Canary's thrill, the first to kill

by smutny_technik

Summary:

(longfic written as a part of an AU called Preservers AU. Not everything depicted will match the series 1:1)

Jimmy is on a brink of despair when faced with the idea of being eliminated first again. He turns to the only beings who can help him, and the Watchers decide to take the canary under their wings.

Notes:

Devil works fast but fanficers work faster :>>
This story is based on that one tiktok of Jimmy praying to the Watchers. This man has no idea what he just brought upon this fandom
This is a bit of an experimental fic. Part 2 will come out after session 5 comes out. I'll try to match what happens then. Unless it won't be fun to write about, then I'll diverge a little ^^
Lemme know what do you think!

Chapter 1: The phoenix

The moment the sun set behind the horizon, the latest wildcard lost its effect and all of the players could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Scar and Lizzie sat around the campfire on the top of Mount Bam, intending to rest after the tiring day. Their teammate was missing somewhere, which they both took notice of right away.

"And where's Jim?" Scar looked around, fidgeting with his hands to release some tension. "I told him we'll be making s'mores tonight! I don't think he'd want to miss that?"

"I dunno, Scar, he acted a little... Weird today" Lizzie pointed out. She started fixing up her hair, pulling out the little leaves that tangled in between it. "I mean, he did kill three people, so good for him, but... I've never seen him like that."

"Oh he'll be fine!" Scar shrugged. "We should celebrate that he's not dead yet! That's weird for him!"

All of a sudden, their teammate repawned on his bed. Jimmy immediately sat up, gasping for air. He looked down at his palms, a faint trace of blood still visible on his skin. He groaned and pulled his hands through his hair.

"Stupid, stupid Martyn..." he growled, falling on his back and trying to calm down his breathing. "Stupid stalagmite pit, stupid spleefin' stupid BigB..."

"Hey, there he is! Jimmy, we're making s'mores!" Scar waved at him. The canary turned towards his teammates, but he still looked as upset as ever. He didn't even seem to hear Scar. "Jim...?"

"I've had enough!" the blond man suddenly yelled, covering his face with his hands. His breathing was heavy and strained. "Why does it feel like everyone is having sucha great time killing me?"

"Hey, you've been doing good today!" Scar turned towards Jimmy with a warm smile, trying his best to cheer him up. "You killed Grian, and Mumbo, and Joel..."

"It's not enough! It's only been a few days, but I've died six times already, Scar! Six!"

"Well, I've died five times already, so you're not doing that bad..." the man nervously chuckled.

"Still! If Ren didn't let me kill him, I'd probably be dead already! I can't keep living like this!"

Jimmy buried his face in his hands, his whole body shaking. Lizzie and Scar looked at each other, then slowly got up from the grass and approached him.

"Hey, Jim..." Lizzie whispered, gently stroking her friend's back. "Don't worry about being eliminated first, okay? We've gotchu..."

"Oh, great. The only person to die first besides me, has my back" Jimmy groaned. His breath hitched the moment he realized what he just said. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Scar cut him off.

"That wasn't nice" he snickered bitterly. "It's not like it matters that much if we die first or not, right...?"

"Scar, you already won one of the games! You don't know what it's like!" the canary shot back again. Yet again, he immediately felt a pang of guilt at his own words - but at this point, he didn't even really care. His clipped wings started trembling from the emotions. He pulled himself up from the bed, turning to his teammates. "You have no idea what it's like to be me! Nobody takes me seriously, nobody who teams with me wants to stay! It's like having a target on my back all the time!"

"Jim, we won't leave you, I promise" Scar also got up, looking up at Jimmy "C'mon, you gotta chill a little... I know you're mad, but it's not gonna help you now..."

"Besides, you're on light green life now, right? So people have no reason to target you right now" Lizzie pointed out. She stood up and put her hand on Jimmy's shoulder.

"Yeah... Tell that to Martyn, who killed me just for fun" the canary chuckled bitterly and moved away from his friend's touch. "I, I... I need to go for a walk. Alone."

"Sure" the woman nodded with a gentle, although worried smile. "Just be careful, okay? We don't want you to-"

"Die first again?" Jimmy finished with a sour expression. Lizzie immediately withdrew, not wanting to upset her friend any further.

"We'll be waiting for ya! Bam!" Scar smiled, raising his fist to the sky. Lizzie followed suit.

"That's right! Bam!" she chuckled, still looking up at Jim. She really wanted to see her teammate to cheer up... But instead, he just looked at his own fist, then hid it in his pocket and stepped away, heading north, away from Mount Bam.

The night was getting colder and colder, and Jimmy's flannel shirt barely covered him from the wind. He shivered, regretting for a moment that he didn't stay at camp. Still, he couldn't come back just yet. He said he needed to leave to go clear his head, and that's what he intended to do. His wings coated his arms, trying to provide him at least a bit of warmth. The man sighed, looking at his cut feathers. Every winged player had their wings clipped, so that they couldn't have an advantage over the others. He missed the feeling of freedom that flying gave him... And it's not like they would help that much, he thought. He was still a miserable excuse of a player, of a Listener, of a-

Suddenly, rustling of leaves interrupted his thinking. Jimmy backed away in a startled manner, frantically looking around.

"Who's there?" he huffed. He tried his best to sound confident, but he failed miserably. He was only answered by a cackle, one that he knew all too well. "It's you, Grain? What do you want from me?"

"Oh, Jim..." the parrot suddenly appeared, hanging upside down from a tree. Playful sparks danced in his dark blue eyes "One thing you're good at is being absolutely pathetic. Keep it up!"

"Why are you here, just to mock me?" the canary sighed.

"I couuuuld... But-" Grian pulled himself up on the tree, then jumped down and landed softly on the grass. He approached Jimmy, spreading his wings as if to appear bigger. "Don't get me wrong, watching you struggle is funny, but it's been a bit... Repetitive. It's not as fun anymore..."

"Wow, thanks" Jimmy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "So you did come here just to mock me."

"Actually, no..."

The canary raised his eyebrow, looking at Grian.

"Then why?"

"Well, I may have a pretty good idea... And you will want to listen" he smiled in his iconic, cheeky, almost wicked way. "I have contacts... I can pull a few strings... Maybe we can figure somethin' out..." he spoke in a slow manner, circling around Jimmy.

"Is this a trick? Wait, of course it is- I killed you today! You literally said that you'll be my enemy now!"

Grian silently chuckled under his breath. Jimmy had a better memory than he remembered... But he still knew how to make his little plan work.

"Well, I will... But before that, I wanna see you succeed at least once. Know the Admin's mercy" he stood in front of Jimmy, glancing at him with a devilish smile, spreading his wings wide. Jimmy flinched when he noticed a few human-looking eyes, opening between the man's feathers. And they were staring right at him.

"Wait... The Watchers call you that" he whispered. "You... Want me to get involved with... Them...?"

"Why not? You're just a Listener, you could use an upgrade, couldn'tcha?" Grian giggled, putting his hand on Jimmy's shoulder. This time, the canary did not move away. He tried his best to not show any emotions, but he was getting more and more interested with each word that flew from Grian's liar mouth. "D'y'know what? We can do that right now."

"Really?!" Jimmy squealed with excitement, but he immediately cleared his throat and added "I mean, uhh... Well, it wouldn't hurt to try... But, how do we do it...?"

"Follow me" Grian gestured at Jimmy, heading deeper into the forest. "I know just the place..."

---

The Pale forest was a creepy place during the day, but it got especially terrifying during the night. The withered, grey grass crunched under their steps. The everpresent fog obscured anything that was further than ten feet from them. At the same time, nobody could see that they entered the area - they seemed completely hidden, completely safe. At least from the other players.

"Are you sure we won't have any Creaking following us?" Jimmy said, nervously looking around.

"Nah, there's no way... BigB and Scott dug out all the creaking hearts in this forest" Grian shrugged. "Besides, you really couldn't handle a single tall lanky guy that only moves when you look at him?"

"No, I don't think so."

Grian chuckled under his breath. Jimmy's helplessness was one of the funniest things in the world for him. He turned to head a bit more north, to make sure they come as close to the world border as they could.

"We're almost there..."

"Why do we even wanna do it here?" Jimmy looked down at him, feeling more and more skeptical with each passing moment.

"So that nobody interrupts us, duh... The Watchers don't like distractions" Grian shrugged.

"Oh, do they? Then how come you're the most easily distractible person in the world?"

"I'm just special " Grian smirked in a teasing way. "On the other hand, shouldn't Listeners be limber and always alert?"

"Hey, I am limber and alert!" the canary groaned. It only caused his friend to laugh even more. Just a moment later, when the world border was barely obscured by the fog, he stopped.

"This is the place... Give me a moment."

Grian broke off a twig from one of the dry, long dead trees. He started drawing a pretty big circle in the ground. Jimmy looked at him, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. He already hated the idea, but he didn't want to speak up just yet. He really doubted that the Watchers would want to help him... The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was likely just another one of Grian's pranks. But at that point, he was getting desperate. He needed to fix his pathetic streak of dying early. Even if being released from the coalmine cost him his canary wings. 

"Oh, one last thing... Make yourself more... Presentable , will ya?"

Jimmy nodded, picking up what Grian laid down right away. It's been a while since he's done that...

He covered his mouth with his hands. Immediately, he transformed from his human body into his Listener form. He didn't look much different - but the Watchers most likely didn't want to see him as a human. His wings shrunk and hid under his yellowish-orange robes. In their place, a long, dark tail grew out of his spine, twisting in the air and nervously twitching. The Listener's robes and poncho covered his body, and a tall collar obscured his mouth and nose. He turned to Grian, who also took up his Watcher form. Despite his eyes being obscured by his lesser wings, he could feel the Admin's stare on him.

"Ready, Tim?"

"Yes. And it's Jimmy, not Tim."

"Whatever. Well, here goes nothing... I wish for judgement on my watchful eyes. "

Immediately, both of them became shrouded in darkness. The Pale forest around them disappeared, even the grass under their feet was no longer visible. Only the circle that Grian drew was somewhat recognizable, as it was glowing with a faint, purple light. Immediately, a circle of humanoid creatures with wings, adorned in purple, appeared around them. Jimmy's tail curled between his legs. He hated the feeling of all of them staring right at him. Even Grian's presence didn't help... Honestly, it probably made it even worse.

" What is it you require, Administrator? "

Jimmy did his best to stop, or at least hide that he was shaking. Only one of the Watchers moved their mouth, but it sounded like all of them spoke at once - their booming voices surrounded them, enveloping them in this unnerving feeling of being cornered. Grian, on the other hand, seemed completely relaxed, even playful.

"Hi guys! I got you a certain Listener, who wants to speak to you..."

" The Canary... What is it you plead for?"

The Listener tried to breathe, but the air felt stale and almost toxic. He hung his head down, hoping that if he begged, the Watchers would actually listen.

"I... I know you hate me, and I may not know why exactly, but... Please... I can't do this anymore... I can't keep dying first..."

" Why is that?"

"W-why? Everyone else gets a chance to compete fairly! And I always end up as a liability! People don't even wanna team up with me! I-" he immediately stopped, then dropped down on his knees. "Please... Whatever this curse is, I need it gone..."

The Watchers didn't move at all at first. Grian started giggling under his breath. He's never seen Jimmy this desperate... And it looked hilarious to him. His plan worked perfectly, maybe even better than he expected... He opened his mouth, intending to reveal that it was all a joke - but instead, his voice synced with the other Watchers.

" Bow to us, Canary. Show your conviction."

Without any hesitation, Jimmy immediately bowed to the ground. His whole body was shaking with fear. He wasn't even sure why he did that... It just felt like the right thing to do. The wings on his back started aching, as if his feathers started to burn. He gritted his teeth, trying to withstand the pain.

"Wait, wait-" Grian spoke up, clearly a bit shocked by this turn of events "I-I was just joking... It was just a prank, and you actually want to help him?"

" You've brought us a valuable asset, Administrator. A truly powerful weapon. Do you want the Alliance to waste it?"

"Wait, what do you mean, 'a weapon'?" the Watcher moved back a bit. Suddenly, it didn't feel like he was in charge anymore. And he hated that feeling. "What are you gonna do?"

" Canary, are you willing to devote your body and your mind to the ones who watch, and be granted their blessing?"

"Wh-wha? O-of course!" Jimmy timidly looked up at the Watchers. "I-I'll do anything! Just please, end this curse! I hate it so much!"

The Listener got up from the ground, despite his mind not wanting his body to move. It felt as if he was suddenly possessed, with someone else controlling his movement. The burning pain on his back became even stronger, but at this point, he didn't even notice that. 

"Wait, wait, stop it!" Grian gasped, his wings puffing up from the fear "What are you doing? You said yourselves you wanted him dead!"

" His curse opened our eyes further, for new possibilities. The possibilities of the harbinger of death, becoming the one who delivers death upon others? Simply wonderful possibilities, endless data to be gathered."

"You can't do that. He's not a Watcher-"

" He is a member of the Alliance. And you've been the witness to someone falling, so now, you will be a witness to someone rising above."

Grian looked terrified. His lesser wings opened, uncovering his empty, black eyes.

"No, no- Don't do it! I make the rules here! I won't let you do this!"

" Canary."

"Yes?" Jimmy looked up at the Watchers. He no longer feared them. He didn't really feel anything at this point. The coldness on his skin no longer stung as strongly - it was pretyt much marginable. 

" Prove your conviction. Kill the Administrator."

"Gladly."

Suddenly, the darkness around them disappeared. The Watchers were still there, watching them with interest. Jimmy and Grian were forced back into their human forms without their own will. Then, without a second thought, the canary lunged himself at Grian, tackling him to the ground.

"Jimmy! Stop it!" the parrot hissed, his arms flailing as he tried to scratch Jimmy. "It was all just a joke! You can't kill me, you're not on red!"

