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A new game had started.
Their alliance was official an hour or so into the game.
Team T.I.E.S., they’d call themselves. Tango and Impulse were together from the start, exploring and getting their starting equipment together, with Skizz joining in soon after. They had looked into each other's eyes as the boogeyman was chosen, trusting each other to not kill each other. Etho had hovered around them too, eventually joining their alliance.
They continued their startup. Collect resources, get some cows, get some food, the basic stuff.
The three had left Skizz alone for just a short while, trusting him to be fine. And in that short while, a bunch of their starting work had been undone. Their cows were killed, and so was Skizz, twice. A massive chunk of time stripped from him before the game even fully started. And despite that, he was so full of love to give. Towards his teammates, towards the people that had killed him. He truly was an angel, both in appearance and in behavior. All forgiving in the end, his grudges short lived.
He and Impulse truly were yin and yang, balancing each other out. Where Impulse lacked, Skizz shined brighter than the sun.
Skizz had continued on after his deaths as if nothing happened. The group continued gathering resources, and even attempted to find some new cows. Later, they even decided to go caving for a bit to get iron for gear. Here, Impulse shared his first death — a creeper explosion — with Skizz. Sure, Skizz had died before, but still. Impulse’s first death was with Skizz. It was Imp and Skizz in both life and death. And still, Skizz didn’t seem to mind.
Forced back to the surface, they decided to call it a day on caving and mining; they’d either leave it to their teammates, or wait until another time.
No matter how much the team tried, their cows ended up dead. Burned, suffocated, slaughtered, it didn’t matter, these cows always found a way to die. Team T.I.E.S. was really bad at keeping cows.
Just to be sure of no repeats of the past, Impulse had given Bdubs a clock. A clock, the biggest token of loyalty for Bdubs. Hopefully this time, he’d honour it. Hopefully this time, he wouldn’t lose it, accept it again from somebody else, and betray Impulse again. A lack of trust on Impulse’s side, sure, it was a grudge long held. But Bdubs never even tried to apologise for his actions. He showed no remorse, he just saw it as a part of the game, and that was that. Their alliances meant nothing to him, he’d rather get a clock. When Impulse mentioned it upon handing him the new clock, Bdubs had treated it like a joke. Was Impulse nothing more than a joke to Bdubs, even after Double Life? Did he mean so little to him?
It was always a clock ruining everything for Impulse. He was never going to escape it, was he? It all came back to clocks.
Tick, tick, tick. You’re wasting time. Time is passing by while you worry endlessly over other people, or over nothing at all. Tick, tick, tick.
This whole game was a clock. Constantly ticking, constantly reminding Impulse of how little time he had, constantly reminding Impulse that every moment standing around was a moment wasted. Tick, tick, tick, he wanted to tear his skin off. The clock was driving him insane already. The ticking was overwhelming his every thought, even though it was still so quiet.
He’d silently pray for the ticking to stop during the first night.
Of course, nothing happened, and Impulse was forced to deal with the ticking. The maddening ticking, reminding him of the time he wasted while sleeping, while eating, while taking care of his basic needs. Yet he couldn’t just not do any of that, his team needed him. Tick, tick, tick.
┊ⴵ┊
The next day, the team held a team meeting. Of course they did. It was something that made them feel at least a bit more functional as a team that was a little too good at dying. Speaking of dying..
Why was Impulse so nervous about Skizz potentially turning on them the moment he hit yellow? Skizz was his friend, the one he could trust the most. Why was he so paranoid? Skizz wouldn’t hurt him.
Right?
Right. Of course not. Impulse and Skizz knew each other better than anyone. They could trust each other. They’d never turn on each other. He was just being overly anxious.
The team had decided to try and loot the Woodland Mansion, in hopes of getting a diamond block that was apparently present there. A diamond block they had no guarantee of getting. Was it even there in the first place? Someone else probably already got it, if it wasn’t all a lie to begin with. What a waste of time. Tick, tick, tick.
By the time they arrived at the Mansion, they heard screaming from inside. Was this really a good idea? It wasn’t. Impulse knew that, and he was proven right pretty fast. Because a few moments later, the screaming had stopped, and their communicators buzzed.
Grian was slain by Vex
SolidarityGaming was slain by Vex
They both wasted a part of their limited time trying to get something they had no guarantee of finding in the first place. And they had nothing to show for it except for another bit of time gone in an instant. It wasn’t worth going in there, Impulse was more than sure of that now.
Thus, the team decided to retreat back to base. Precious time wasted. At least they prevented a whole chunk of time being flushed down the drain in an instant for no reason, which was somewhat of a relief at the very least. But it would’ve been better if they never went in the first place, and Impulse knew that.
By the time they got back to base and decided on a plan — Impulse was going resource gathering. Nothing more important than getting resources. Especially when your time is limited. Get supplies before anyone else so you don’t miss out later. — another boogeyman was picked. Who it was, not a clue, but it wasn’t Impulse, something he was very happy about. He didn’t have to deal with the threat of losing a massive chunk of time in one go. One less thing to worry about in a sea of worries. Tick, tick, tick.
┊ⴵ┊
Etho had come to their base with Cleo and Scar, talking about an alliance. Impulse wasn’t sure about it all. Sure, he could trust Cleo. But her teammates were Bdubs and Scar. Were either of them going to stick to the alliance? Impulse didn’t trust them. Not one bit. Yet he remained silent. Arguing would only be a waste of time. Tick, tick, tick..
In the middle of the meeting, he noticed Skizz change. He had entered his yellow life. His time was running low already. The leader of their group was already openly closer to death than anyone else. Would the other teams think they’re weak? Are they going to be an open target now? By rule they weren’t allowed to attack yet. But they still looked weak and vulnerable, right? Impulse was sure of it. People were waiting. Survival of the strongest, and it was not looking good for his team right now.
As much as he disliked the idea of calling them allies, their new alliance had brought them cows which took him out of his thoughts. These were cows that, hopefully, wouldn’t die within minutes. While he still didn’t trust Scar or Bdubs, at least the team had cows again. Now they had both cows and chickens — leather and feathers. Perfect. Materials for books and arrows — things to make them stronger, to prove they weren’t weak. To prove they were capable of surviving. That their time wasn’t just up for grabs, ready to be killed off whenever someone needed extra time. Tick, tick, tick.
