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“Goodbye Grizzly.” He’s not sure why he ever said goodbye in the first place, his words would only fall on empty ears. And yet as the ground was destroyed and Grizzly stole one last look at him, a pleading look of a brother who was wishing that he would catch him － that he would catch his brother and save him like he used to. But Charlie didn’t take his hand.
The levers to bring him back were destroyed, there was a hole in Molympus, and there were only three gods, instead of four.
And then there he arrived, looking at his brother, into those same eyes that, not so long ago, had begged him to save him, but now only had a look of distaste and hatred. And that was his fault, Charlie knew. It was all his fault.
And then they fought, and he..he was gone. Just like that, It almost seemed too quick, too surreal. But he wasn’t there anymore. And the levers were gone, so there was nothing they could do but bury the body and defeat the game.
And….make a good grave. Just for him.
---
It’s a rainy day.
Charlie likes the rain. It reminds him of when his brother, his friend was still alive. The cold, calmness of the water pressing against his skin and dribbling off, enough to disguise the tears that had spilt not that long ago. And it was raining when Grizzly gave him a poppy. Something oh so memorable.
It’s a bit of a walk to the grave, not that Charlie minds. It’s not like there’s much to do these days, with Bizly, Condi, and him all feeling rather lost, so a walk is nice.
Charlie takes his time to get there, Grizzly was a patient person, so he knows he’ll patiently wait for his brother. Charlie never took too long, after all.
After a while, he finally arrives, seeing the poppies decorated around his grave, the very same thing he’s holding. The rain adds some welcomed dew on top of the flowers, and it gives Charlie a bit of happiness in knowing that the poppies will stay alive longer with this thunderstorm going on.
Charlie takes a seat. The grass is wet, soaking his clothes a bit, but he doesn’t mind that either.
And Charlie takes a look at Grizzly’s grave, as if he’s looking into those eyes again. And he swears, he can see Grizzly for just a second, but when he takes a closer glance, there’s nothing there.
“Hey...Grizz. I brought you a poppy, you know...I thought I’d return the gift.” He mumbles, placing the poppy on top of the grave. “I miss you a lot. I’m...I’m sorry I didn’t take your hand.”
Charlie knows he should’ve, he should’ve taken his hand; he shouldn’t have even banished Grizzly in the first place. All because of a damned diamond pickaxe.
What a stupid fucking thing to get upset over.
He feels selfish. He never considered for a second that maybe...he had made mistakes too. But no, he was the leader, so he decided to be both the leader and the punisher.
Bizly accepted his fates, his small chair in Molympus. Condi didn’t really have any fates to go against, and Grizzly fought back, he always fought back.
And rightfully so. Charlie knows that, if he were in Grizzly’s situation, he would’ve fought back too.
Charlie begins to wonder. How come, when Charlie had made it impossible to craft, to do practically anything, why was Grizzly in a grave instead of him? It doesn’t make any sense. Everyone made their mistakes, yes, so why did only two members of the family get punished?
Charlie knows why. It’s because of him .
What a fool .
“Grizzly...I wonder...if you think that maybe, I should be a grave instead of you, sitting here, in the rain.” He tells his brother. There’s no response, but Charlie isn’t sure he would even want one. He’s certain he knows the answer too, at least, the answer he would give. Which is, yes, he should be there.
And Grizzly should be alive. And yet the lever is gone too. Another thing to add to Charlie’s list of faults.
These were huge mistakes, and yet...Condi and Bizly never punished him for them. Why?
Charlie clutches the grass tightly, tears spilling down his cheeks. Why did they never punish him? Why was Grizzly dead instead of him? Why was he such a fool, why was he never a good enough brother, why was he SUCH A FAILURE ?
He doesn’t know. No one does.
He sobs and breaks down, falling into the grass. He can’t hear his cries over the sound of the wind, he can’t hear anything except the rain.
There’s nothing to do except sit there and wallow in the rain. He allows every tear to spill, angry and sad alike.
“I’m so sorry.”
It’s not enough.
He’s not enough.
---
Charlie finds himself in a bed. The rain has stopped, the tears have dispersed, and Charlie takes in a breath. He goes to sit up, he goes to continue on, to visit again, to talk to Grizzly, but he only finds himself burying himself further into the blanket.
Grizzly can’t possibly want to see him. He can’t want to see his brother who banished him, hurt him, and...who...who killed him. Who ruined his life.
Everyone makes mistakes, Charlie remembers again.
But all of the mistakes he’s ever seen were fixable.
This was not.
There’s nothing to do but mutter a silent goodbye.