"So what? You break the rules all the time" the blond man huffed, grabbing Grian by the neck. "Why can't I?"

"Quit it! They're not actually gonna help you, I know that! You don't wanna make an-"

"What, an enemy? We're already enemies" Jimmy said, staring right into Grian's eyes as he tightened his grip. He wished he took a weapon with him, it'd be so much quicker to stab him than to strangle him to death... Then, a pit opened in his stomach as he realized what he just thought about. It sounded so awfully cruel... He shut his eyes tight, but his fingers did not loosen around Grian's throat. The shorter man was struggling to breathe, but he was still feisty. With one clean swing, he managed to leave a deep scratch on Jimmy's cheek, just under his eye. Blood immediately gathered in the wound, and the canary tightened the grip.

"Jimmy... Please..." Grian managed to whisper, before his breathing completely stopped. Then, he exploded into a cloud of smoke.

Grian was slain by Solidarity.

 At that moment, he hated himself more than he ever did for dying first. He dropped to the ground, struggling to breathe. The adrenaline buzzing in his veins caused his head to spin and ache. Why did he do it...? And more importantly... Why did it feel so good to do...?

" Very well. Know the Watchers' mercy. "

"Thank you" he whispered, although he wanted to spit out these words right in their faces. His body was no longer shaking. He didn't really feel anything at this point.

" From now, you will no longer be the canary, dying in the coal mine... Instead, you will be the phoenix, rising from the ashes."

---

Grian shot up from his bed with a scream. He immediately looked at his wristband - its strap turned from light green to yellow. He started shaking, the realization hitting him like a bag of bricks.

"No... No no no, what have I done..."

"G? Are you okay?" Skizz sat on his bed and looked up at him. Mumbo, who looked as if he just woke up, also turned towards him.

"Oh, Skizz..." Grian whispered and covered his mouth with his hands. "What have I done... I created a monster..."

"What...? You need a hug, dude?"

Grian immediately hugged his teammate tightly, trying his best to not start crying. Both Mumbo and Skizz embraced him, trying to help him to calm down. 

"There, there, dude... What happened...?"

"Wait..." Mumbo looked at the death log on his wristband. "Did... Did Jimmy kill you...?"

Both Skizz and Mumbo turned towards him. The two were usually pretty playful and relaxed, but at that moment, they both looked dead serious.

"Grian, what happened...?"

"I... I've made a huge mistake" he whispered, trying to keep his wings from shaking, yet it didn't work. "I did something horrible..."

"And that has something to do with Jimmy?"

"Yes, he... Jimmy killed me. And I'm pretty sure I'm not his last victim."

Chapter 2: Spreading his golden wings

Summary:

Jimmy revels in the new abilities that the Watchers granted him. The other players quickly notice that their friend started to change.

Notes:

Sorry I disappeared over the weekend, I was back home for a few days and needed to rest. Even so, I was busy planning out this chapter *and* one more thing you guys might be excited about. But first, this chapter :DD
And before I start, thank you guys SO MUCH for all the support you've been giving me on ao3, especially with this story! Over 10 people subscribed and the first chapter is at almost 150 hits when I'm writing this! I haven't got that many comments, but the ones I got are still incredibly supportive! Thank you so so much!
Please let me know what you think of this one!

"G'morning, Lizzie!" Scar called out to his teammate. Since the sun had risen over the horizon, he's been standing next to the reputation board in the centre of the base. "Hey, what would happen if I removed the sad face on Grian's sign?"

"Why would you?" Lizzie chuckled under her breath, watching as her teammate carefully pondered his choices. "I thought you two didn't like each other?"

"Well, yeah! But maybe he will start liking me again if I remove this sad face?" the man hummed, leaning over the reputation board. "Y'know, we had a similar board back at Monopoly mountain! That's a good memory to come back to" he sighed, pulling his finger over the little frowning face on the sign which had Grian's name and reputation score. "Hey, speaking of sad faces! Where's Jim? He didn't come back for the night, did he?"

"No, he didn't..." Lizzie nodded and looked around, scouting the top of the mountain. "I hope he comes back before the next wildcard activates... We should stick together, right?"

As if on command, they both heard loud flap of wings just overhead. A gust of wind blew around them, enveloping them in a cold breeze. Just a moment later a tall, blond man landed softly between them, folding his big, golden wings.

"Hi guys!" he exclaimed in an energetic tone. Lizzie and Scar both looked up at him in excitement.

"Wow, Jim! You look... Different!" Scar chuckled, reaching out his hand to compare his size to Jimmy's. Usually they were about the same height, but all of a sudden, the canary seemed a few inches taller. "Did you have a growth spurt overnight?"

"Yeah, it seems so!" Jim chuckled and sat down on one of the chests. 

His whole body build seemed bigger and stockier, as if along with about half a foot of height, he gained a few pounds worth of muscles. His small, clipped wings seemed much bigger, and the feathers grew out bigger and shinier than ever - each adorned with a purple brim. All of a sudden, he also had a lesser pair of wings, growing just under his temples - also golden, with a small hint of purple. A small scar marked his cheekbone, as if something - or someone - scratched him, and the wound already healed. Overall, he looked much different to the miserable, lost Jimmy who left Mount Bam the previous evening. 

"Damn..." Scar huffed, turning around to not show the sudden blush on his face. "T-That was a long walk, wasn't it?"

"Yeah! But I'm feeling a lot better, y'know?" Jimmy took off and landed on one of the branches of the nearest tree. 

"And you can fly again!" Lizzie gasped in excitement. "That's awesome!"

"I thought all avian players had to have their wings clipped...?" Scar pointed out with a bit of uncertainty in his voice. Jimmy looked up and down at him, his smile disappearing for just a second. His brown eyes took a bit more rosey-pink tint, until his face lit up again.

"Well, yeah... But until someone notices, I should just make use of these, right?" the canary chuckled. "I can scout the area and nobody will notice me! I could even drop TNT on people's heads!" he suggested, his eyes shining with mischief.

"That sounds a may zing!" Scar cheered, the idea immediately releasing him of all previous worries. "We gotta try it!"

"Guys, we're all on green now..." Lizzie pointed out. "We should probably wait with that, until-"

Jimmy jumped down from the tree and opened his wings, as if to appear bigger. His pointy ears twitched.

"Someone's coming."

Both Scar and Lizzie turned towards the one way leading up to the top of Mount Bam. After just a few minutes, they all noticed Grian, climbing up the stairs. He huffed, his short legs clearly not used to the strain.

"Oh, it's you" Jimmy huffed, his eyes glistening in pink again.

Show him that he should never mess with you again. You're the predator now, Phoenix. Make him the prey.

The man was startled for a moment by the sudden presence of a voice in his brain. He shook his head, then looked back at Grian again. Who did that voice belong to? The Watchers...? Maybe they were just looking out for him, making sure he uses his newfound power effectively? The canary- No, the phoenix took a deep breath, recollecting him thoughts and focusing on Grian. Finally, he had the upper hand.

"Well hello there, Grian!" Scar called out in a friendly tone.

"H-hey, guys..." Grian chuckled nervously. He looked almost... Pathetic, as if he was scared to be there. "Oh, Jim, there you are! Can we talk...?"

"Is there anything to talk about?" Jimmy smiled bitterly and headed towards the parrot. His clipped wings started shaking a little bit.

"Well, yeah! I wanted to, uh, apologize about yesterday... I shouldn't have pulled you into this mess" the shorter man muttered, looking up at Jimmy. His friend was usually the taller one, but now, after Jimmy suddenly grew a couple of inches, he was absolutely massive next to Grian. He could probably break the parrot's arm, if he wanted to. Grian could only hope that he didn't.

"Oh, don't worry, Grian!" Jimmy chuckled and put his hand on Grian's shoulder "You've got nothing to apologize for! Actually, I should thank you!"

"Really...? So that means... We're good now...?"

Jimmy tilted his head, then started laughing. His usually stupid laughter suddenly sounded incredibly threatening, as if he was making fun of Grian's naivety. He probably was. He leaned closer, his lips right next to Grian's ear. Jim gripped his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"For your help, I can offer advice. You better watch. Your. Back. I'll come for you, eventually."

Grian gulped and nodded his head.

"G-got it."

"Awesome" Jimmy growled, then straightened up again and folded his wings. "So, did you need anything else?"

"N-no, no! Actually, I... I need to wake up Skizz and Mumbo" the parrot explained in a nervous tone, backing off from Jimmy. He waved to the other Bamboozlers. "Seeya guys!"

"Bye, Grian!" Lizzie waved back, then looked at Jimmy. "What happened between you two...?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, G looked... Scared. Of you" she added after a moment of hesitation. The phoenix just shrugged.

"Y'know that Grian is weird, right? He's probably just playin' tricks, trying to mess with us... Well, good news! I won't let anyone mess with us anymore! Bam!" he chuckled and raised his fist to the sky. Lizzie and Scar looked at each other, then followed the gesture and the catchphrase. "Hey guys, I'mma go for a fly around the server, 'kay? Just to have tabs on everyone..."

"Good idea! Let us know if you notice anything weird, right?" Scar asked, pointing at their wristbands. Jimmy looked at his own. He only then noticed how the band seemed a bit too tight for his wrist. Even still, he nodded right away.

"Sure! Seeya around!" he said, then opened his big, golden wings and fell down from the mountain.

---

Flying after what felt like ages of being grounded felt incredible. Jimmy almost wished he never had to touch the ground again. The whizz of air in his ears, the gentle tickle of wind in his feathers, the colors of the land mixing in his eyes the faster he was flying - it was a feeling like no other. He took his sweet, sweet time raising high up in the sky, nosediving with incredible speed and picking up his flight just feet above the ground. The air was his happy place, unlike any base and any alliance he ever managed to create in these bloodthirsty games. His wings felt stronger than ever, letting him soar higher, fly faster and limit the need to land to minimum. It's as if this possibility was never taken away from him... There was one change, which became apparent when he flew into the dense forests covering half of the server. He was used to having a much skinnier, leaner physique - so he found himself underestimating his new dimensions and hitting branches and trunks of trees. Each crash against a tree left him a just bit more frustration, slowly boiling somewhere in the back of his head. Still, it was nothing compared to the breathtaking, liberating feeling of being able to sly wherever he wished.

Jimmy finally decided to take a break on one of the trees growing on Renwood mound. He softly sat down on one of the branches, huffing as the strain on his body finally caught up to him. He only then realized that the experience wasn't exactly as he remembered it. There was something different, something... Well, he didn't want to say wrong . But something was, in fact, different.

The phoenix leaned forward, closely watching the surrounding area. Ren was nowhere to be found, but Martyn was standing in the middle of their base, next to... Something. From up high, Jimmy couldn't see clearly - especially since the metal, which the weird thing seemed to be covered with, reflected sunlight. He hissed, feeling his eyes being blinded by the reflected light, then dropped down from the branch and landed gracefully on the soft podzol.

Martyn immediately turned towards him, his ears perking up with excitement.

"Hi Jim!" he called out, the new appearance of his friend hitting him after a few seconds. "Wait, your feathers grew back! And you look... Taller?"

"Heck yeah!" Jimmy smiled and approached the other Listener. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Well, the newest wildcard! Have you gotten your guy yet?"

"My... Guy?" Jimmy chuckled in a confused manner. "Well, to be honest, I kinda forgot about the wildcard... What is it this time?"

Martyn showed him what looked like a robot, floating in the air just next to him. Their upper half was vaguely humanoid, with a square screen for a head, and stubby hands holding a microphone. It even had a stylish green jacket and a black tie. Its monitor displayed what looked like a clock, ticking away the time.

"Woah..." Jimmy huffed, putting his hand on the top of the robot."Look at him! What a cutie!"

"I know, right?" Martyn chuckled, then turned back to the robot. He grabbed their hand, and the Listener's eyes lit up with white light. "They fall from the sky and ask you a question... And I'm having a hard time figuring out mine; D'you remember how many times Skizz died during the first day of Limited Life?"

Don't help him. Even better, sabotage him. Make him remember why the Watchers call him 'The Fool'. The voice nagged Jimmy again.

"You should remember, Mr Intelligent" the phoenix teased "You won that game, shouldn't you remember that stuff?"

"Well, uh, um... Well, maybe I should, but, y'know..." Martyn stuttered through the sentence, like a child lost in a dark forest. This loosely thrown sentence was like a direct hit right into his already fragile confidence. He let go of the robot's hand and hid his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Suddenly, he seemed even more timid than he already did. "C'mon, I can't remember everything!"

"Maybe that's why the Watchers kicked you out?" Jimmy leaned closer and suggested, in a tone that was teasing, bordering on mocking. Just yesterday, it would've felt awful to say... But right now, it made him feel warm on the inside. And that was a good sign.

"I- Okay, okay, think, Mart..." he huffed, softly hitting his forehead with his palm. "He was killed by two Boogeyman, so that's at least two... Didn't he also 1v1 with Bdubs...? Or was it the next day? Damnit..."

Suddenly, Jimmy looked up in confusion as he heard a lightning strike. Martyn seemed unbothered, as if he didn't hear anything. The phoenix scrunched his nose, carefully looking around.

"I-I just heard a lightning... Did someone die...?"

"No, it must've been the next night... What? Oh, the thunder strike" the shorter man looked up at Jimmy "That means your bot is coming. Be ready, some of these questions are really hard..."

"I can tell" Jimmy teased one last time, then looked up at the sky.

He did notice a similar looking robot, floating down from the sky with an umbrella in their hand. Quite an adorable sight to behold. It landed gently on the ground, then headed towards Jimmy. In contrast to Martyn's robot, this one's jacket was in a jeans color, with a golden yellow tie. The bot looked up at Jimmy with a big grin and reached out its little hand.

"Awww... It's so adorable!" The phoenix crouched to be at the robot's eye level, if it could even be called that - it didn't really have any eyes. "Can I just steal him and keep him as a friend?"