Once their allies left, they had gone back to their normal plans. But of course, it didn’t take long for Scar to return to their base. Soon after Impulse was finished building a little bit of protection around their newly obtained cows, he could hear Scar calling for Etho. Impulse had come up to the surface to check up on the situation as fast as he could. Why did he ask Etho to build a TNT cannon for him. Was he planning to blow up team T.I.E.S. when it seemed convenient to him? Was Scar using the Bad Boys building a bridge towards his base as an excuse? Why did Etho agree? Was he not aware of the potential danger to his own team? Did he not care? He agreed to building a weapon of destruction for a single diamond and a hug. Traitor.
At least Tango was loyal. He was spending his short, precious time building a home for the team. He didn’t agree to build something for other teams, like a proper teammate. He even decided to build faster upon seeing the Bad Boys building a bridge. Sure, maybe the Bad Boys were actually a threat, but that didn’t make Etho less of a traitor.
After all, Etho, first and foremost, was a survivor. He was a survivor who allied with whoever he could to stay alive. T.I.E.S. was simply his alliance for now, with the first best people he found that accepted him.
┊ⴵ┊
Why was Scar near Impulse’s mine, looking for Bdubs? Sure, Cleo was with him, but still. One traitor was looking for another traitor, who was now apparently picking a fight with Skizz again. Skizz, his poor teammate and friend who had so much of his time stripped from him already. Had Bdubs not taken enough time from him yet? Why were they even looking for Bdubs in Impulse’s mine? He just wanted diamonds, Bdubs wasn’t here with him.
They told him Bdubs had a bunch of diamonds already. Of course, Bdubs had diamonds for their whole little trio. He’d do everything for his team. Just to rip out their hearts and betray them later, when it was convenient. Or did he only betray people who meant well? Did he only betray those he deemed less than him?
Of course, soon after those two left, Impulse almost burned to death. Was it a sign of bad luck?
Almost right after, he heard Bdubs. His burning truly was a sign of bad luck. Why was Bdubs here? Was that why Cleo and Scar were looking for him in Impulse’s mine? Had he been lurking here the whole time, waiting to watch Impulse die?
Food. Impulse needed food. A waste of time, yet necessary now. Otherwise, he’d waste a whole bit of time over something that could easily be prevented. A little bit of time wasted is better than a whole chunk of it wasted.
Bdubs gave him wheat for bread. So he could regain health. Why? Why give him a way to live? Was he being nice again, just to kill him later when his guard was down? Impulse had made that mistake before. He wouldn’t let that happen. Not again.
He had reminded Bdubs of the clock again. The clock Impulse had given to him. Not anyone else. Impulse. A sign of trust and loyalty.
Bdubs had confirmed he remembered the clock (why wasn’t he keeping it on him? What if it got stolen again? Not again, no no no no no anything but that again.), thankfully. So he wasn’t here to watch Impulse die. He was here to tell Impulse about the fight he was going to have with Skizz.
Of course Bdubs was going to fight Skizz. Of course he laughed, saying he’d kill him even if he started at a disadvantage. Of course. Bdubs took pleasure in killing Impulse and his allies, didn’t he? Of course he did. And he’d treat it like a joke, nothing serious, as if he wasn’t stealing the precious little time they had. Tick, tick, tick.
Impulse was very glad when Bdubs left again. Impulse himself had enough experiences with death for one day, and decided to head back to the base.
┊ⴵ┊
Scott had visited the T.I.E.S., reminding Impulse of the boogeyman still walking around. Lurking. Stalking their prey, waiting for when they would attack, stealing precious time from an innocent victim. Scott was friendly, right? He wouldn’t attack Impulse. Not yet, at least. If he was here to kill Impulse, he wouldn’t have mentioned the boogeyman to begin with.
It reminded Impulse of Bdubs. Was he down there in an attempt to catch Impulse off guard and kill him? Surely not, right? He had the chance to kill him. And he hadn’t. Was he playing with his prey, or was he actually in the clear this time? Impulse had no idea. But he hadn’t been killed. Thus, the thought was shelved. For now. Bdubs was, in the end, still a traitor that took way too much pleasure in killing his allies, and Impulse wouldn’t forget that.
Before Impulse could worry about Bdubs or the boogeyman any more, the Bad Boys came to visit, requesting four pieces of gold for a lifetime supply of bread. Food was a waste of time, sure, but the sooner they were gone again, the better. Thus, Impulse handed them four of the gold pieces he had on him. They accepted it, handed him a bunch of bread and told him he could come for more whenever, before heading off again.
Why they needed gold, Impulse wasn’t sure. But at least they had left again, Impulse didn’t lose any more time than necessary, and he got some food out of it. He didn’t need food, it was a waste of time, but maybe his teammates could use some.
Once the Bad Boys had left, Scott, who gave them some gold too and now also had a lifetime supply of bread, announced he was leaving too. So, with nothing left to deal with, Impulse went back into their base, and took care of their crops.
Inside of the tower, Tango was cracking chicken eggs, trying to see if any of them would produce another chicken for their farm. He was wasting his precious time trying to help his team. Like a true loyal teammate would. Tango was trustworthy.
Unlike others.
┊ⴵ┊
Skizz managed to get himself a set of almost full diamond armour. A good use of time, seeing as he had already lost so much of it. Hopefully now, he’d be just a little bit safer.
The entire team (even Etho, surprisingly) had gathered in the base. The Bad Boys gold situation was brought up, and it seemed like the group agreed they were likely making powered rails. But why? Why would you need those now already? Were they so set on robbing t-
Bzzt. Bzzt.
GoodTimeWithScar blew up
ZombieCleo blew up
..Ah.
At least it wasn’t Impulse, or his teammates. At least one traitor lost time.
Yes, they gave gold to someone just for them to blow their (for now) allies up, but nobody had to know that. Besides, the boogeyman was now out of the way. The constantly lurking threat of losing a big part of their time in one go was gone.
So, team T.I.E.S. continued their day.
┊ⴵ┊
Soon enough, the fight between Bdubs and Skizz had come. Of course most people were cheering for Bdubs. Of course they’d want Skizz to lose. It’d be funny, driving a man with nothing but love for others closer to his death. Of course. The traitors.
Thankfully, Skizz had won. Sure, he had better equipment, but did that really matter? He gained some time back, and the traitor was knocked down some time. A little bit closer to his death. The death he deserved after everything he had done.
Why did Skizz want a private moment with Bdubs? It’s not that Impulse didn’t trust Skizz. It was just.. Bdubs. What if he decided to betray Skizz’s trust too? Impulse didn’t want Skizz to get hurt. He already had less time left compared to everyone else. He didn’t want to lose Skizz already.
┊ⴵ┊
Impulse had decided to spend some of his precious time mining for diamonds. It was a long trip, which gave him lots of time to think. In the end, he ended up with 8 diamonds, and a little more worried around people.
