. Something more curious bled from that wound, gushing like thick tears. The cut led to more questions, more thoughts about how he could have survived, but they all came up blank.
“Trying to find season seven.”
“Seven?” One of Etho’s eyebrows rose in disbelief.
“Yeah, season six ended a few days ago. We were all headed towards the new season when the storm hit. We tried to dock the boat with the others, but—”
Beef’s ear twitched at the mention. “The others?”
“The hermits. You know… Cleo, Scar, Xisuma. Those guys?”
“Yeah, I know them.” Etho just chuckled along. “We’re not stupid.”
Beef pointed toward the hermit lying on his chest, like an overgrown cat. “Then, who’s this little guy?”
“That’s Keralis. He’s an old friend of the hermits. I think he left before you came along.”
An old friend?
Beef had seen old photos around the bases of the other hermits. Some of them were in scrapbooks, others in fancy frames. There were plenty of faces he had seen before. Not in real life, but in those photographed memories of hermits from seasons past. They rarely discussed the missing hermits, almost as if the memories were too difficult to regurgitate in front of new members.
So that’s where he knew him from!
“I remember him.” Etho turned back toward Bdubs, slightly readjusting so he could get somewhat comfortable. “He’s Xisuma’s friend, right?”
“Boyfriend…” Keralis corrected them with a mumble as he readjusted, rubbing his face deeper into the old, dirty apron.
“Yeah, I would say they are a little closer than that.” Bdubs just scoffed as if it was an inside joke of some sort. “You should have seen us last season. Made our own cooperation and everything.”
“You would have liked IDEA.” Keralis butted in, slightly more awake as he blinked charmingly at Beef. “We would have loved to have another strong, burly man like you in it.”
Beef’s skin went as red as a salmon at Keralis’ romantic passes. “Uhhhh…”
“I would love to hear about where you two have been.” Bdubs asked cheerfully. “I was wondering where you went off to last season.”
Beef’s mind completely shut down.
He couldn’t tell Bdubs about the fire, the way it crackled and burned relentlessly on dry wood and dead underbrush, spreading out to all corners of the jungle. He couldn’t tell him about the dreamy look in Etho’s eye as he was caught under the same spell, forced to be dragged back from the edge before it was too late.
Beef couldn’t tell him, so he didn’t.
Etho was just as quiet, but he seemed to catch on to Beef’s small gesture.
“Bdubs, we…” A throat-clearing cough penetrated the silence. “How much do you remember from before that season ended?”
“Not much.” Bdubs scratched his head. “Just leaves and vines and such.”
He couldn’t remember. Good.
Etho let out a long, ragged breath. “Then I guess you’re not missing much.”
“What do you mean?”
We couldn’t find you.” Words tumbled out of Beef’s mouth. “The jungle was too dangerous. We… had to leave before it took the rest of us.”
Beef left a lot of stuff out.
All the fighting, all the flames, all the isolation. Night after night of replaying memories, wondering if the others would even remember them. Hunting for food, even if it was barely enough. Trying to survive on what meager supplies they had, waiting for the next setback.
Bdubs didn’t need to hear that.
“So you two have just been alone this entire time?”
Etho was the first one to speak. “Pretty much, yeah.”
Another lie. Another secret to keep under wraps.
Beef’s eyes landed on a tuft of moss, untrampled and perfectly round. There was a shell on it, colored with bright golden hues with a few stripes of black. He vaguely remembered putting it down just before the population on the island doubled. A small reminder of what was lost.
“How’s Doc?” Etho’s voice grew quiet, almost a whisper in the wind. “Is he okay?”
The den went quiet once again, nothing but the raindrops filling in for where voices should have been.
“We…” Bdubs started, but then paused, not knowing how his words were going to land. “We have something to say about Doc.”
Beef’s ears perked up, listening closer. “He didn’t leave, did he?”
“No, it’s something… something far worse. We aren’t sure what happened to him when we were gone, but… he wasn’t the Doc I knew."
“I’ve noticed things about him when I was at his base.” Keralis added, his voice still sore from almost drowning. “Things that don’t seem normal. Potion bottles scattered all over the place, talking to people who aren’t there, mistaking hermits for ghosts. It was… an awful sight to see.”
“Yeah, and…” Bdubs paused to take a breath. “Doc said something about us before they moved on to the next season. He said something like… we abandoned him.”
Of course Doc would say that.
That was their last interaction. A simple fight, words exchanged like blows from a sword. Two opinions, both difficult decisions made on a whim.
Beef thought about his friends. Doc only thought about his server.
“Abandoned him?” A sudden anger overcame Beef, jerking him upright instinctively as he nearly hit his head on the rocky ceiling above him. “He abandoned us! He didn’t even bother to look for you!”
“You’re right.” Bdubs just replied defeatedly. “I don’t think either of you would abandon anyone. I just think Doc has his own problems he needs to work out.”
“Yeah, but he’s got Shashwammy and Ren.” Keralis reminded them. “Also, that new Brian guy, but I don’t think he likes him very much.”
“Shashwammy?”
“Xisuma.”
“Oh, gotcha.”
Beef looked up towards the sky as the other castaways talked to each other. He noticed that the rain was starting to slow down, but the storm was still there. He watched the drops fall solemnly, his heart still pining for someone who wasn’t there.
Doc?
Hypno?
Any other hermit?
He wasn’t sure.
Something thumped against Beef’s leg, jolting him back into the den. He turned his head towards Bdubs, using Etho more as a pillow. His vest, once sprinkled in rain, was starting to dry.
“Do you think they would even want us back?” Beef spoke out in the absence of sound. “Like… don’t you think they’ve already moved on without us?”
“I’m sure they’d want you to return.” Keralis responded, wide eyes gleaming up at him. “There are hermits who left seasons ago that Shashwammy still talks about fondly. We’re not the only ones.”
That seemed to raise his spirits, if only for a second.
“I’m sure one day, we’ll meet again.” Bdubs’ voice became hauntingly dull, almost as if it was chased by a shadow they couldn’t see. “I don’t want to leave them behind, not like this.”
“I understand, buddy.” Beef nodded, his voice becoming somber as well. “I miss them, too.”
The rain continued dripping like water from a leaking faucet. It had gotten slower, but none of them dared to leave the shelter they found until it stopped altogether.
For the first time in months, Beef finally felt like he was home.