"Bad idea... Each question has a timer. And I don't think we wanna know what happens if we run out" Martyn chuckled nervously. "When you grab its hand, you will see the question. You have a few options, but better think these through..."

"I'll be fine, don't worry" Jimmy chuckled, then grabbed the bot's hand, as if to shake it. Suddenly, his eyes flashed white, as he was greeted with a question.

Who is the player to be eliminated first during almost every game?

[A] Grian

[B] Jimmy

[C] Pearl

[D] Scott

Almost immediately, Jimmy dropped the bot's hands. All the frustration that was building in the back of his head started suddenly boiling and bubbling to the surface. His hands started shaking. So it's like that, huh? Whoever sent these robots, whoever asked him this... They were mocking him. But little did they know, the days where Jimmy would just let it slide were over. He huffed, feeling his wings getting heavier and warmer.

"Hey, Martyn?" the phoenix looked back at him. "Has anyone tried breaking these bots?"

"Yeah... And it didn't work" Martyn chuckled. "Our swords didn't even leave a scratch. Just like these stupid snails..."

"Oh yeah?" 

Jimmy huffed, then looked down at his fist. It felt really warm, he could almost swear there was a faint bit of smoke coming from it. Maybe it was just his enraged mind, playing tricks on him... Even if the smoke wasn't real, it quickly clouded his judgement. He grabbed the robot with one hand, and sent the other one right into the robot's head.

A loud crash, accompanied by breaking of glass and bending of metal, could be heard. 

The phoenix slowly opened his eyes. He expected to maybe break the glass monitor of the bot. Instead, his fist pierced right through the whole monitor, almost coming out of the other side. Broken pieces of metal and glass dropped on the grass, ripped wires started firing off showers of sparks. Jimmy huffed, suddenly hit with a wave of guilt over what he's just done. He slowly pulled his hand from the robot, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of its face. His own skin, on the other hand, was only left a few shallow cuts - none of them were even bleeding.

Martyn turned at the loud sound, his face immediately going pale from fear.

"Jimmy! What have you done?!" he yelled at the canary, grabbing him by the shoulders. "We were definitely not meant to do that! We're in so much trouble!"

"Oh crap, what do we do?!" Jimmy also started panicking, his wings trembling and heating up even more. "I-I didn't mean to! I didn't even think it'd do anything!" he squealed, before turning back to the robot.

Somehow, the machine was still functional. The screen was completely ruined, displaying a seemingly random arrangement of colors on the corners that were still functional, just cracked. Even still, the robot was still floating in the air. It dropped both its hands, as if calculating the answer. They then raised their hands up, as in a victorious gesture - and then a hatch opened on their chest, throwing prizes right at Jimmy.

"W-what...?" Martyn huffed. "H-how? How is that not an automatic loss?"

"Who cares? This is awesome!" Jimmy chuckled, collecting the prizes and hiding them in his inventory. All of a sudden, all of his remorse vanished, as if he never felt it. "C'mon, you gotta try it too!"

"O-okay...? Guess it's better than answering a question I have no clue on, heh..."

Martyn took a deep breath, then clenched his fist and directed a hit right into his own bot's face. His hand bounced right off the glass, not even leaving the tiniest cracks. The man recoiled back, shaking his hand and wincing in pain. The hit sent a shock right through his body and left his hand in a burning pain.

"Ouch! Ffffuck!" the shorter man squealed, hugging his hand against his hoodie as if that was meant to help him with the pain. "W-what...? I don't understand..."

"Awwww... No worries, Mart!" Jimmy chuckled, standing right next to his friend. He playfully nudged his side "Not everyone has actually useful muscles! Maybe in a few months, you'll leave a crack?"

The Listener bit his lip, trying his best to not let this comment get to him. Yes , he knew that physical strength was never his strong side, especially after Limited Life when the damage to his body and mind was so substantial he could no longer act like his older self. Still, that really hurt. There was never a substantial difference between his strength and Jimmy's... Did he get so much weaker...

Or did Jimmy get suddenly so much stronger, all of a sudden...?

Suddenly, Martyn jerked back as his Watcher eye flashed him with yet another vision. They started becoming more rare and manageable - but they were still incredibly painful. He huffed and shut his eyes tight, trying to focus. If Watchers decided to scarify him this way, he could at least try and use it against them.

He saw a vast, open field. Reminiscent of a vision he once had of Scar.

But instead of sunflowers, there was fire. It was everywhere, burning everything in sight.

There was someone standing in the middle of the field. It was impossible to tell who it was - all he could tell was that it was someone tall, vaguely human.

Right in the middle of the raging inferno. But the flames did not seem to touch them.

There was also at least one other figure, kneeling on the ground, as if pleading for mercy.

Martyn huffed, rubbing his temples after the vision finished. Immediately, he felt overwhelming exhaustion coming over his body. He knew it was normal - as nomal as it could be, anyway - but it didn't change the fact that it was incredibly annoying.

"Hey, dude, you good...?" Jimmy asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I just... Nevermind. I need to answer my question..." the Listener huffed and grabbed the robot's hand. He only had several seconds left. "I can only remember three times... But there's definitely something I forgot about, right? Should I choose four?"

Jimmy shrugged. 

"Go for it... We don't know what happens if we answer wrong, right?"

"Well, maybe we'll find out..."

Ultimately, Martyn chose the answer that said '4 times'. The robot's screen showed that it was calculating the answer - then it suddenly dropped its microphone. Its face flashed with red. Both Martyn and Jimmy moved back, clearly startled.

"Maybe it was three after all...?" the shorter man huffed.

The robot raised its hands up. Suddenly, a giant Ravager was summoned right above the two players. They barely managed to jump away, before the monster landed on top of them. Jimmy huffed, getting up from the ground and opening his wings.

"So now we know!" Martyn huffed nervously, backing off without getting up from the ground. He yelled in pain as the Ravager charged at him, lunging him into the wall and into his death. The blond man disappeared in a big cloud of smoke.

"Shit! Martyn!" Jimmy huffed, immediately turning back to see Martyn respawn on the bed. "You were meant to be the smart one!"

The shorter Listener curled up on the bed, too terrified to move. He could only watch, as the Ravager charged at Jimmy. The phoenix flew into the air, intending to fly away - but he stopped.

Don't run. You can win this. What is a Ravager against a mythical Phoenix?

He grabbed the Ravager's horns and pulled them up, trying to immobilize the monster. The beast roared, throwing its head up and launching Jimmy into the air. Before he could stabilize his flight, he fell to the ground. Just a second later, the Ravager pierced one of its horns through the phoenix's chest. The man only let out a quiet huff of surprise, before he turned into a cloud of smoke.

---

Jimmy shot up from the bed, almost hitting his head against a low branch of the tree growing above. He had a hard time calming down his breathing, his brain seemed to be on fire. That stupid ravager... He fought the urge to fly down there and this time destroy it for good. But he had little time to recollect his thoughts.

Ruckus coming from the other edge of the mountaintop immediately made him alert and ready to take on another fight. He flew out of the bed, soaring over the top of Mount Bam. He heard his teammates, they were in danger... And he was not above violence to defend them.

Out of nowhere, Pearl appeared on the top of the mountain. And she was already on her red life... That immediately set off an alarm in Jimmy's head. The woman was chasing Lizzie, clearly trying to gain back a life by killing her. The phoenix huffed, then dived towards the red lifer.

Jimmy flew right into Pearl, the force of the hit tackling them both to the ground. He pinned her to the ground by the wrist, resisting any of her attempts at knocking him off. 

You are the predator now. Protect your people, and feast on your enemies.

"Not so feisty anymore, huh?" he huffed, using his elbow to hit Pearl in the head. She gasped in pain, trying her best to kick Jimmy in the stomach or below. He moved to pin her legs to the grass.

"Jim! Let go of me!" she growled.

"What for? You come here, wreck my house, try to kill my teammate? Guess I won't be the first one out this time!"

"Jimmy, let het go!" Lizzie called out. "She's on red! Don't kill her!"

"I know she's on red! That's what makes it even better!" the man grinned, his rosey eyes looking right into Pearl's blue eyes. She no longer looked feral, more so finished, intimidated... Terrified. Jimmy opened his wings, covering the sunlight. A few feathers flew down, turning into flames on their way to the ground. "No more Scarlet Pearl, huh?"

"Jim!"

Lizzie and Scar ran up to their friend and pulled him back by the wings. The phoenix squawked in pain and fell back, almost ready to fight his teammates. Pearl scrambled up in hurry and rushed towards the one way down from the hill.

"I'm not done!" Jim growled, pushing Scar and Lizzie away. He ran after Pearl, but his exhausted body all of a sudden gave out. All he managed to do was tackle her, much more weakly than last time. Still, it knocked the woman off balance and sent her tumbling down the side of Mount Bam. Jimmy huffed, trying his best to get up from the ground, but it felt as if his body was rejecting his input.

Chase her. Find her. Kill her.

He wanted to jump after her, but his bigger frame and big wings got stuck on the bamboo, growing around the rim of the mountain. The phoenix flailed like a wild animal, angry that its prey escaped. He didn't even notice that his body, especially his feathers, started leaving burn marks on the growing bamboo. A bir of smoke escaped from the scorched plants.

"Jimmy, calm down!" Lizzie grabbed her teammate by the arm and pulled him back. "What's going on?! I've never seen you like this!"

"She tried to kill you, Liz!" Jimmy huffed. He still tried to appear intimidating, but his body was so drained that he just dropped to the ground. WHy did he suddenly feel so... Weak? He hated that feeling, it reminded him of how he was not too long ago. When he was the canary ... But it was no longer him. Now, he was a phoenix, not just a canary. He tried pulling himself up, but his strength was completely depleted. His wings felt heavy, as he had two huge plates of metal attached to his back. For some reason, the heat didn't even hurt.

"Jimmy, it's okay... We had it under control" Scar sat down next to him.

"You... You did...?"

"Yeah!" Lizzie smiled, sitting down next to them. "Well, there was a moment that was close, but... I think she was so scared of dying herself, she could barely touch me most of the time! I hope she's okay..."

"Well, she's not out, from what I can tell..." Scar pointed out, looking at his wristband. "Although it was a close one..."

"Jimmy, are you... Okay...? You seem... Different... You know you can talk to us, right? We're all Bamboozlers, we're family..."

The blond man huffed, covering his eyes with his forearm. His whole body was aching, his brain was on fire. The impact of everything he did and said during the day only started catching up to him. He needed a moment to think...

Pearl's not dead. You might still die first. Don't lose focus.

Jim immediately tensed, as he heard the voice in his head. He took a deep breath.

"I..." he started, unsure of what to say. Should he apologize? Explain his behavior? Say what happened between him, Grian and the Watchers? Should he lie ?

Don't tell them. You'll protect them.

"I... I'll tell you. Later. I need a nap..." Jimmy sighed and closed his eyes, then covered himself with his wings.

"Okay... Take it easy, dude." Scar said with a gentle smile. "You look like you have a lot on your head."

"You have no idea..."

Notes:

Okay so, funny story... When planning out this chapter, I wrote down 8 bullet points of what was gonna happen. These are only 4 of them, and the chapter is already over 4k words long xddd the good news is, the next chapter might come out sooner than this one did because of that!

Chapter 3: The monster

Summary:

Jimmy gets better and better and utilizing his newfound strength. The curse is finally broken.

Notes:

Okay, you guys seem to REALLY like this story, and I'm glad you do! Thank you so much for the overwhelming support! It's been less than 24h since the last chapter and the hits on this one already almost doubled! Right now it's my 4th most popular fanfic but it will probably become the 3rd any moment!
And also, just as a quick note - I created a Tumblr sideblog for all things AO3. It's the same username as here - smutny_technik. Feel free to send me asks and opinions on the stories and tag me if you ever make a post about any of my stories! Thank you so much, you guys are incredible!

Despite his newly found strength, it didn't solve all of Jimmy's problems right away.

Just an hour or so after the first bot, another one fell from the sky. This one surprised the phoenix, who expected to be already finished with his wildcard for the day. It was tempting to just smash the second bot, which would probably react in the same way as the first one - but he didn't want to try his newfound luck all too much and risk getting punished. That resulted in him getting the answer wrong - since someone who wrote these questions expected him to remember the color of Skizz's underwear from two games ago. The good news was, the bot did not end up spawning a Ravager on top of him. The bad news was, the robot somehow ended up making him feel nauseous for the next few hours. It didn't stop him from endlessly flying above the server and basking in his apparent freedom - although the sick feeling made him have to land and throw up a few times.

The next trivia question didn't give him as much of a problem - so after completing the next one and the sick feeling disappearing, he immediately took off again. His body, even after his little nap, still felt completely drained from energy - but he desperately needed to get off the ground and as far away from everyone as they could. 

"And now what? How am I gonna be the first one out, if I'm up here?" he chuckled, looking down at the area. He was so up high, he couldn't even see anyone anymore... And for whatever reason, it felt great. Up in the sky, it was a bit cold - but also quiet, calm, liberating. He could finally be alone with his thoughts...

Although, more and more often, they no longer felt like his own thoughts.

Don't lose focus. You still need to secure your position. If you perish first again, you'll be back at square one, as the lonely canary, trapped in the coalmine.

Jimmy huffed, rubbing his temples and trying to concentrate. These voices were getting more and more nagging... But on the other hand, they were helpful. More helpful than anyone ever in these games... As surreal as it felt, the Watchers were helping him. They actually had faith in him... And it felt wonderful.

"Okay, okay... And what if I don't die first?"

You may count on our support, Phoenix. We may shape a great future for you.

"Sounds fine by me" the man smirked. Suddenly, his ears perked up. "Wait, I gotta show all of this to someone!"