Eventually, he returned to their base, which was empty except for their animals and crops. And Tango, who was looking through some chests. He seemed pretty focused and didn’t even notice Impulse sneaking behind him. Not until he said hi at least. It startled Tango so badly, the poor man jumped back and almost fell into the campfire.
The sight of it almost made Impulse panic. Fire. Tango was going to burn to death and it was all going to be your fault. You’re about to make him lose a bunch of his precious time. Are you any better than Bdubs, betraying your teammate for a silly joke?
Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. Tango, of course, was a blaze hybrid, and thus didn’t take damage from the campfire. He did, however, take a bit of damage from hitting his head against the wall, which he shrugged off when Impulse asked if he was hurt. He was fine. Despite Impulse’s worries, he was fine and alive.
Not too long after that, Skizz returned to the base.
They had enough materials for an enchanting table, a little bit more safety on their gear and a little bit more power on their weapons. A little bit less chance of losing time when they didn’t need to.
(Of course, Etho didn’t return to the base until there was something to gain. Typical.)
They also had enough obsidian for a nether portal. Impulse, Tango and Skizz decided they were all going to the nether, just in case there was anything useful. Finding soul sand would be most convenient as Tango wanted some for the tower, however they had the misfortune of spawning into a basalt delta. Would this be another waste of precious time? Tick, tick, tick.
(Of course, Etho didn’t join them into the nether. Nothing to gain for him. Typical.)
After a bit of careful exploring and looking around, they found the thing they had come for. Soul sand was thankfully available in the part of the nether they were able to reach.. Unfortunately, they had to make a massive drop down to reach it. And just their luck, a ghast was after them while this all was happening. Skizz decided to fight off the ghast while trading with some piglins, and Impulse managed to safely get down and get what they came for. Tango could have his soul sand for his tower thanks to Skizz’s distraction.
Impulse and Tango spend a little more time looking around in the nether, despite the dangers. It worked out in their favour though, and they found a nether fortress. They decided to explore it, only to find it was possibly one of the worst fortresses ever. Just their luck. More precious time wasted. At the very least, they got a few blaze rods and a little bit of loot they could use.
They managed to return to the overworld without dying. Without losing precious time. But why did Etho not come with them? Even Skizz, with his little time, had joined them on their trip. Did Etho not consider them trustworthy, was he fearing they’d kill him in the nether? Or was he too busy with his traitor friends?
Etho traitor.
┊ⴵ┊
They did manage to return to the overworld without dying. But this wasn’t their base. This wasn’t the secret cave they had dug out for their portal and their enchanting. Why did they spawn back at Bad Boy Manor? Did they hijack their portal for a trap? Are they going to kill both him and Tango? Tick, tick, tick.
Bzzt.
Right. A new boogeyman was getting chosen. Had he and Tango been in the nether for that long? And Etho had not once asked about them. The traitor.
. . . .
He had to kill. He couldn’t lose precious hours. Not now, not like this. He had to kill someone. He couldn’t tell anyone. He could kill one of the Bad Boys right now. They’d understand, right? Joel was the boogeyman last time, surely he’d understand it if Impulse killed him? He had to do it. He had to kill someone.
Their backs were turned to him. He could kill them right here, right now. They’re defenseless. He could get revenge for their cows. Revenge for their cows, and some extra time for himself.
No. He had to wait. He couldn’t kill one of the Bad Boys. His teammates need the food from the lifetime supply of bread. He needed a different target. Or, most importantly, he had to stay calm. He could feel the boogeyman bloodlust and his own instincts rushing through his veins. He had to control them, for now. The time for murder would come later.
Team T.I.E.S.’s scheduled meeting. Right. They said their goodbyes to the Bad Boys before going back to base. Should he tell them? Should he kill one of them? Etho. Etho, the traitor. Should teach him a lesson.
Skizz was discussing Skynet. Tango was listening to him. Etho was taking care of concrete.
Nobody was paying attention. He could kill Etho right here, right now. The traitor would be taught a lesson.
Would that make Impulse any better though? Would that not make him exactly like Bdubs, betraying and killing his own teammates? Impulse didn’t want to sink that low. Stay calm, wait for a better target. Don’t sink to Bdubs’ level.
Don’t hurt Skizz and Tango like that.
While he was deep in thought, Scar came by to visit. He took Skizz to a ‘private meeting’. Why did he want to take Skizz away so badly? Skizz was their teammate, not Scar’s.
Team meetings without Skizz felt wrong. He was supposed to be their leader, and now Scar was leading him to his possible death.
Right. Plans for today. Skizz, once he returned, was going to work on Skynet. The very idea of it scared Impulse. What if he fell off? What if Skizz or Tango fell off? He didn’t want to lose precious time. He didn’t want to lose his loyal teammates. But they needed an advantage, especially over the Bad Boys’ bridge. It was necessary. A bit of time loss was always better than a lot of time loss because they had a disadvantage.
It didn’t take long for Skizz to return, thankfully. Scar didn’t kill him. Not like he had a reason to, but still.
Etho had, surprisingly, made himself useful for the team. His actual team. He found a zombie villager. Impulse managed to cure it and, after a little while, got it to trade enderpearls. This was a way safer way of getting enderpearls than trying to farm them off endermen and risking death.
Even a traitor could be useful sometimes.
┊ⴵ┊
Impulse and Tango decided to do some construction work. Tango was building the tower itself, and asked Impulse if he could make a bubble elevator from the bottom of the tower to the top of it.
While Impulse was working on the elevator, Skizz somehow managed to fall to his death from the tower. How he managed to do that, Impulse had no idea, but Skizz had assumed, for just a moment, that Impulse left a hole in the ground for him to fall through on purpose.
He could claim it as a boogey kill. He could claim it as a boogey kill, cure his curse and claim his time. But then Skizz would lose another extra bit of time, and his team wouldn’t trust him anymore. He didn’t want to lose his loyal teammates.
So, he assured Skizz the hole was there by accident and his own mistake killed him, which Skizz himself ended up agreeing with. Accusing Impulse had been a spur of the moment thing.
Impulse did, despite not claiming the kill, tell Tango he was the boogeyman. Tango was, understandably, nervous at first, but later decided to give Impulse a suggestion. He told Impulse to get TNT from Etho (traitor) and drop it on someone from Skynet.
Conveniently, a bunch of people had gathered for one thing or the other. A perfect chance. One he wasn’t going to waste.
So, he and Tango decided to climb up Skynet, where Skizz happened to be too.
The plan was simple. Impulse drops TNT, and he’d get an easy kill.