The phoenix dived into the air, right towards the ground. The feeling of his blood humming in his ears was just incredible. The closer to the ground he got, the more details on the ground he saw. And he was right where he needed to be - over the strange base shared by Etho, Bdubs and Tango. And it was the last man he was looking around. His heart started pounding in his chest when he noticed his rancher, sitting at his doorstep and sharpening his sword.

"Tangooo!" he called out, getting closer and closer to the ground. His strong wings picked up the flight just a few feet over the ground, saving him from crashing. Still, his recklessness took him a bit too far this time - he winced from pain as his wings pulled him back, causing him pain in his back. The blazeborn looked up at him and his red eyes immediately lit up.

"Jimmy! Hi!" he waved at his friend. "Wait, you're flying! I've never seen you fly, that's awesome!"

"Right?" Jimmy smirked and landed right in front of Tango. His friend looked up at him, his face immediately going red.

"W-woah... What are they feeding you up at that mountain, dude? Is this what bamboo does to a guy?" he smirked. His long tail started quickly wagging from side to side. He was already happy to see his beloved rancher, but he seemed different than the last time they saw each other... And he couldn't complain about the change.

"I guess! Speaking of, you have anything to share? I'm starvin' after that stupid bot did something to me..." Jimmy chuckled and leaned down, his face inches away from the blazeborn's. Tango squealed with excitement, looking right in Jimmy's eyes.

"Yeah, of course! I have some apples, a few breads, some porkchops...

"Meat?" The phoenix gasped, a whisper that he didn't intend escaped his mouth. Usually he didn't care about what he ate, but this time, the sound of meat sounded particularly exciting. He licked his teeth, which felt sharper than usual.

"Yeah! Wait, I thought you were a vegetarian?"

Jimmy shrugged. Was he? His mind suddenly felt clouded, more so than earlier that day. Tango nodded and got up from his place, then headed inside of his house.

The phoenix sat down on the grass, his wings twitching from excitement. Yet again, his exhaustion started catching up to him. Why did it feel like when he was on the ground, he was suddenly weaker and more exposed? He muttered under his breath as he covered his body and face with his wings. The heat that enveloped him like a warm blanket made him feel a little better. When he wasn't airborne, he needed to watch his back even more... His friends were up there, somewhere he couldn't reach them. His enemies were down there, on the ground. 

"Here you go!" Tango poked out of his house and threw a piece of roasted meat towards Jimmy. The phoenix reached out and grabbed him with his teeth, then started chewing on it. Somewhere in the back of his head, it felt embarrassing... But he didn't really care. He needed to feed himself and get off the ground again. Where he was safe. "Wow, you really were hungry!"

"Thanks, man... It's so good..." he huffed. "Hey, where are your teammates?"

"Oh, Etho is hanging out with the Four Gs today! And Bdubs is... I actually have no idea. He's so tiny it's hard to keep track of him" Tango chuckled and sat down next to his friend. Jimmy moved back a little bit, which the blazeborn immediately noticed. "Sorry, sorry... Forgot that we're not allies this time..."

"H-huh?" Jimmy looked back at him with a dumbfounded expression. He didn't even notice that he moved away from his rancher. "I just, uh... Sorry, I didn't even notice..." he whispered. It was as if his own brain tried pushing away even his closest friend. It was a bit concerning, even for him. "To be honest, I'm feeling a bit... Weird today..."

"Why?" Tango asked, but immediately got distracted. He pinned down his ears and started looking around. "Hey, I think my trivia guy is coming back!"

"It is...? You need help?"

"Nah, I've been doing well so far! One question I got was actually about our old Warden! Remember Ranchers' Revenge?" Tango got up from the ground and approached a bot, which was slowly floating from the sky towards him. Jimmy just watched him silently, finishing his dinner consisting of a cooked piece of porkchop. Somehow, it wasn't cold yet, as if there was something heating it up... 

The blazeborn approached the bot. It looked similar to every other that appeared so far, but again, its suit was a little different - dark red, with a bright, yellow tie. Tango grabbed its stubby hand to see the question.

"Oh, Jim! Wanna help me, actually?"

"Uhhh... Sure! What is it!"

"The question is, what was the name of the Ravager that killed you in Limited Life?"

Right away, the phoenix let out a quiet hiss. The feathers on his wings ruffled, heating up further. It took Jimmy a moment to realize how he just reacted, and he immediately covered his mouth with his hands. Why did he do that? When did he start acting so... Feral? It was just a stupid question...

But it was making fun of him. Whoever made the questions, still saw him as a canary.

But that was no longer him.

The man got up from the ground and opened his wings. A few feathers fell out, falling on the grass and igniting. He couldn't stay here. He still had to prove himself.

"Jimmy...? You don't remember?" Tango asked, then let go of the robot and looked around. Jimmy was suddenly gone, with only a few scorching feathers left behind. The blazeborn huffed, then leaned down and grabbed one of the feathers, then started watching it closely.

Why did it seem so familiar...?

---

Jimmy tried his best to forget about the whole ordeal by taking a fly through the dense forest north from Tango's house. The whole area was like an obstacle course for him. It felt incredible, if not for him constantly hitting trees on his way. Why couldn't he fit in the tiniest of spaces between branches anymore? Did something change and he couldn't even notice? Or was it just another trick, intended to slow him down?

When he was right around the base belonging to Cleo, Pearl, Scott and Impulse, he heard yet another loud thunder strike. So his bot was back... He sighed, then landed on the edge of the wall of their base, waiting for them to arrive.

The moment the robot dropped from the ground, Jimmy landed next to him and grabbed its hand right away. The question was a bit longer, and marked as a hard one. Which gave him more time to think, but also more risk of getting it wrong.

What base did Cleo burn down in Last Life day 5 as an act of revenge?

[A] Magical Mountain

[B] Scottage

[C] Snow Fort

[D] The Southlands

[E] The Fairy Fort

Jimmy moved back, pondering the question for a moment. He barely remembered that even happening... Which means it couldn't be Southlands, since it was where he lived, right? Well, before he was exiled... The phoenix huffed, rocking from side to side, stepping from one leg to the other. Well, he could just go and ask Cleo... He looked at his wristband, which synced with the bot to show his remaining time. He still had over four minutes later. He could ask Cleo lickety split, then fly back here and answer... He opened his wings and took off from the ground, scouting the area for Cleo.

The zombie, unfortunately, was not in their base. After just a few moments of flying, Jimmy noticed Cleo on the little island which Gem and Joel claimed. He dived towards them and landed right next to her. That landing was a bit harder than he expected it to be, the ground felt like it shook from the impact.

"Cleo!" Jimmy grabbed her right away. "Quick! Which base did you burn down in Last Life?"

"H-huh? Maybe a 'hello' or 'how are you' first?" they asked, both annoyed and amused by the phoenix's sudden arrival. Jimmy huffed, his wings opening as if ready to take off again the moment he got his answer.

"Hello! How are you? Which base did you burn down?"

Gem, who was standing next to them this entire time, barely stopped herself from laughing. From outside, it probably did look hilarious. But for Jimmy, it was incredibly serious.

"Okay, okay, chill... Well, I did burn down the Fairy Fort, cuz BigB betrayed me... That jerk..."

"Okay, thanks!" the man immediately flew up into the air and headed towards where he left his bot.

"Well, that was... Something" Scott hummed, as he watched the phoenix leave. "How can he suddenly fly again?"

"Should we be worried?" Gen asked, trying her best - and failing - to seem concerned. "He looks so... Hyper..."

"Nah... It's just Jimmy" Scott shrugged. "We just need to give him some space... He'll burn out and calm down, eventually. He always does."

But when the phoenix came back to where he just left his robot, the spot was empty. 

The blond man huffed, looking around the area. He took a quick glance at his wristband. He had barely over two minutes left...

"Hey! Who took my robot?" he called out, looking for a trace of any player around. He's been sabotaged... Someone took his robot away, so that he couldn't answer his question. What would happen if he ran out of time? He more or less knew what would happen if he answered incorrectly, but straight up not answering at all? "Come back here! It's not funny!"

His head started buzzing with anger again. Maybe someone just dug a hole and hid the robot there? Jimmy huffed and kneeled to the ground, then started digging through the grass with his bare hands. The dirt scratched his skin, making him more and more frustrated. At this point, he didn't even feel like pulling out his shovel and digging this way. He needed to find this robot, and he didn't have time to dig out the whole area... It was so frustrating, to know the answer, but have no way to actually answer it...

"C'mon..." Jimmy huffed under his breath.

His hands were covered in dirt. For some reason, after a while, it started getting easier and easier for him to dig. As if his hands were getting more and more used to this... But it was still not enough. His time was running out, and he was getting more and more desperate.

It has to be somewhere. Don't just use your bare hands. You have something better with you.

Jimmy gasped, the moment he realized what he needed to do. It was risky, as it could ruin the wall of the Four Gs' base... But at that point, he had no choice. He pulled out TNT from his inventory, then flew up into the sky and started dropping it right next to the wall.

"I know you're here, somewhere!" he yelled.

The more he flapped his wings, the more feathers started falling out from them. They started scorching in the sky and when they flew too close to the dynamite sticks, igniting them prematurely. An explosion went off right under Jim and he squealed in fear, flying up to not be hit by the blast. 

"Wait... Why are my feathers burning like that...?" he huffed, looking back at his wings. They were shining brightly in the eye of the afternoon sun, almost as if they were coated with a layer of gold. There was a faint trace of smoke coming from them. But for whatever reason, it didn't feel all that concerning to him... Quite the opposite, actually. The heat was nice, it reminded him of... Something... Or someone...?

Suddenly, the wristband on his hand started vibrating. He looked at it, the sound immediately distracting him from his thoughts. " TIME'S OUT!", huge letters screamed at him. The phoenix huffed with a startled expression.

"Oh, oh no..." he huffed. "This is bad, this is bad, this is..."

His pointy ears perked up the moment he heard a faint "whoo-whey!" coming from the grass. His body immediately acted on its own accord, as he sprang towards Mount Bam. The memory of the murderous snails was too fresh and too painful to relive... His wings carried him higher and higher up in the sky. This time, even height couldn't save him from the snails which could fly...

Don't run. You're the predator now. What is a snail against th-

"No, no, you don't get it! This snail actually is a big problem!" he squealed under his breath, speeding up as much as he could. He landed on the edge, almost tripping his own wings. "Guys, guys! We have a problem!"

"Yeah, we know!" Scar called back, narrowly avoiding an attack from a strange, metal-coated snail. Jimmy huffed at the sighed. The metallic blue gastropod turned around, chasing his teammate relentlessly.

"W-wait, you ran out of time with your question?"

"Yeah! Well, at least we know what happens if we don't answer at all!" the man chuckled nervously, dropping to the ground to avoid the next attack. "We should not do that again, it kinda sucks!"

"Well, I may have the same problem..." Jimmy chuckled nervously. "Lizzie, please tell me you're at least safe..."

"I wish!" Lizzie squealed as she barely jumped away from her own snail. They both looked the same, aside from their little jackets - they matched the bots which they seemingly came from. Scar's was an olive green color, while Lizzie's was light pink.

The phoenix struggled to catch his breath, overwhelmed with the sight. He wasn't there to protect his teammates... He failed them...

"No." he muttered under his breath. "I can still protect them... I need to destroy these stupid snails..."

The man ran up to the closer snail, which just happened to be Scar's. He immediately kicked the gastropod, knocking him away several feet. Scar huffed, looking up at him.

"Jimmy...?"

But the phoenix didn't even notice his concern. He attacked the snail with his bare hands. His newfound claws dug into the metal shell, ripping it into shreds. He let out a strained breath, pulling the snail apart and tossing its electronic insides apart. The loud cracking and breaking of metal filled the whole mountaintop, as Jimmy relentlessly ripped the tiny robot into smithereens. He only took notice of what happened once Scar approached him and put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Jim, Jim, calm down! I think it's already... Well, not dead, since it's a robot..."

"What...?" Jimmy huffed, looking at his hands. The metal left cuts on his hands, ones that actually started bleeding. He also only now noticed that his hands weren't just dirty - from his elbows down, his skin started turning more of a brownish-maroon color. His nails also turned into sharp, dark claws. A strange change, for sure... But a welcomed one, if that's what he needed to protect his friends. "H-huh... Wait, Lizzie's snail is still here, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

The phoenix pounced right at the other snail, pulverizing it even quicker. The wires and scrapes of metal flew all around him. The snail let out one sad "wheeeey...", before its little electronic head was detached from its artificial body. Lizzie covered her mouth with her hands.

"Jimmy..."

"There!" the phoenix huffed and wiped sweat off his forehead. "That actually wasn't that bad! Maybe they were just decoys, and not actually deadly...?"

"No, no, that's not it... I died to it earlier" Scar admitted with a stupid smile. "Thanks, Jim!"

"You're welcome!" Jimmy smiled, his face lighting up, while his exhausted eyes darkened further. Despite how tired his body was, his mind pushed him to get up, to go out there - to do something. Anything. As if resting for even a second would kill him. But the urge to close his eyes was really strong...

"Jim, watch out!"

All Jimmy heard afterwards was a happy "whoo-waaah!" of his own snail, which jumped right at him. The phoenix screamed as it immediately turned into a cloud of dust.

---

Even after respawning, Jimmy couldn't stay still for even a second. He immediately took off, circling the server to hopefully lose his own snail. It was definitely slower than the one he had to deal with a few days ago... But it was still a threat. The phoenix could barely enjoy the freedom of flying, when the murderous gastropod was always on his tail. The urge to also rip it apart was very strong... But he couldn't even touch it, let alone destroy it in such a violent manner. All he could do was wait for it to leave him alone. Hopefully.

At some point, the snail hid inside of its shell and dropped to the ground. Jimmy breathed out a sigh of relief. The horror was already over... And it was already getting late, the sun was starting to set. He could finally relax... Or at least try to. His mind was still racing a mile a second, doing laps around the whole server. He needed to be everywhere, see everything, be alert... His wings felt as strong as ever, but the rest of his body screamed at him for rest.

Ultimately, he shakely landed on a newly built tower at the top of Spanners' base. He didn't even notice where they built it, a stocky, sturdy building made out of blackstone. His whole body almost gave out, but he needed to know what happened while he was gone and whether he needed to intervene. He poked his head inside, noticing a tangle of rails, starting at one of the walls and diverging into different holes, leading outside. Mumbo and Grian were sitting inside, discussing something.

"Hi guys!" Jimmy waved at them. The parrot jumped up from fear.

"Tim! Get outta here!"

"Why? You can no longer tell me what to do, Grian" the phoenix smirked, leaning closer to them. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Oh, we're building a-" Mumbo started, but Grian covered his mouth with his hand.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"I'm just curious!" Jimmy chuckled, then got inside and leaned over Grian. "Don't get too cocky... You may be on three lives, but I could kill you right now, and we'd both be on yellow... So better leave, would ya?"

The parrot shuddered and slowly climbed outside of the tower. Mumbo nervously chuckled, looking at Jimmy. They were both obscured by partial darkness, so he didn't notice the change in Jimmy right away.

"So? Whatcha doin'?" the phoenix tilted his head.

"We wanna launch TNT minecart on people to, well... Kill them" Mumbo nervously chuckled. "It's quite simple, really... We just put them on the tracks, get them to gather a lot of potential energy, and shoot them at people..."

"I love it! Reminds me of Skynet- Wait, you weren't around... So, during Limited Life, we built this huge web of roads in the sky, and started dropping TNT on each other... I fell from it and died" he chuckled bitterly. Suddenly, he felt something like a sting in the back of his head.

Don't focus on your past mistakes. Look only forward. Think about where you are now.

The phoenix huffed and rubbed his eyes, his lesser wings twitching from the bottled up emotions. He suddenly got an idea, but it felt really cruel... But it wasn't about being nice anymore. He had to survive. Mumbo was also on red... And he was quite a simple target, really.

Jimmy opened his wings and flew out, then landed on the top of the tower.

"Okay, here's the plan. You prime the minecart, I'll watch out for people... And I'll tell you when and where to shoot."

"Oh, alright! Thanks, Jim!"

"No problem!" he smiled, sitting on the edge of the tower, just over the hole leading back inside. He looked around, watching out for any approaching players. "That's what friends do, right?"

"Yeah! Well, not gonna lie, Grian started acting as if he's scared of you... You know what that's about?"

"No, not really..."

Jimmy opened his wings and started quietly shaking them over the hole. A few scorching feathers fell off, gently floating down inside the tower. He had to stay alert, so that he wouldn't accidentally kill himself... But this plan had to work...

"Hey, I think I see Gem! Aim east!"

"Got it! Thanks, Jimmy!" Mumbo called to him, putting the TNT minecart on the tracks.

Suddenly, a huge explosion shook the whole tower, turning the very top and the minecart chamber into dust. The sound was so loud, it could be heard everywhere on the server - together with a sound of a lightning strike. The blast shot Jimmy away, but he managed to regain stable flight before he crashed into the ground. A giant cloud of dark smoke emerged from the building. The tower started crumbling, a few big rocks falling to the ground. There was a scent of something burning, present in the air. Everyone, all at once, got the same notification on their wristbands.

Mumbo blew up.

"Oh my gosh! Yes! YEEEEES!" Jimmy immediately started cheering. He was not, in fact, without his own damage - the explosion burned one tip of his wing and left a wound on his left leg, which was the closest. But at that point, he couldn't care less. Mumbo was gone, which means the canary was not the first one to die.

The curse was gone.

"NO! Mumbo!" Grian immediately ran into the tower, desperately looking for what remained of his friend. His whole body was shaking. He was just there... Why did he leave Mumbo alone with Jimmy? Did he cause it? Or was it just an accident...?

Jim landed on the edge of the tower. The blackstone was covered in red blood, and its metallic scent hit both him and Grian. The phoenix's leg hurt badly, causing him to limp. But at that moment, he felt incredible. As if he already won the whole game. Grian looked back at him, his eyes tearing up.

"W-what did you do?!" he yelled at Jim. The man looked back at him, pretending to be just as shocked.

"It wasn't me! He must've accidentally triggered it on himself!" he suggested.

"You're lying! You did this to him!" Grian grabbed Jimmy by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer. "I know you did! You're happy now?!"

The phoenix chuckled and leaned a bit closer.

"I am, in fact..." he whispered in his cold, almost sadistic tone. The parrot shuddered and moved back.

"You're a monster..."

"Call me what you want" Jimmy smiled, straightening up again. "Just so you know, after all these games... If karma is real, I might as well be a god."

Grian struggled to keep himself from crying. For just a second, Jimmy felt a pang of guilt somewhere deep in his gut. It was just a second, though, until a voice nagged him again.

Don't lose focus. You can't be the second out again, either. Remember Secret Life?

"Right..." the phoenix whispered and opened his wings. He looked at Grian one last time. He looked completely devastated... Jimmy smiled, trying to cheer him up. Even though what he said sounded more twisted than he intended. "Don't worry, G... You'll join him soon enough."

"LEAVE!"

Jimmy giggled under his breath. He opened his huge golden wings, then took off into the darkening sky.

Notes:

Please let me know what you think of this one and where the story might be going! I have at least one more chapter planned before the next session of Wild life releases, and then I'll figure it out from there. I have a lot of ideas, but I wanna see how closely I can stick to the source material :>
And a reminder, check out my AO3 Tumblr blog smutny_technik! It might be pretty empty right now but I'd love to see you guys there! I'll try my best to post some behind the scenes content from writing these!

Chapter 4: Forever bound by our strings

Summary:

Watchers and Listeners meet together to talk things through.

Notes:

Yet again, I wanted to thank you all for the truly insane support this story had been receiving over the past few days. When I posted the last chapter yesterday, the fic was at almost 300 hits. Now, it's past 450 and doesn't seem to slow down all that much. You guys are wonderful and I'm so happy you guys like it.
This may feel more like a filler chapter, but don't worry, it establishes a lot of things that will be important later. I may wait with the next chapter until the next session comes out on Saturday, but we'll see.
In the meantime, please leave some comments about what you think, any theories or ideas or just your opinions! Hits and kudos are a great motivation, but your actual comments are what makes my day, the fact that you like the story and that you're telling me that :3

The night on the server became unbearably quiet. The sudden death of Mumbo hit everyone, mostly in the negative way. The tower on the edge of the Spanner's base became crumbling, ready to fall into obscurity after failing to fulfill its purpose. Grian took the time to bury what remained of his friend - his torn up suit and tie. The rest turned into dust long before the sun hid under the horizon. The action was dreadfully lonely - the other players were too busy to take time to participate in the makeshift burial. The only consistent part during the ceremony was Jimmy, sitting overhill and watching the whole time with a cheeky grin.

"You happy now?" Grian grumbled, putting a flower on the top of a crudely cut tombstone.

"Oh you have no idea" Jimmy smirked, then flew down and landed on the edge of the gravestone. The unstable rock shifted a bit under his weight. For a moment, his rosy pink eyes turned a bit more brown, just like they were just a few days ago. "Sorry that it had to be Mumbo... But someone has to be out first, right?"

"It's usually you" the parrot sighed and sat down on the ground. "What happened to you...? What did they do to you?"

"They fixed me."

Grian looked up at his friend. He could barely recognize him at this point. Jimmy looked different- he felt different. He was more feral, more ruthless, more fiery. He almost didn't look like the canary anymore. His wings were shining almost as bright as the sun. His eyes were full of passion, burning with energy and anger. His claws, lesser wings and stocky, strong frame made him more reminiscent of an animal, rather than a human.

"Did they...?"

"You don't get it, man..." Jimmy huffed. "You won the first game! You were never made fun of for being a weak loser! And now that I'm trying to change, you make it seem like sucha problem!"

"It's not a problem that you wanna change! The problem's that you're suddenly acting like everyone is your enemy!"

The phoenix hissed quietly, shifting on his spot. His wings opened up a little bit.

"Not everyone. Scar and Lizzie are friends. I protect them."

"So you need to kill everyone else to protect them? And what happens if you're the final three? Are you gonna kill them? Or sacrifice yourself like the hero you pretend to be?"

"I-" Jimmy huffed, his eyes dimming down a little bit. That was a question he did not want to ask himself, but now that he did... He hated thinking about this. He needed to protect his friends, his family, his flock . But if push came to shove...

Deflect. It doesn't matter. You can protect yourself.

"We'll figure it out if it comes to it" Jimmy muttered and opened his wings. "Gotta go. You have anything else to say?"

"Yeah, I... I'm sorry, Jimmy."

The phoenix looked at his friend with a confused expression. What was that about? What did Grian even have to apologize for? It was Jimmy who killed his friend, who was mean to him, who acted as if they were enemies... Suddenly, the taller man started feeling guilty about his actions of the day. It was a bitter, sticky feeling somewhere in his stomach that made him feel sick. He slowly got off the tombstone and approached Grian.

"Dude, I-I'm-"

It's a trick. Don't fall for it. He wants to see your weakness.

Jimmy immediately withdrew and took a step back. He wanted to comfort Grian, say it wasn't his fault, that he was sorry too- But he couldn't. He couldn't lose focus. He was still at risk of failing. And if that happened again... He couldn't bear to even think of it.

"I... I think I should go" Jimmy muttered. 

"Yeah, so should I" Grian sighed and got up from the ground, then turned away and headed east, away from his base. Yet again, the phoenix felt a sudden urge to follow him, to talk things through and to explain himself. Instead, he just turned around to face the gravestone. He leaned over and left a piece of bamboo on the freshly dug ground, then opened his wings and took off, towards Mount Bam.

---

"Hi Martyn, I... We need to talk."

Grian approached the edge of Renwood mound. The base changed quite a long in a short amount of time - now the area was covered in water, with a lone island in the middle. The parrot climbed on top of the walls that kept the water from flowing down the hillside. Martyn was sitting in a boat, deep in thoughts. He only looked up when he heard Grian.

"Oh, hi G" he said with a faint smile. "Sorry 'bout what happened to Mumbo... Do you know how he died...?"

"Well, Jimmy helped him. I think, at least. I left them alone for just a minute... It was either a freak accident, or a sabotage. And Mumbo blew up."

"Yikes..." Martyn chuckled bitterly. He grabbed an oar and paddled towards the wall. "C'mere, dude... You look sad..."

"I am! My friend died!" Grian chuckled bitterly. The moment Martyn got close, he carefully slid inside the boat. He tucked his wings against the edge of the boat and sighed, resting his back and closing his eyes. "And Jimmy is acting weird..."

"No kidding... He came here today" the Listener pointed out. He let go of the oar, so that both of them started slowly floating across the artificial lake. 

"Oh really? Was he a jerk to you, too?"

"Yeah... He insulted me, like, three times, over the fact I couldn't remember one thing from back in Limited Life" Martyn chuckled. He leaned back, and in return Grian moved forward a bit and put his head on his friend's shoulder. "It's totally not like I wanna forget everything that happened!"

"No kiddin'..." Grian sighed with a sadly amused expression. "How's your eye?"

"It's gettin' better, or at least I'm trying to believe so" he shrugged, resting his cheek against Grian's head. "Still hurts as hell whenever I touch it..."

"Can I see?"

With a bit of hesitation, Martyn turned around to face his friend. He hated the idea of anyone touching or even seeing this damaged, vile part of himself - he only felt somewhat comfortable with it around Ren. But Grian was a Watcher, he knew what he was talking about... Maybe he even knew how to get rid of this thing. He stayed still - or at least as much as he could - when Grian took off his eyepatch and took a look at the Watcher's eye.

"Oof... I've never seen them do something like this to anyone" Grian gritted his teeth. "They must really hate you..."

"I can tell... They wouldn't throw me away if they didn't, but y'know..." Martyn chuckled bitterly, trying his best to remain calm. He winced as a sting of pain rushed through his brain. "Shit... Are you done?"

"Yes, yes" Grian nodded and put the eyepatch back on. The Listener gasped for air and rubbed his temples.

"I've got the same vision... The inferno..."

"What?"

"Back when Jimmy was here, I got another vision..." Martyn muttered under his breath. "A field of fire... And someone standing in the middle. I don't know who that was, but I have some ideas-"

"You're thinking of Jimmy, right?"

Martyn nodded. So his hunch was correct... Or at least it was more possible. After the whole day of struggling with the wildcard, he felt worse and worse about his usually flawless intuition and infallible brain. It was nice to feel like for once, he could've been on the right track.

"Yeah... I'm worried..."

"That's kinda why I'm here" Grian finally admitted. "You know Jimmy well, you're a Listener too..."

"Not that I wanted to become one" Martyn chuckled bitterly. Grian nervously smiled in return, unsure on what to say. "But... I can't help you. Not anymore."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"I- I changed, Grian. I'm not the same guy who could scheme and strategize, and know everything about everything... No wonder Watcher dropped my title of Sharpest of minds " he muttered, leaning back over the edge of the boat and sighed. "I couldn't even remember how many times Skizz died during the first day of Limited Life..."

"You think anyone remembers that? I wouldn't, and he probably wouldn't either" Grian smiled in a friendly way. "What did you say?"

"Well, I thought of three, but answered four... And got a Ravager to my face" he chuckled, turning his sight back on Grian.

"It could've been three... Why didn't you say so?"

"Cuz I thought I remembered wrong! That I missed something, and-" Martyn sighed. Grian joined him, also leaning over and putting his hands in the shallow water. If they got in, it would probably be up to their knees, at most. It was pretty cold and so clear that they could easily see the grass underneath. "I may have won, but so did these stupid Watchers... They broke me..."