When Impulse dropped a TNT off Skynet, people assumed it was Skizz. Perfect. Skizz could help him. Pretend it was him dropping TNT. Innocent Impulse would never, right? Meanwhile, Skizz was yellow already, they’d believe it if he was doing this for time.
Unfortunately, the TNT ended up not giving much result. So when Pearl decided to check matters out on Skynet, Impulse got a new idea. She had come up to them to talk, simply wondering what was going on and what Skizz was doing. She was unaware. She didn’t see it coming. She was so busy accusing Skizz, she forgot Skynet was currently made out of dirt.
PearlescentMoon fell from a high place
Sure, he had made a new enemy. But at the same time, the bloodthirst in his veins had decreased, his instincts had calmed down again, and most importantly, he gained a bit of time. A little longer to live.
┊ⴵ┊
The next day, as usual, they had a team meeting.
Etho, after robbing everyone on the team from their diamonds, had TNT for Tango, and arrows for Skizz. Of course he had nothing for Impulse. The traitor.
Skizz told the team he was planning on making a meeting room. In sight, yet away from everyone so they couldn’t hear what was going on up there, only staring in wonder. Tango would help him with building.
Impulse himself was going back to the nether in an attempt to gather material for end crystals. Time consuming, but it’d be worth it, he’s sure. If he got crystals now, they had good weapons for when wartimes broke out.
Of course, Etho just had to mention alliances. Of course he’s busy with other teams.
Thankfully, Tango and Skizz no longer wanted to be allied with Scar, and so, by association, Cleo and Bdubs. Less traitors to worry about.
Unfortunately, half of the server came into their base not soon after they decided that to use their nether portal. Not like Impulse cared much anymore, the sooner they were gone, the better. Something about going after the Bad Boys, Impulse didn’t care. If they murdered each other out, it’d be less worries for him.
Unfortunately, Bdubs wasn’t here for that, and he wanted to see Etho. Two traitors together, like two peas in a pod. Then again, Impulse, Bdubs and Tango were some of the few remaining greens in the game. So of course people would be out for them. They decided to stick together for a while, trying to defend their time.
Sticking together, however, did not help them much, as the Bad Boys had infiltrated Skynet, and not much later, Tango had been blown to bits. Bits of yellow life. More time stripped from him. And Impulse was next. Could he trust anyone anymore? Bdubs was green, sure, but he never hesitated to betray Impulse. Would Tango and Skizz turn against him too? Was he alone until he inevitably lost enough time to turn yellow too?
Right. His plan. End crystals. Nobody would look for him in the nether, right?
He needed obsidian. And then he needed to get up high on Skynet for a portal that could hopefully get him on the nether roof, where nobody could reach him.
But, of course, nothing ever went to plan for Impulse, and Grian had come to kill him. So, he had to go on the run as Grian chased after him. And somehow, in a strange turn of events, Grian was the one ending up dead instead of Impulse. And Impulse didn’t even have to fight back for it.
After that, the whole game spiraled into chaos. Impulse was constantly on the run, many attempts on his life were made. Some of them even took others out instead of Impulse. Eventually, however, at the cost of two others, someone succeeded at killing Impulse, bringing him down to yellow.
His time. His precious little time, a part of it gone. A part of it gone for no reason other than bloodthirst, dragging others down into the grave with them. The ticking became louder. It hurt. Tick, tick, tick.
┊ⴵ┊
Afterwards, people had decided to hunt Scott. Less death happened with that, and Martyn got the kill. Of course Scott would give his time to a teammate. Then again, in a way Impulse could respect it. Keeping your teammate alive was pretty important, after all. And so, Tango was the last remaining green.
People still had their bloodthirst. They wanted Tango dead.
Impulse, Etho and Skizz had decided that either; Tango has to survive until he naturally turns yellow, or that Skizz slays him so he could get some time back. Once they can find him, that is. The blaze hybrid was a master of fleeing and hiding.
Impulse and Etho had decided to lead the bloodthirsty group to a false location. They simply wanted to waste their time while Skizz tried to find Tango. Tick, tick, tick.
Bzzt.
Tango was blown up by Skizzleman
And that was that. Tango was off green, Skizz had a little more time. It was still a risky move, sure, but better than their precious time going to an enemy.
Grian had declared that, now that all the greens were gone, the time of yellow peace had arrived. And despite that, Impulse could feel himself growing itchier. He needed to scratch his skin off. The ticking, ticking ever closer to his inevitable death, was driving him insane.
┊ⴵ┊
Despite all the chaos, Impulse remembered his plan. He managed to link a nether portal to the nether roof, away from any enemies that’d try to kill them. But when he went to get Tango to show him the portal, he found Skizz and Scott together too.
Scott had taken down Skizz’s meeting room earlier as he didn’t want it above the Coral Aisles, and was kind enough to deliver a housewarming gift for Skizz’s new room, moved to the corner of the world. Sure, Skizz wasn’t happy with his old room being taken down, but at the very least Scott had given him his blocks back. That seemed to satisfy Skizz at least a little bit.
While Skizz was taking Scott to the location of his new meeting room, Impulse had dragged Tango into the nether to show him the roof portal, as well as to plan a ghast farm for end crystals. As they were planning out the ghast farm however, Skizz called them back to the overworld for a meeting.
By the time they arrived in the new meeting room, Etho was still nowhere to be seen. Of course. The filthy traitor was probably busy hanging out with his other alliances.
Skizz decided to start the meeting anyway, explaining how he wanted to blow Bread Bridge up, something Impulse was definitely down for. Weaken their enemies, make them lose. Take away their advantage, take away a source of their food.
Only when Skizz was done explaining did Etho show up.
Except he didn’t come alone, he brought Cleo with him too, despite it being a team T.I.E.S.-only meeting room. Traitor, traitor, traitor, does he not get it? How unloyal can you be?
She even taught her traitor kids how to blow them up better next time, seeing as they failed to on their previous attempts. After that, Impulse had enough, shooing her off the platform.
They went over their plan once again, both so Etho could catch up and so they were sure no misunderstandings would happen. Tomorrow, they were going to blow up Bread Bridge, and nobody would know about their plan before then. It had to be a job done quickly. Of course Etho wanted to tell Cleo. Filthy traitor couldn’t even keep a secret for the team.
Once they confirmed the plan, they headed down into the Crooked Tie Tower again, getting some rest before the grand explosion of the Bad Boys Bread Bridge.
Tick, tick, tick.
┊ⴵ┊
The next morning, Impulse had gone on a small mining trip for some diamonds before their grand plan, and he got just enough for full diamond gear. By the time he was done, Skizz called the team to their new meeting room.