"Did they?" the parrot whispered and nudged Martyn with his wing. "I can see you're still around and kickin'... And protecting Ren. He's so lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have him" Martyn smiled in a dreamy way, but then quickly shook off the feeling and just rolled his eyes. "He's probably just used to me..."

"Is he? If I was him, and had a knight like you by my side, I wouldn't wanna let him go..."

Martyn bit his lip. Deep down he really hoped that there was no visible blush on his face. He covered his ears, that little comment making him too happy to show.

"Shut up..."

"I mean it! Listen" Grian turned towards him, trying to sound friendly "I know what we're going through is... Well, it sucks, to be honest. And it may have gone a little out of control..."

"A little?" Martyn nudged him back, although his expression was rather playful. "We're trapped in a death game, dude! Because of you!"

"I know, I know! I- I messed up" the Watcher took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "I tried to please the other elders, I trapped innocent people in a game where we have to kill each other, and now the Watchers are trying to turn Jimmy into a killing machine! I know it's kinda our goal, to see the unseeable, but this is going a bit too far!"

Both Martyn and Grian looked at each other, then started laughing. It was a long, bitter laughter, full of regrets and guilt over their previous actions that the games led to. The vicious cycle of murder and rebirth, which they both thrived in... Until they didn't. And the chance to have a laugh about it was quite cathartic. As if for just a few minutes, it all wasn't real anymore. They were just two guys, spinning in a boat in the middle of a DIY lake. And nothing else mattered. They didn't have to scheme, fight and kill each other. They could just stay like that, forever - even if that 'forever' only meant a few moments.

As they were both sitting at the bottom of the boat, supported on one another, with Grian's wings covering them both, Martyn finally spoke up:

"You wanna help Jimmy, don't you?"

"And you don't?" 

"I do..." the man sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, if we want to save him from these stupid Watchers... We have to work together. I'll try to think of something, ask around, maybe we'll figure something out..."

"Thanks, dude."

"Thank me once we save him. And once we get outta here."

"I will..."

"So? You're turning against the Watchers, at last?" Martyn teased with a smirk as he pushed Grian with his elbow. The parrot giggled under his breath.

"I... I'll think about it. Maybe there's something to your yapping that the Alliance is evil..."

Martyn chuckled playfully and rolled his eyes. It felt strange, to have a friend that was supposed to be his enemy - an elder Watcher, someone who trapped them here... But for some reason, he didn't hate him. And Grian didn't hate Martyn either. Maybe there was still a chance of salvation for all of them.

"Alright, I gotta go... Before your boyfriend comes back and finds us both here."

"My- How did you know?" the Listener huffed, his ears immediately reddening at the tips. Grian's eyes lit up immediately, and a cheeky grin appeared on his face.

"Don't tell me..."

"You don't know anything! Go, go! Martyn grumbled, although it was clear he was not actually upset. As Grian was getting up on the boat, he pushed him with his foot, causing the parrot to fall into the water with a startled squawk.

"Hey! You're gonna drown me!" he huffed as he started shaking off the water. Martyn shielded his face with his hands. 

"Oh, c'mon! You're not that short, you're gonna be fine!"

"Ugh, I hate you..." Grian sighed, then let out a playful laugh. Martyn chuckled.

"Hate you too, dude."

The parrot managed to climb on the outer wall and get out of the base. As he walked back to his base, he took off his jumper to rinse off the water. As he took a stroll back to his base, he didn't even notice the metal corpse of a broken bot, lying not too far away in the forest. The gaping hole in its head was still emitting faint smoke.

---

Jimmy did not have a chance to rest well that night. His whole body was exhausted, but restless at the same time - which made falling asleep incredibly hard. He kept tossing and turning on his bed, trying his best to calm down and get some sleep. His wings were too heavy and too hot, his skin felt uncomfortable, as if his bones no longer fit the right way, his claws kept on tearing open bedsheets and pillows. He tried his best to stay quiet, to not wake up his friends, but it was getting harder and more frustrating with each passing hour.

"Ugh... What's going on...?" he muttered, covering his eyes with his hands and letting out a loud groan. For a moment he froze in place, when he noticed a few small feathers growing on his cheekbones. They weren't here before just a few hours ago... Just like his claws, which weren't there before he needed them... For a moment, fear started seeping into his head. Why was all of this happening? Was that all the Watchers' doing? How much did they want to change him? And how long would it last until he was no longer-

Do not be afraid.

The man gasped as he uncovered his eyes and sat up on his bed. But the bed, and the whole Mount Bam were gone. Instead, he was suspended in the middle of a great, vast nothing. His wings immediately covered him in a defensive gesture. He knew that place too well...

"Oh no, oh no... Did I die again? What? How?"

You are still alive. You're just somewhere else. You're here to face your superiors, Phoenix.

That immediately made everything clear in his head. His body moved on its own into a bow in front of the Watchers - but since there was no stable ground anywhere around, the sudden motion sent him spinning. He let out a startled and frankly quite pathetic squeal as he tried to regain stability. He could already feel the Watchers' all over him. And it was quite humiliating.

"Sorry, sorry!-" he huffed, opening his wings to balance himself. Before he could even do so, his movement suddenly came to a halt. The Watchers were still silent, waiting for him to get serious. They probably stopped him to get back in business quicker. "Okay, okay, I'm here... Do you... Need me for something...?"

How are you getting accustomed to your new strength, Phoenix?

"Oh, it's awesome! I killed Mumbo today! Or at least I think I did..." he smiled, but his expression quickly faded. It suddenly felt bad to say that. But why? After everything he's been through, he deserved to go a little wild, didn't he? "And it felt... It felt great!"

Truly?

"Yeah! I love this feeling, of suddenly having power! Of no longer being the weak link! It's so... Refreshing, so... Electric, so... Incredible!"

Don't lose your focus just yet. Your mission is still not done.

"Right, yes, I know, I may still be eliminated..." Jimmy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry! I'm untouchable now! Well, almost..."

You still perished twice, Phoenix. Your immaculate power needs to work in tandem with your mind. And you're still too scatterbrained. Your uncooperation might lose you your strength, and turn you back into the squalid canary. Do you wish for that?

The man nervously chuckled. Was that an insult? It felt like an insult... As if he was being told that even when being granted power by literal deities, he was still an idiot. He looked around, getting more and more intimidated by all of the shielded stares, watching his every move and every breath.

"It-it's not like that! I will not die, I promise! I'll do whatever you want me! Just..." Jimmy huffed, shielding from the coldness of the abyss with his wings. "Please... Don't take all this away from me..."

The Watchers were silent, as if pondering their decision. It didn't calm down Jimmy all that much. He still needed to prove himself. He was no longer the canary, but he was still Jimmy. And that was his biggest problem.

"I... I wanna feel like the big guy for once..." he muttered, his voice getting more and more insecure. He crossed his arms, his claws digging into his skin - though not deep enough to cause severe bleeding. "I wanna protect my friends, I wanna have fun without having to worry about dying, I wanna... I wanna win..."

Very well then. You may keep your power. But, you must fulfill our will.

"Yes, yes, of course! Please!" Jimmy looked back up at them with excitement. "I promise, I swear! You won't regret this!"

We shall see.

The phoenix sighed with relief, opening his wings again. They didn't feel so big and uncomfortable, at least for now... And that was a good sign. He was in a good place. He was getting better, stronger, more powerful. He already beat his own curse, so at this point, he could beat anyone. And it made him feel warm inside. If only the void around him wasn't so cold... 

Just remember, Phoenix. Don't look too high up. May the sun burn you, the moment where you start looking where you shouldn't.

Jimmy opened his mouth to answer, but all of the sounds made by him were drawn out. The overwhelming coldness of the abyss suddenly started heating up around him. He closed his eyes and covered his face, so as to not get burned. The air - or whatever was keeping him alive and breathing - was getting too hot for him, and started scorching his lungs. Before the familiar feeling of being turned into dust overwhelmed him, he suddenly jerked up on his bed, struggling to breathe.

He was back, at last. 

And together with him, tens of omnipotent eyes, watching his every move and every decision.

No more messing up.

No more dying.

Unless it was from his own hands.

Notes:

Also, a quick note regarding how the story will develop.
I more or less have an ending I'm aiming towards and that I will try to make work no matter what happens in the actual series.
For now, I'll try to follow what actually happens in Wild life as closely as possible. But if/when Jimmy dies, so he's no longer an active player in the canon story... You guys will be on my mercy :>

Chapter 5: The trusting and the distrustful

Summary:

Grian and Martyn try to recruit others to help them figure out what to do with Jimmy. Their attempts immediately fire back at them.

Notes:

Okay so, funny story - there was not supposed to be a chapter before the next episode, buuuut I figured out there are some things I need to set up and I don't wanna cram them between other important story beats. So yeah, surprise chapter! Although this time I can tell you already, the next time is coming out Saturday at the earliest.
And yet again, thank you so so much for all the support! I've seen some people already draw phoenix!Jimmy (including my design of him!) and I'm so excited to see that you like this story so much! Your feedback means the world to me, please do share it if you have any! I'll try my best to keep releasing these chapters and make them as good as I can!

Even before daybreak, Martyn and Grian met up under the Spanner's base. They had a lot of time before noon to talk about their situation and what they could do. The previous night was a pretty calm one, but neither of them could sleep - they were too worried about their friend and his sudden change. Luckily, they may have just figured out a solution. Now, they just needed to test it.

"You really think it'll work...?" Grian asked with a bit of hesitance in his tone. It was still early, so he couldn't help but yawn. 

"It has to... I had no better ideas" Martyn chuckled nervously, fidgeting with a loose part of his headband. "And trust me, I had a lot of ideas... To the point where Ren smacked me, cuz he couldn't sleep with my mumbling" he added with a silly smile. Grian sighed with an amused expression.

"You guys are so sappy..." he said, nudging Martyn with his elbow. "C'mon, let's get movin'... The sooner we get our dumb Jimmy back, the better."

Luckily, they did not have too far to go. The Tuff Guys' base was in a straight line east from where they were. There laid - probably in bed - their first target: Tango. Martyn's idea was to find the players that Jimmy was at some point in the past close to, and convince them to talk to him. Best case scenario, maybe he'd finally calm down and stop his bloodthirsty rampage. But if that didn't happen, maybe they at least would've learned something new, something useful. Their first bet was Tango, but they had at least one more person in mind.

"Tango! We gotta talk!" Grian called out, knocking on the door to blazeborn's house.

"He didn't leave yet, did he?" Martyn looked around the area, hiding his hands in his pockets. "You would've seen him if he did, wouldn't ya?"

Grian just shrugged. He held out his hand to knock again, but then they both heard footsteps inside.

"Comin', I'm coming..." Tango's voice approached them from the other side of the door. A moment later, he opened it and looked at them with a sleepy, but suspicious look on his face. "Hi guys... What are you doing here?"

"We gotta talk, Tango" Martyn leaned on the doorframe, looking straight at the blazeborn. "It's about Jimmy. Can we come in?"

"I'd... I'd rather we talk outside. I haven't finished building the place yet."

Tango closed the door behind him and joined them on the grass. His blond hair went ablaze right away, to warm up him and his friends on a cold morning. Grian sighed with relief, finally getting to warm his wings.

"Did something happen?" the blazeborn asked right away, tilting his head a little like a curious cat.

"Have you seen Jimmy lately?"

"Well, I talked to him yesterday... For a moment, though, then he suddenly left... But what's wrong?"

"What's wrong ?" the Listener huffed, this question suddenly getting on his nerves. "Haven't you seen how he looked? All of a sudden, he grew like half a foot, and his feathers grew back! Not to mention, he's been acting like one cheeky bastard..."

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, I noticed he looked different! Good for him, honestly" Tango giggled with a dreamy expression. His tail started wagging from side to side. Martyn opened his mouth to shot back, but seeing his friend's frustration, he gestured to speak instead. It was unlike Martyn to get so angry so quickly... He was clearly very worried.

"Well, yeah, but..." the parrot took a deep breath, bracing himself before speaking out. "We... I messed up. I saw how annoyed he was, and I offered help... And it fired back. There's something influencing him, and we're worried where that might lead."

"Something, controlling him? Like what?"

Martyn and Grian looked at each other. They were clearly unsure whether revealing the truth to Tango was a good idea. There were too many people on the server who knew about the Alliance: them both, Scott and Pearl, Scar after his last win... And Ren. But Grian didn't know that Martyn shared his knowledge, or at least a little piece of it, with his partner. Oh, and of course, Jimmy knew the truth as well, but it didn't matter all that much at that point. That meant, they had to either come up with a clever plan to not tell Tango the whole truth, or accept another person into their little circle of knowledge. And none of the options were favorable. Ultimately, Grian sighed and put his hands on Tango's shoulders.

"Okay, listen... Since you might be our only option to get Jimmy out of this mess... You need to know the truth. But you can't tell anyone, aside from us. Don't even tell Jimmy that you know all that. 'kay?"

Tango nodded, but his tail curled and stopped wagging. Suddenly, he looked worried. Grian and Martyn looked very serious and on edge... 

"Okay, fine, what is it...?"

Grian turned to Martyn. He was somewhat aware that his friend had a lot of knowledge about the Alliance - even more so than him, an elder Watcher. So if someone was to explain, it had to be him. Martyn nervously bit his lip, unsure on where to start. Yet again, his lack of confidence surfaced, preventing him from each his goal. He could almost hear the Watchers laughing at him from behind the scenes. But he was not gonna give them the satisfaction.

"Well... These games are... Controlled by these deities, called Watchers. And Listeners, too, but they don't matter right now. And the Watchers are targeting Jimmy... They made him like this. And we're worried about how it might unfold."

Tango stared at them with a confused expression. He had no idea what all that meant...But as all of this information started clicking together, he soon came to a conclusion that neither Grian, nor Martyn expected or wanted.