Of course, Etho had brought Bdubs with him. Two traitors together. Out of everyone to ally with, he picked the team that hates the rest of team T.I.E.S., the traitor.
When Skizz asked if Bdubs was trustworthy, Impulse wanted to scream. Of course he wasn’t trustworthy. Bdubs had betrayed him too many times, even as his soulmate. Even with Bdubs as his soulmate, his final death was caused by Bdubs. He hated it. Hated it.
But he kept quiet. His team was already starting to give him stares lately, which he pretended he didn’t see. He didn’t want to get stared at any more.
Before anything else could happen, the boogeyman was chosen, and Tango openly admitted it was him. Not like it mattered, if someone were to get caught in the destruction of Bread Bridge, it’d just be a job done fast. If nobody got caught in the destruction, they could always just resort to murder. Tango would get his boogey kill either way.
And so, they got to work with the bridge. Etho and Bdubs would be on the ground placing TNT, while Tango, Impulse and Skizz made TNT drop from the sky. Not even 5 minutes later, the entire bridge was gone, only small bits of cobble remaining. Unfortunately, no kill in it for Tango, but they’d find a solution to that later.
As per tradition, after the destruction they went back to Skizz’s meeting room. From the little room in the sky, they could see the effects of their work. Oh, how beautiful it looked, blown to bits. Skizz had said it was an act of honour, to make sure the Bad Boys would stop bullying people, which was very Skizz-like.
In reality, for Impulse, he was really in it for the destruction, the grand explosions. Weakening their enemies, making sure they lose time faster. Making sure Impulse, Skizz and Tango had a higher chance at winning.
They realised soon after, however, that their enemies were not happy, and they’d have to go back to their tower now. Just in case anyone wanted to launch a counterattack and destroy the tower they worked so hard on.
┊ⴵ┊
After a bit of hanging around their tower without any attacks happening, they declared the coast clear. Nobody was out to get them, for now. So, they went to spy on the Bad Boys to see their reaction to the blown up bridge, if they could find the trio to begin with.
On the way there, Impulse had decided to shift the idea of blowing up the bridge to Bdubs. If anyone asked, Bdubs had the idea to blow up the bridge, and the T.I.E.S. were innocent. Bdubs wanted to be their ally, so he had to shoulder the responsibility.
Sadly, Impulse’s espionage mission went a bit wrong, as the Bad Boys found him before he found them. So, he decided to enderpearl away the moment Joel tried to hit him off some ladders, before they forced him to lose some time. His time, that was ever decreasing. Tick, tick, tick.
His enderpearl had landed him with Tango and Bdubs, who were just about to head off into the deep dark. They let him join, and once they were in the sculk-covered area Tango located a shrieker at record speed. Of course, he set it off for fun. The blaze hybrid was a bit of a warden enthusiast, but would he really be willing to sacrifice his time for one? Thankfully, the three of them all seemed to share the idea that it wouldn’t be worth it, and the plan was put on pause.
They managed to leave the deep dark again safely, and Bdubs, surprisingly, hadn’t gotten them killed. Hadn’t gotten Impulse killed.
After their trip, Tango and Impulse decided to return to the nether for their ghast farm. Or at least, they were planning to do that, until Tango got an idea for his boogey kill. One that Impulse was all too happy to help with. After all, they had very good and believable bait.
┊ⴵ┊
Once he was back in the overworld, Impulse went to the most likely place to find Bdubs in when he’s not with Etho — the Clockers’ base. Thankfully, the man was home, so Impulse told him to follow. With a genuine reason of course, Bdubs’ dogs were in the nether, and Impulse nor Tango could get him out of there. Not like Impulse cared about his dogs, he just needed Bdubs in the nether for Tango’s boogey kill. Get his friend and teammate some time back. And give Bdubs payback for what he did to Skizz at the start. He deserved to be killed again.
And Bdubs followed him, like a lamb to the slaughter, unaware of what their plan was, all for his dogs.
Impulse guided Bdubs through the nether portal, trying not to show his anticipation. Oh, how he wanted to watch Bdubs die.
Bzzt.
BdoubleO100 blew up
Impulse and Tango’s cheers filled the air of the otherwise silent nether roof, the latter tackling the former into a hug in excitement. The rush of energy between the two was enough to make them both forget the neverending ticking of time, even for just a little bit. Right now, they were two friends who succeeded in blowing someone up.
They did, however, want to explain to Bdubs what had happened, so they went back to the overworld to find the Clocker. But since they were getting shot at the moment they came into sight, they decided to just leave with the confirmation that the Clockers were no longer their allies. Not that Impulse cared, the Clockers had a duo of traitors, having them gone would only be a good thing in the long run.
On their journey back to safety, they came across the Nosy Neighbours, Pearl and BigB. Sure, Impulse had killed Pearl, but the Nosy Neighbours and team T.I.E.S. both needed allies, so they had quickly decided they were allies, at the very least for now. Pearl was trustworthy at the moment, Impulse knew that. She didn’t seem like a traitor unless it was needed for her own survival.
BigB had betrayed once, so Impulse had his doubts about him. However, on the other hand, it was a desperate boogey-driven betrayal. He had done it for a reason, his own survival. Impulse could understand it, but he was still a bit wary of the two of them.
With a new alliance made, Impulse and Tango continued on towards their base. Later into the day, when they ran into Bdubs again, Tango reminded Bdubs of that time he killed Tango and how it was similar to now, so they were even again. Right, Bdubs had betrayed Tango back in Last Life. The traitor couldn’t be loyal to his teammates even if he tried, huh?
After that, the two remembered their ghast farm again, and this time they actually got to build it. No more boogeys, no more wasting precious time. Or that would be the case, had they paid more attention before beginning their build. The farm was built on top of a basalt delta, turning it into a slime farm as ghasts didn’t show up here. So, they got to building a second farm, that did spawn ghasts.
Precious time was being wasted because of a small mistake, and Impulse knew it. The knowledge only became stronger once Grian sent a message about a red lifer now existing; Skizz.
Poor Skizz, who was targeted at the start, was now even closer to death than before. Time was passing too fast. Impulse didn’t want Skizz to die. Not yet. It wasn’t fair. Tick, tick, tick.
┊ⴵ┊
The next day, Skizz and Impulse were at the T.I.E.S. meeting room again. Skizz had told him he had a little less than 3 days left to live — that is, if he didn’t die anymore from now on. And despite that, Skizz told him his only regret would be not spreading enough love. Not that he was going to die, not that he didn’t get to take someone out, no. He wanted to spread love until the very end.
Skizz wasn’t made for this world, a world so set on killing him, and yet he only has love to return. Impulse admired it.
After the meeting with team T.I.E.S., Impulse returned to the nether once again to collect resources for end crystals — this time he needed blaze rods. Despite the danger of fortresses, based on the messages slowly filling the chat, he was safer here than in the overworld.
Which proved to be true; once he returned to the overworld, he encountered total chaos. Reds attacking yellows, yellows trying their best to run, trying to save whatever little precious time they could. Trying to not lose time to bloodthirsty animals.
The day was tough for everyone. The reds were ever increasing as more people died, and they were behaving more and more feral as time went on — meanwhile, Tango and Impulse stuck together, unable to attack. The most they were able to do was build an egg cannon to egg the Clockers’ base, summoning a ton of chickens in the process. A waste of time, yes, but there was nothing else he could do. Besides, it was funny. But still, a waste of time. Tick, tick, tick. He had to helplessly wait as time ticked away.
Except he didn’t get the luxury of waiting it out. People always had to come and steal his time. And thus, TNT was dropped on him once again. This time, only Skizz died with him. Just like when Impulse first died, it was Impulse and Skizz in life and death.
Skizz, who just wanted to spread affirmations in his final bits of time, got blown to bits anyways. The guilt Impulse felt was unbearable, the one teammate he was supposed to protect was dying again.
And then not too long after, he got blown up again.
And then they went after Tango. Impulse wished he could’ve protected his teammate, but he was still on yellow, and he couldn’t risk losing his own precious time either.
And despite that, he was about to become a red lifer.
Of course, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to that, so the moment he turned red he dropped some TNT on two people, giving him some time back.
Now, he went to sleep being one of the two remaining yellow lifers. Tick, tick, tick, time was slipping away faster and faster.
┊ⴵ┊
They started their day with a meeting as usual — minus Skizz. Where their leader was, none of them had a clue. Even without him, they decided that they should stick together as a team as much as possible so they wouldn’t get picked off.
However, death messages started filling the chat before most people had even gone out of their bases. People were already dying, and they had barely even started. What were they doing? At this rate team T.I.E.S. could sit and wait until everyone else takes themselves out.
Despite the option to simply wait, they still went out. They had to. Being in their base was like begging to get killed. Thankfully, they found Skizz pretty quickly, and the team was united. The Bad Boys joined them soon after, and after a bit of explaining and chaos, they made it clear they wanted to hold a truce until Scott was down to red.
Dragging others down into their graves. People were desperate for time, they were scared of their inevitable doom.
It didn’t take long for someone to get a kill on Scott. Despite losing a bunch of time in one go, he was still on yellow.
And Impulse was not. As soon as he hit red he felt his instincts rise up again, similar to when he was the boogeyman. The bloodlust, the need to survive.. It was all present again.
And the ticking got louder. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, the end is nearing. He does not want to die. He does not deserve to die. The ticking drove him nuts, it made him want to scratch his skin off. He couldn’t take it.
And so, he went to hunt. Hunt Scott. Hunt time.
It didn’t take long to find the last remaining yellow. At first Impulse wanted Etho to get the kill on him. But then he remembered. Traitor. Let him struggle. Take the kill. Take the time.
Smajor1995 went off with a bang
And so, Impulse was yellow once again, for just a little while. He had played the kill off like an accident, saying he wanted to weaken Scott for Etho. That was a blatant lie and he knew it, yet nobody else seemed to notice.
After that, surprisingly, Scott came back to them and stuck around. Even gave Impulse some food. He wasn’t sure why, Impulse didn’t feel a need to eat anyways. It’s a waste of time. He had no need for food.
Afterwards, Scott, Tango and Impulse had gone to high ground where they should be safer. They chased the Bad Boys off Skynet through perhaps murderous ways, which brought Scott back to yellow. This didn’t last long however, as they then got caught in a quad kill alongside Etho, instantly taking away the time they gained again. Turns out, one of the bad boys managed to get higher up and took revenge.
And so, all the yellows were dragged down to red, and the server descended into more chaos.
Etho went after Jimmy for his boogeyman kill, while Impulse got himself killed by enderpearling out of Jimmy’s warpath as he tried to scramble together just a little bit more time. The Bad Boy was mere moments away from death, and it showed. Usually he knew how to pick his battles and when to run; now he seemed to blindly attack anyone in a last ditch effort for time.
Jimmy got some time back after killing Bdubs (that little traitor got what was coming for him), but died again soon after. The first person down, met with inevitable death.
After that, it went downhill fast. Both Impulse and his teammates were dying more than they could afford.
And then the inevitable came. Skizz had called the team to their meeting room, and declared he had 24 minutes left to Impulse before the other two reached the meeting room. Skizz, who had nothing but love for his friends, was about to meet his demise.
Impulse had to get time for his friend. The angel didn’t deserve death, not yet. Impulse could get him time, right? It shouldn’t be too hard. Just get someone low, and Skizz does the final blow, easy!
So why was Skizz giving up?
Tango arrived in a hurry, catching his breath from being chased all over the place. Skizz waited just a moment before speaking up.
“Gentlemen,” he had said, “it’s been an honour. I love you guys.”
Impulse wanted to scream at him. It wasn’t fair. The angel was nothing but kind, he didn’t deserve to die. Not yet. It wasn’t fair. He could get more time, right?
“It’s been an absolute honour.”
Tango had tried to protest, yelling, half of his words being a jumbled mess due to emotions.
“My time is not going to anybody else! I can’t get it done, it’s going to one of you. It’s going to the members of T.I.E.S.”
Impulse wanted to cry. He wanted to take Skizz’s hands and murder someone with them himself to get Skizz some time. He wanted to sacrifice his own time for him, his own time that was slowly ticking away out of his control. He’d give it away without a second thought if it meant that Skizz would live longer.
Tango was desperately trying to stop Skizz from doing this. And yet Skizz ignored him, ignored his pleas. He had accepted the inevitable, and Impulse hated it.
“This is my final order. One of you has to kill me now. I just demonstrated I can’t get it done, I cannot get it done.”
“I really thought that if I went nuts I would get some kills, I’m losing every time. I got one kill and then died three times. One more and I’m done.”
Etho had walked in just in time, confused.
“Etho. I’m gonna give you this,” Skizz continued, handing him a bucket with a pufferfish in it before grabbing his diamond axe, “and then I’m gonna ask you to take this axe, put it in your hand, and do it.”
Tango let out a distressed sigh, clearly struggling to stay even slightly composed.
“I love you guys, I do. I have 22 minutes left, and this is my final order. My time will not go to anybody else.”