"Wait, what's the problem? If this game is run by some guys, and they like Jimmy, so what?"

"Tango, the Watchers are not just some guys " Martyn grabbed Tango by the shoulder. Grian moved back a little, his wings shaking a little bit as his friend's words. "They are omnipotent beings that are forcing us to kill each other! They're evil and incredibly dangerous! And they-"

"Well, evil might be a stretch..." Grian muttered under his breath, twisting a curl of his hair on his finger. Martyn turned right back to him.

"Wha- What do you mean? Of course they are! They started the g-" he immediately bit his tongue. Well, it wasn't the Watchers, as a collective, starting the games. It was Grian. Did that mean Grian was evil? Well, he did do quite a lot of bad things... But he wasn't evil. Especially now, he just wanted to save his friend. Even if that meant going against the other Watchers. The man sighed and turned back to Tango. "Listen, they are... The Watchers are dangerous. And they force Jimmy to do their bidding-"

"I'unno, man, he seemed pretty happy... Well, he mentioned feeling weird, but he didn't elaborate..."

"I- Tango, he's not thinking clearly! Who knows what's going on in his head right now?" 

Tango's face got a little bit more serious.

"And who knows what's going on in your heads? Maybe Jimmy is alright, and you're exaggerating?"

"What? No, of course not! We-"

"How do I know this isn't just some prank? Everyone knows you hate him- Who's to say you don't just want him to be eliminated again?"

"Tango, wait-" Grian approached them, but the blazeborn cut him off right away.

"I've never seen Jimmy this confident... Why do you wanna take this away from him? Just because there are some gods helping him? Do you care more about him, or about them?"

"Tango, you're getting it all wrong..." the Watcher tried answering in a calm manner, but it didn't help much. The flames on Tango's head became stronger and brighter. 

"I just want my rancher to be happy. He knows that if something's wrong, he can always come to me. And he didn't-" he hesitated for a second, and then added "He didn't come to me, complaining that some gods brainwashed him. He trusts me, and he's much smarter than you might think. He wouldn't just let himself into something stupid like that."

"Then how do you explain how he acts?" Martyn scoffed. "He was an ass to me and to Grian, he attacked Pearl- he killed Mumbo!"

"He's on red! We all go crazy on red! But I guess you can do that just fine on green, eh?"

"Oh you little..." Martyn huffed and took a step towards Tango, attempting to intimidate him. Before he could do much, Grian grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. 

"Mart, chill! It's fine, we... We have to try something else" the Watcher muttered. He then looked at Tango again. "I know you don't believe us, but... Please, talk to Jimmy, okay? Just in case... And let us know if you notice something, anything wrong."

"Sure" Tango sighed and rolled his eyes, then headed back inside. He shut the door behind him, but for just a moment, his sight laid on a half-scorched feather, laying on top of a crafting table. It still worried him... But there was nothing to worry about, right? Jimmy would not let himself get into such a mess... Right?

"Mart, calm down! What's goin' on with you?" Grian pulled the Listener away and shook him by the arm. It took Martyn a moment to start breathing normally again. 

"I..." Martyn sighed and rubbed his temples "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I blew it, didn't I?"

"Kinda... What's wrong, dude?"

"It's... It's nothing, really. Not the time" the Listener muttered and turned away from Grian. "C'mon, we gotta go talk to Scott... If Tango can't help us, then he's pretty much our last bet."

---

Right as they approached the place where Scott lived, they noticed him and his allies working on rebuilding their eastern wall. Something - or someone - clearly blew it up, leaving not only a gaping hole in the wall, but also a small crater in the ground. There were also some deep scratch marks, left on the grass and the rocks. Before they could even approach Scott, they were both stopped by Cleo.

"And what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice full of suspicion.

"Hi, Cleo... We need to talk to Scott. Like, now" Martyn explained quickly. The zombie stared them down, then looked back at the blown up wall.

"Scott, c'mere!"

"Who blew up your wall like that?" Grian asked, peeking over Cleo to look at the damage. 

"We don't know... But whoever that was, they better watch out" Cleo muttered in an annoyed tone. They turned as they heard Scott approaching.

"Hi guys..." Scott tried sounding friendly, but he immediately noticed the serious expressions on Grian and Martyn's faces. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"Yeah, we need to talk to you... Alone. It's about Jim."

"Jimmy? I haven't seen him for a while... What's wrong?"

For a moment, it sounded like a good thing. Maybe Scott wouldn't get the wrong idea right away, like Tango did... However, there was another problem.

"The Watchers" Grian whispered as they got away from Scott's group. "They're controlling Jimmy... And he's acting like a lunatic."

"As in?" Scott raised his eyebrow.

"He's been mean to me and Martyn, he almost killed Pearl, he- well, most likely killed Mumbo..."

"Well, shouldn't we be happy that he's in the good graces of our siblings?" the blue-haired man shrugged. Martyn rolled his eyes.

"Ah shit, here we go again..."

"I don't think those are just good graces, dude..." Grian sighed. "He's... Changed. Both physically and mentally. Trust me, I'd think it's a completely different person if-" he suddenly stopped unsure whether he should continue. Scott's interest piqued.

"If?"

"If I didn't cause him to... Turn out this way" Grian sighed and rubbed his forehead. "He... He was so miserable, thinking he's gonna get eliminated again... And as a prank, I summoned the elders, pretending that they're gonna help him... But they thought it's actually a good idea" he added with a bitter expression. Scott hummed, scratching his chin.

"If they thought it's a good idea, maybe it is?" the man hummed. "Look, the bit about Jimmy dying first- or, well, second, every time is funny, but it can only go on for so long, right?"

"Scott, this isn't about the bit!" Martyn quickly got heated again, but this time he noticed it quickly. He took a deep breath to calm down, then spoke in a slightly calmer tone. "He looks completely different, and acts... Well, almost feral..."

"Okay, but what do you need me for?"

"You're on good terms, right? You dated, didn't you?"

Scott blushed a little, looking at them with a bit of confusion.

"Yeah..."

"Can you talk to him? Figure out what we can do, so that he quits being... Like this? He doesn't trust us, so maybe he'll tell you something we can use?"

"I..." Scott rolled his eyes. "Fine, sure... I guess I can talk to him... But I still don't get what you're so worried about..."

"Great!" Martyn sighed with relief and patted Scott on the back. "C'mon, let's go see him now, before the next wildcard starts..."

---

Jimmy barely had the time to gather his thoughts after waking up. His lungs were burning, his wings were weighing him down, his head felt louder than it ever did. He still wasn't over the conversation he had with the Watchers in his sleep. His body barely rested during the short sleep, and his mind had no time to rest at all - which resulted in him feeling groggy and confused. Almost immediately, he was approached by Scar.

"Hi, Jim! We have a surprise for you!"

"H-huh...?" the phoenix huffed, shielding his eyes with his hand as he looked up at Scar. It was early, why was the sun so strong already? He sighed and sat up on the bed. "Give me a minute..."

"Oh, Jim, you silly goose" Scar chuckled and sat on the bed next to him "It's gonna take just a moment! C'mon!"

"Okay, fine..." Jimmy muttered, slowly getting up from the bed. Yet again, there was this strange feeling that appeared the moment he started moving. His body felt bigger, heavier, more stocky- almost as if it wasn't his. For a second, he caught himself staring at his clawed hands. He almost forgot that he had them now... Which was clearly seen on his bed - his bedsheet and pillow were torn apart, white feathers falling from the inside. Jimmy took a moment to stabilize himself, opening his wings to keep his balance. "What is it...?" 

"Surprise!" Lizzie poked out from around their chests, holding something in her hands. She then spread it, showing off a new outfit to Jimmy. 

The last clothes that were gifted to the phoenix by her were light in color and clearly referenced bamboo, the symbol of their base and their alliance. This time, the light color palette of green, beige and light brown, almost sand color were replaced with cyan, maroon and black - color reminiscent of what Scar started wearing after turning red. A deep red shirt with long sleeves, gloves in a matching color, long pants, with one of the sleeves adorned with blue stripes, and again red shoes - everything went well together. For a moment, all the pain and bloodlust disappeared from Jimmy's head, as he got excited about his upcoming makeover.

"Wow, Lizzie! Thanks so much!" he huffed and flew over to hug his friend. She chuckled as she accidentally dropped the clothes on the ground.

"C'mon, try them on! You'll look awesome!"

Quite quickly, they all realized that 'awesome' was not the right word. The new clothes looked amazing - but the problem was, Jimmy's sudden growth spurt caused them to not fit all too well. In just a few moments, he found himself annoyed with the shirt, which sleeves turned out to be both too narrow and too short. 

"C'mon..." he huffed under his breath. "What's wrong with me?"

"Well, you did get a bit bigger than you were a while ago" Lizzie pointed out. "I didn't think of that, I didn't realize the change was this... Y'know..."

"Don't worry, I've got this!" the phoenix huffed. He grabbed one of the sleeves, then with a loud ripping sound, he tore off a part of it. Lizzie gasped in shock. Jimmy then rolled it up in a way where the rip was not visible. He then tried the shirt on - it was still tight, but much more manageable. "See? There we go!"

"Well, if that works..." Lizzie sighed, watching as despite the sleeves fitting better now, they still started slightly ripping at the seams. Jimmy was always the scrawny one, how did he get so ripped all of a sudden?

The phoenix sat on the bed, making a few more adjustments. The opening on his back needed to be a bit bigger, to accommodate his bigger wings. The gloves didn't quite work with his claws - but after biting off the fingers (of the gloves, not his own) they were perfect. The highest button on his shirt, which refused to stay in place, was covered with a cyan bowtie. His shoes fit just fine, but his pants were a struggle again - luckily, Scar gave him his own suspenders and they worked just fine. To finish it off, Lizzie handed him a new tophat - it was black, with a cyan stripe.

"And? What do we think?" he asked, getting up and posing in front of his friends.

"You look fabulous!" Lizzie said with an excited smile. He had to hide her disappointment over how much of her work Jimmy had to rip to shreds to accommodate himself - but she tried explaining to herself that it was neither her, nor his fault. 

"Yeah, you look a may zing!" Scar chuckled and nudged him on the shoulder. "Now we can finally go kill people together! Bam!"

"Yeah! Bam!" Jimmy chuckled. For just this moment, his head felt light and clear. He could just stay like this, with his friends, and not worry about what was happening around him- what was happening to him ... He sat down on the ground, his wings twitching in excitement. "But first, can we eat? I'm starving..."

"Sure! Anything you want?" Scar asked as he approached their chest.

"Hmmm... Do we have any meat...?"

Suddenly, his ears perked up as he heard something - or rather, someone. They were approaching, were they dangerous? Jimmy immediately flew up and landed on a tree branch, positioned as if ready to pounce at a moment's notice. He looked overhill and tensed a bit when he noticed Martyn, Grian and Scott reaching the top. He let out a quiet hiss, and it took him a second to realize that he actually just did that.

"Hi guys!" Grian waved at them. "Is Jimmy here? We wanna talk with him..."

"And who said Jimmy wants to talk to you?" the phoenix huffed, shifting his position a bit. 

Martyn looked back at his friends and immediately steered the conversation in a different way.

"No, no, he didn't mean it like that! It's Scott who wanted to talk to you... And we already needed to talk to Scar and Lizzie, so we just tagged along! Right?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Grian sighed with relief when he noticed that it calmed Jimmy down, at least a little bit. So Martyn still could be a smooth talker, whenever he wanted...

Jimmy looked at Scott with a confused expression. Seeing his friend made his heartbeat faster for just a second - and the feeling was mutual, most likely. Scott stared at the phoenix, clearly enamored by his new form. He already found Jimmy quite attractive, but this was a new high.

"Oh, do we have anything to talk about, Grian?" Scar teased with a cheeky smile, but was met with Grian's serious expression.

"Yes, we do" he huffed.

In the meantime, Scott approached the tree on which Jimmy was sitting. The blond man flew down and landed in front of his friend. He put on a smile, but together with his rosy red eyes, it gave him more of an intimidating look. Not as if Scott minded that.

"Wow, Jim, you... You look... Good" he stuttered. Jimmy chuckled, his lesser wings opening a bit.

"Well, thank you!" he responded and leaned on the tree, trying to get down to Scott's eye level. "What can I do for ya, bud?"

"So, uh, I mostly just wanted to check up on you... I missed you, to be honest" the Watcher smiled and reached out his hand. "Sit down will me, will ya?"

"Sure... Actually, can you help me? I need to preen my wings... They take more effort now that the feathers grew back" he admitted with a silly smile and grabbed the blue-haired man's hand, then sat down on the ground. Scott nodded and joined him on the ground.

"Of course... I think I still remember how to do it" Scott smiled.

Jimmy turned his back to get his wings preened, but immediately, a voice in his head nagged him.

Don't turn back on him. He might backstab you at your most vulnerable moment.

"It's fine, Scott is a friend..." he muttered, but his brain started getting foggy again. The awful feeling of not belonging in his own body returned.

Doesn't matter. He might still be a danger.

"So... You wanted to see me, just because...?" Jimmy asked. He tried his very best to relax, but his whole body felt incredibly tense.

"I just wanted to, like, check up on you..." Scott said in a soft tone, gently preening the phoenix's wings. He flinched as he touched the feathers, they were much warmer than he would've imagined. 

"Mhmm... And why are Grian and Martyn here?"

"They just, y'know, wanted to talk with Scar and Lizzie... I don't know what about" Scott just shrugged. 

Jimmy nodded, but it didn't calm him down. Not yet. He hung his head down, waiting for his friend to finish. Usually preening was something he looked out for. It was a relaxing activity, during which he could just talk with his friends and share a few laughs... But this time, it felt unnerving. As if every time something moved within his feathers, it could've been a blade, stabbing him in the back. But Scott wouldn't do that. Would he?

"And what do you think about... Well... This...?" he asked, slightly moving his wings and showing off his claws.