Tango had lost all his composure, or rather, the little bit that remained of it. He looked like he was about to break down. Impulse couldn’t blame him, he wanted to scream, cry, grab Skizz and never let him go. Despite everything, it still came down to this and Impulse hated it so much. He hated it more than he hated Bdubs and his traitor habits, he hated it more than anything.
”T.I.E.S. gets to the final three. That’s it. Etho, do it.”
Skizz had declared it so confidently. At least one of them would make it to the final three. It was his dying wish. Nothing was honourable about any of this, about how Skizz was hunted down and never got a proper chance of recovering, about how they had to say goodbye to their leader first out of everyone on the team. It wasn’t fair.
Impulse would honour Skizz’s dying wish. He would make it to the final three. No matter how much it took.
And just like that, Etho had sealed Skizz’s fate. Impulse wasn’t sure how to feel about Etho still. He spent so much time with the Clockers, yet he never left T.I.E.S. either. And he honoured Skizz’s final wish. For now, Impulse could keep his grudge at bay. For Skizz’s sake.
And so, the remains of team T.I.E.S. left the meeting room after paying their final respects, and they went to war.
The first people they encountered after going up to Skynet were the Clockers. This was a test of loyalty for Etho.
One he thankfully passed. Etho, Impulse and Tango were all attacking the Clockers; Etho didn’t turn against them the moment his two alliances went against each other. He remembered his day one alliance.
And at the end of the fight between the two teams, Impulse got Bdubs. The little traitor got what was coming for him.
Impulse had, in the chaos, died once more after falling a bit too hard mid combat. Another precious bit of time lost. But at least it was better than Joel, who had been eliminated in between all the chaos, desperately scrambling for time which cost him his life.
┊ⴵ┊
On their last team meeting, Skizz was missing. It felt empty. They were a team without a leader. They decided that they should stick together, get resources and try to gain time. They had to make it to the final three. They knew today was the end. At least one of them had to survive to the top three. If they stayed together, maybe none of them would have to meet Skizz’s fate. At least, not yet. They were still a trio.
Martyn came to visit not long after their meeting ended, suggesting an alliance between him and the remains of the team. Tango wasn’t too happy about it as Martyn had killed him a few times before, yet they accepted the temporary alliance. They needed the extra manpower. Impulse didn’t want to meet the same fate as Skizz. He didn’t want to let his leader down.
With their new allies, they decided to trap the Bad Boys’ new base above Skynet. A simple stalactite and tripwire trap, but it should do the job when triggered.
After they laid the trap, Impulse split off from his team, remaining on Skynet for quite a while to simply observe others. Maybe if he waited long enough, he could find an opportunity to take down their enemies..
And the wait was worth it; an opportunity showed itself. The Clockers were distracted. They were simply standing around, not even looking up. Impulse was able to drop some TNT onto them without being noticed.
ZombieCleo blew up
BdoubleO100 ran out of time!
The traitor got what he deserved. Impulse finally got revenge on him for what he had done to Impulse in the past. And he got time back for it, too. A little bit more precious time. The clock he had given Bdubs at the start seemed meaningless, Bdubs didn’t spare him or even try to ally with him once things went slightly south, and so, Impulse didn’t spare Bdubs either.
After a little bit more chaos of people fighting each other, trying to drag each other down, Pearl announced she had a game for free time. Of course Etho went to check it out. Was he looking for a way to ditch his teammates? Would he rather meet his inevitable doom than be with his teammates?
Impulse decided to join in on watching the game. Just out of curiosity. Pearl had explained the basics of the game; three people got into three separate rooms, two dispensers were filled with lava, one wasn’t. The one surviving person would get as much time back as they would receive for a boogey kill.
It sounded too good to be true, and it was. Because as it turned out, the minigame was rigged from the very start. In fact, BigB was the one pushing a button behind the structures, and all three people were supposed to die. Yet the game malfunctioned, only one person died, and BigB only got a little bit of time back.
And while explaining that, Pearl and BigB were both distracted. Perfect.
bigbst4tz2 was blown up by impulseSV
And then, he had to run. People did not like that, and they were not planning on letting him leave alive.
But, of course, while he was running, while he was separated from his teammates..
Tango ran out of time!
The message made Impulse’s brain stop for just a moment. His teammate, the one who had been alongside him all season, was gone. Just like that. There was no saying goodbye like he was able to with Skizz. There were no last words to honour. Just a message announcing Tango’s death, and another lost teammate. Impulse hated it. He felt hopeless. But he had to keep running, keep running towards possible safety for even a moment.
Tango’s demise made Impulse more aware. Aware of the constant ticking, itching closer and closer, louder and louder, slowly starting to block out other noises as his own demise was slowly creeping up on him. Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick.
Not long after Tango, both Scar and Cleo ran out of time, officially eliminating all the Clockers.
And Martyn had tried to murder Impulse, he tried to kill him through fall damage. His so-called ally, who Tango had warned him about multiple times, had tried and, thankfully, failed to kill him.
So, he ran back to base, back to his only small place of possible safety. Back to his last remaining teammate. Not long after he and Etho reunited, both Mean Gills joined them. Not to attack them this time, thankfully. The four decided to join together at least for now in order to take down the group with the most time — the Nosy Neighbours.
Finding them, for Impulse, was the easy part. He was able to spot them on the highest parts in the sky, unlike the rest of the group. Trying to actually kill them however, was harder.
It was a chase for a while. They went up into the sky, before spying on them back on land.
The nosy trio had gotten themselves into quite a disadvantage; they’d assumed they’d be safe outside the world border — they were wrong, and were forced to either flee or die.
bigbst4tz2 was shot by InTheLittleWood
Grian drowned whilst trying to escape Etho
PearlescentMoon suffocated in a wall whilst fighting impulseSV
More time. A little closer to fulfilling Skizz’s final wish. He wouldn’t let the angel down.
It was clear the Nosy Neighbours were getting desperate once a message popped up in the chat, announcing that BigB killed Pearl. They were running out of time. They were trying to scramble back up, delaying the inevitable that was just a hair away.
The ground knew they had a chance to eliminate them right here, right now. Martyn and Impulse were going into the sky, while Scott and Etho handled things on the ground.
BigB was the first to get a kill between them all, a kill on Scott. The latter clearly wasn’t taking that tho, and soon after, a message announcing BigB’s demise appeared. One less remaining.
Impulse had to meet up with Etho again, now that there were only six people remaining.
Thankfully, his teammate still had an hour left. He had decided to team up with Grian while chasing after him on the ground, and suggested the three of them turn on Scott and Martyn.
Once a traitor, always a traitor.
Of course, with Grian came Pearl, someone who was less than fond of Impulse, clearly. She wanted to kill Impulse, and didn’t hide it. She was just as desperate as her late teammate, though she was a bit better at hiding it.
Before she could kill Impulse though, Etho pushed her off Skynet. Once a traitor, always a traitor, but Impulse had to admit he was quite happy about this betrayal. Etho very possibly just saved Impulse’s life. Team T.I.E.S. had to survive. Team T.I.E.S. was going to survive.
She had 6 minutes left.
Etho and Pearl had agreed to duel. To give her a last chance.
A 1v1 in the same arena Skizz had dueled Bdubs at the start.
But Etho wasn’t as lucky as Skizz, and Pearl got a bit of her time back. Dragging others down into their graves.
Impulse wasn’t as lucky either. Martyn had come for revenge on his betrayal towards the Mean Gills. Impulse had gotten himself in a duel he didn’t sign up for. Thankfully though, Martyn wasn’t as lucky as Pearl, and Impulse got the kill.
More time. Team T.I.E.S. would live on, no matter what. Even if Etho died. Impulse refused to let Skizz down. Something the other two team members clearly weren’t as dedicated to as him.
As the two remaining people in the area, Impulse and Pearl decided to team up. Even if it was just for a few minutes to take Scott down. He had too much time, and he was a good fighter. The Mean Gills were the biggest threat on the server, and they knew that.
So they went back to Skynet for high ground, where they met up with Grian and Etho again. Impulse was so tempted to shoot Grian, take more time, take Grian out.
Before he could though, Grian had slipped off Skynet by himself.
Grian ran out of time!
And so, the Bad Boys were gone, and there were five people remaining. Team T.I.E.S. was close to the final three, just like Skizz wished.
From Skynet, they had their sights on Scott for a while. But just their luck, by the time they were on the ground, he was gone again.
By the time they found him again, Scott was quick to search high ground to meet up with Martyn. Pearl had tried to follow him, but quickly regretted her decision. So the trio went back to the Crooked Tie Tower, trying to get up to Skynet from there.
Unfortunately, the Mean Gills saw it coming, and so they were forced to fight. A fight Impulse died in, and Etho was left alone.
Being alone never bode well for team T.I.E.S.
Skizz had died several times alone, leading up to his demise.
Tango met his demise alone.
And now.
Etho ran out of time!
He was the last remaining member of team T.I.E.S.
He didn’t care anymore. He had to make Skizz proud. And so, he fought. For time, for survival, for team T.I.E.S., for Skizz.
┊ⴵ┊
Impulse wasn’t sure what happened. The ticking was so loud. It hurt. It hurt so much. Make it stop.
┊ⴵ┊
After Pearl ran out of time in a failed attempt to fight the Mean Gills, they were the last remaining three. Scott looked at his two fellow survivors.
Martyn, his ally, who despite everything managed to survive for so long. He had fought and killed so much, his place was deserved.
Although, he did look a bit.. Less sane. The look in his eyes didn’t look quite right.
He was in better shape than Impulse though. Everyone had known that he was slightly off this season, and once Impulse reached yellow, he started becoming even less like himself as time passed. Scratch marks started appearing on his arms, and he seemed to eat less and less. He looked horrible, and Skizz’s elimination only made it worse. Scott swore he could hear Impulse muttering something about the final three under his breath almost nonstop ever since then.
Impulse’s red life really only made his state worse. The scratches became more bloody, and he was so paranoid Scott wasn’t surprised at his feral behavior. It was a surprise the man hadn’t killed Etho. The entire game he was so wary of Etho, most of the people were expecting Impulse to go for his throat at any moment, even Etho himself was expecting it.
Almost everyone commented about Impulse’s state at some point, even those who liked Impulse and his alliance less. They wanted to help him, they really did. Scott himself offered him food, thinking their team might’ve had a food shortage. Yet, Skizz, Tango and Etho all seemed well fed up until their deaths. Was Impulse not eating on purpose?
Skizz did tell him that Impulse said something about eating being a waste of time, at some point. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise Scott anymore.
Now, the three had gathered. Scott suggested a fair fight, all of them down to an hour. No weapons, no armour, fistfighting to death.
He wasn’t quite sure how well Impulse registered any of it though. And he was pretty sure Martyn didn’t care about anything he was saying.
┊ⴵ┊
To say Impulse looked rough was an understatement. As Scott was explaining his idea, Impulse barely seemed present anymore.
Martyn recognised the look well. Impulse’s desperation was at an all time high. It had been building up ever since Skizz’s demise.
Not like he cared though. Desperate or not, Martyn had been planning this betrayal for too long to back out now. First he’d get Scott, who was way more present and sane, so he couldn’t fight against Martyn. Then he’d make easy work of Impulse, surely someone so out of it wasn’t able to hold himself in a fight anymore?
┊ⴵ┊
The ticking was calmer again, similar to how it was at the start of the game. It was hurting his head though.
Why was he so hungry? He had steak in his inventory, awesome.
His arms looked horrible, he noted while eating.
Only when he finished eating did he register anything.
The two corpses around him, the life still leaking out of them. Was everyone else dead? Was he alone?
He was.
He had won, somehow.
He won.
He hurried back to base, to the Crooked Tie Tower. He wasn’t sure how, or why, or when, but he knew the corpses of his teammates, no, his friends, would be there.
And he was right.
Etho’s, close to the enchanter and nether portal he never entered with them. His legs were in a slightly weird position, a result from his demise. His body was still slightly warm, his time having run out more recently. Impulse paid his respects, before moving on.
Tango’s, laying with his chickens, the chickens he spent so much time on. The chickens who were unaware that their caregiver was dead, who were unaware that soon they were the only remaining part of T.I.E.S. alive. His body was colder to the touch and covered in small scars from what Impulse could only assume was his final fight. Impulse rested his hand on one of Tango’s for a while, before looking at the body he had ignored ever since stepping into the base. The body that had been calling out to Impulse the entire time.
Skizz’s.
Impulse hesitated to walk over to it for a moment.
The moment he was close to Skizz’s body, neck having a huge scar on it from his demise, he refused to leave. He couldn’t help but hug Skizz’s stone cold body. It made Impulse shiver, and yet he refused to let go. He was crying. He wanted to celebrate, cheer, tell Skizz he fulfilled his dying wish. He couldn’t.
All that remained was the corpses of his teammates. And a timer that kept on ticking, waiting to drag Impulse down to the demise he so tried to avoid, for himself, for Skizz and his dying wish. This time there was no one to kill, no time to get. All he could do was hug Skizz’s peaceful corpse while waiting for his own demise.
Tick, tick, tick.