"Oh, well, it's... It's a change, for sure" Scott chuckled nervously. "I think it suits you... Who would've thought that the Watchers have sucha good taste?"

"How do you know the Watchers did this to me?" Jimmy suddenly asked. His voice was sharp, like a blade. The blue-haired man even moved back a bit, clearly startled. 

"I- well, I can feel their aura on you, of course..." he giggled, trying to remain calm. All of a sudden, his close friend, his lover seemed like a threat, one that could attack him at any moment. Maybe there was something to what Grian and Martyn said? Jimmy never acted like that, so... On edge, so full of suspicions... Scott gulped, his shaking hands continuing to preen the phoenix. "I can feel they added their touch to you..."

"Oh, really..." Jimmy muttered, fidgeting with his fingers. 

The rest of the preening was done in complete silence. Both of them feel stressed, waiting for the other to attack. Scott tried his best to not show his uncertainty by his movements, but it wasn't easy. With each moment that they spent together, he realized that Grian and Martyn were on to something... Jimmy did change. And maybe it was actually a bad thing...?

"There, I'm finished" Scott muttered after finishing the process, setting aside the last loose feather. The moment he let go of it, it started burning, until only its dark core fell on the grass. Jimmy got up and shook off his wings. Finally, they felt a bit lighter, and more right. Maybe that was all he needed, and all these strange feelings about his body would finally go away...

"Thank you" he whispered, but did not turn to face Scott. "Do you need something?"

"I just... Are you feeling okay? You seem... Different..."

"I'm feeling great" Jimmy lied, starting to stretch. "I just... I'm just adjusting. It's a big change, but... It's a good one, I'm sure."

"Okay... I trust you" Scott smiled and put his hand on Jimmy's back, between his wings. The phoenix immediately jumped away and let out a startled hiss. The blue-haired man backed off right away "Sorry, sorry..."

"It's... It's okay. But you should go. You're not safe here" he added, his voice slightly quieter.

Scott turned back and saw Grian waving back at him. He took one last glance at Jimmy, before he ran after his friends to join them on the stairs. Jimmy sighed, then took off and landed on the chests, observing the group. His enhanced hearing was perfect for eavesdropping.

"So? What did he tell you?" Martyn asked right away.

"Well, he claims he's feeling great, but... You were right, guys, there's something wrong... It's almost like it's not actually him..."

"See? We told you!"

The phoenix hissed again, shifting in his place. So his suspicions were correct... Scott was there to spy on him. He had a deal with Martyn and Grian... And he could only guess what that deal was. They were scheming to take him down, to strip him of his power.

How foolish they were.

Before anyone could notice, Jimmy took off and pounced right at Scott. The tackle was so strong that both of them tumbled down the stairs, all the way down to the bottom of Mount Bam. Scott let out a startled gasp as the phoenix grabbed him by the shirt.

"You lied to me! I knew it!" he growled. "You, Grian and Martyn... You're in cahoots, aren'tcha?"

"Jim! Get off him!" Martyn ran up to the taller man and pulled him by the arm, trying to get him off Scott. The phoenix let out an ear-piercing screech and swung his claws at the Listener. His scream of pain immediately shook him off his frenzy, when the smell of blood hit him. He scratched right through Martyn's face, tearing his eyepatch apart. The blond man dropped to the ground, struggling to catch his breath.

"Mart!" Grian ran up to his friend and covered him with his wings. He looked up at Jimmy with a furious expression. "What are you doing?!"

"I-I..." Jim stuttered. He looked down at Scott, who was clearly beat up from the fall. There was a faint trail of blood, dripping from his nose. All these sudden sensations, the weight of his actions, the realization... It was too much for him. His eyes teared up, and the moment the tears hit the feathers on his face, they evaporated.

"Jim... Please, talk to us..." Scott coughed, still under the phoenix and clearly struggling to breathe.

In an instant, the phoenix took off into the sky. He wanted to fly as far away as he could, hide somewhere and never face his friends again... If he could even still call them that. He tried his best to wipe his face, as the air felt cold on his wet cheeks.

"What do I do...?" he asked himself silently.

You did well. They're scared of you. Will not put up a fight the next time.

"But..." Jimmy opened his mouth, until he was interrupted by a sound. Even hundreds of feet above ground, he could hear it.

It was quite a familiar ringing.

The wildcard was just about to activate.

Chapter 6: The dangers outside and the one inside

Summary:

The new wildcard activates, and team BAM finds themselves in constant danger. It doesn't help that one of its sources is one of their teammates

Notes:

TW: This chapter has more depictions of violence and injuries than the others, so if you're sensitive to that, please watch out

I really wanted to post this chapter yesterday, however a few things popped up out of my control. Sorry this one comes out so late ^^"

Session 6 will be most likely split into two chapters (this and the next one) and I might include another one with things happening outside of the session - especially with Grian and Martyn's sorta B plot.

Still I hope you like this one, let me know what you think ^^

For the first few seconds, Jimmy did not notice any traces of the new wildcard. It didn't allow him to rest just yet, however. He looked around, his fingers nervously twitching. Maybe he was safe up there, and the wildcard was something affecting the surface... But in that case, his family, his flock was in danger... Should he stay here, where nothing dangerous would reach him? Or should he join them and possibly protect them? The phoenix started nervously lowering his flight, but then took up again, unsure what he should do. Both options were scary - one for his allies, one for him. He needed to be there to protect them... What if he failed, and was left all alone?

He couldn't ponder the thought for too long, however, as he suddenly heard a loud hiss right behind him. The man turned around and let out a startled squawk, narrowly avoiding a phantom's fangs. The monster turned around in the air and let out a throbbing sound, ready for another attack. Phoenix let out a low growl as an answer, until he suddenly felt a jolt of stabbing pain in his arm. Another phantom bit him right under his elbow, leaving deep, bleeding wounds.

"Ugh, you-!" Jimmy groaned, then grabbed the monster by the tail and tossed it towards the ground. The monster quickly picked up flight and turned to charge at him again. And there was another phantom coming at him from the side.

Jimmy huffed and dived towards the ground, to hopefully avoid the monsters. Where did they come from? It seemed as if they just spawned... But phantoms only spawned at night, right? As the Listener was getting closer and closer to the ground, a few feathers started falling from his wings and, picked by the wind currents, flew towards the phantoms. As they started scorching, they immediately burned the phantoms, which quickly withdrew. Jimmy took a heavy landing on the edge of Mount Bam, then looked around in horror.

The base was filled with all sorts of different animals and monsters. Right away, he noticed a camel, a panda, an armadillo and a drowned. Where did they even come from? The phoenix slowly walked up the hill, the previous phantoms’ attack now completely gone from his mind - just like his earlier encounter with Grian, Martyn and Scott. They all seemed to have left already, anyways.

"Scar? Lizzie?" he called out, then looked down at his wristband for a possible message indicating that either of them died. They didn't... So they had to be close. Jimmy took a deep breath, then rushed towards their usual meeting point at the western edge of the hill. They had to be there, somewhere...

"Jimmy!" suddenly, he heard Lizzie's voice coming from where he was just heading. Her head was poking from under the ground. The phoenix sighed with relief and flew up to them.

"Liz! I'm so sorry I left, what happened?"

"It's crazy out there, Jimmy!" she called out. Only when he got close, Jimmy noticed that she was standing on a ladder leading somewhere deep underground. "C'mon, get inside the bunker!"

"The... Bunker?" he huffed, clearly confused by the sudden realization that they did, in fact, have a bunker. Lizzie went down the ladder to get back inside, and the phoenix joined her soon after. He hissed under his breath as his wings rubbed against the tight, stone shaft.

The inside of the bunker looked pretty bare, but it was clearly just a work in progress. A small room was dug out in the grey stone, just big enough for all of them to stay inside more or less comfortably. Scar was busy digging out more of the stone, making the bunker more spacious. Jimmy grabbed his own pickaxe and joined him right away.

"I've got this, don't worry" he said with a timid smile. The emotional turmoil of everything that just happened was only now starting to fade, and for just a moment, his mind felt clear again. Scar smiled at him and moved back to a crafting table, to start furnishing the place. "Since when do we even have a bunker?"

"We started building it this morning..." Lizzie admitted, digging out a bit of the ceiling so that Jimmy did not have to hunch over all the time. "In case something goes wrong, and you have to hide."

The phoenix chuckled nervously.

"You meant to say, ' we have to hide'?"

Lizzie and Scar looked at each other with worried expressions. They looked like a pair of parents that were getting a divorce, unsure of who should break the news. The woman nodded back at her friend, suggesting that he should finally speak up. Scar sighed and turned to Jimmy.

"Y'see, Jim... We're still worried that you're gonna get eliminated. So, we thought it'd be for the best for us all, that you stay here , until the wildcard loses its effect, and..."

"And what, and I hide like a coward?" Jimmy shot right back, trying his best to hide that his voice started to break. "You- You don't believe that I can protect myself, right? I can! I'm not the first one out!"

"Yes, yes, we know, Jimmy..." Lizzie took a step forward and took Jimmy's clawed hand in her own. She was very careful to not startle the phoenix, as well as to not accidentally scratch herself with his talons. "You're not out first, and we're very proud of you... But that doesn't mean you're safe now. You're still on red, and this wildcard is so unpredictable..."

"None of us is safe, that's the point of this game! And I- And I want to protect you! I was granted all this power to do that, I need to use it!"

Lizzie and Scar looked back at each other again. They noticed that Jimmy was changing, and he was changing fast - but neither of them mentioned it too much, as to not worry their friend too much. They knew that he was acting more erratic and more aggressive, and his sudden growth spurt did not seem all that natural... And Jimmy knew it, too. After all, he said himself that this strange power was 'granted' to him. But by who? And why?

"Jim, you don't have to stick out your neck for us" Scar smiled gently "We're a family, right?"

"But- Yes, that's the point! You're my family, my flock! I have to protect you! And I won't be able to do that if I just stay here!"

The phoenix let out a sullen cry and sat on the cold ground, hiding his face in his hands. His whole body was shaking, and he wasn't even sure why. His friends were looking out for him, and he loved them for that... But the thought of staying behind and being basically useless to the team was horrible. He enveloped himself in his wings, it felt like his heart was beating out of his chest. He couldn't just stay here, he had to go there and fight, he had to protect his flock, he had to-

"Jimmy?" Lizzie crouched next to her friend and carefully reached out over his wing to touch his shoulder. She was careful to not let the scorching hot feathers burn her. "Hey, Jim... Please, breathe... We can talk about it, okay?"

The man nodded and looked up at his friends, wiping the traces of tears in his eyes. Scar and Lizzie joined him on the ground. The sounds of chaos on the surface could barely reach them down there.

"Okay, let's think..." Lizzie hummed. "Me and Scar can scout the mountain and get rid of the most dangerous mobs. You should be safe after that, right?"

"I guess..." Jimmy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. For a moment, he looked down at his wristband, at the list of all the players. He was the only person on red, how embarrassing... Most people were on yellow or light green. There were only two people left on dark green - Gem and Lizzie. That put huge targets on their backs, meaning that if anyone wanted to regain a life, these two gals were their only options to do so. Jim shifted on his spot, unsure how to verbalize what he was thinking. "I have another idea, but... I don't think you're gonna like it..."

"What is it?"

"I... I think you should let me kill you."

An uncomfortable silence immediately filled the room. It took them a moment to be on the same page, but the intent was clear. If Jimmy killed Lizzie, he would go from red to yellow - and his risk of getting eliminated would decrease significantly. On the other hand, Lizzie would no longer be in so much danger of dying from someone else's hand. Still, it was a bitter pill to swallow - and despite her best intent, the woman did not feel ready to just lay down her head and let her own teammate slay here, even if it was for mutual benefit.

"I know what you mean" Lizzie took a deep breath. "Yes, we can do it. But-! I think we should wait to see how much danger we end up in. You can still try and go after Gem, and if you're in danger, you can then kill me."

Jimmy nodded, feeling as reaffirming heat filled his chest. He tried his best to keep himself from smiling - as it was a pretty poor moment to show excitement. Lizzie ultimately got off the ground and towards the ladder.

"Scar, c'mon, we gotta scout the area... Jimmy, can you stay here just for now and work on improving the bunker?"

"Yeah... Yeah, no problem" he answered with a shy smile. He silently watched as his friends climbed up the ladder and left him alone in the cold, dark hole in the ground, only illuminated by his glistening feathers.

The next hour or so was spent by Jimmy trying his best to focus on remodeling the bunker. He made it big enough for all of them to stay and move around comfortably. He added a big table and a few chairs around it, so that they could easily stay down there for longer periods of time and scheme. At some point, he even started adding decorations, like carving out spaces for little glowing amethyst crystals to go inside. Anything, to keep his mind occupied. The moment he tried thinking of something else, his instinct immediately started screaming at him to leave this hole and go fight out there like a man. He trusted his teammates, they knew they did all of this because they worried about him... Which didn't change the face that he was feeling utterly useless. After finishing his renovations, he found himself aimlessly pacing around the room, leaving deep scratch marks on the stone walls. Anything, to keep himself down there and away from the danger waiting for him outside.

After some time, the man finally decided to poke his head out of the bunker and see what happened on the surface. From his place, he didn't see that much - only a few foreign, albeit friendly animals wandering around Mount Bam. He carefully pulled himself from the shaft and fixed up his outfit, then headed towards the other edge of the summit. It looked peaceful and safe enough...

Until the familiar ringing sound could be heard again.

"What the- a second wildcard?" he muttered, opening his wings in an intent to run or fight, if something was to attack him. After the ringing sound concluded, he quickly noticed that all the animals that were just surrounding him puffed into clouds of smoke all of a sudden. He jumped back with a startled squawk. "Holy-!"

"Jimmy!" his ears twitched as he heard Lizzie running towards him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, of course... Why did they all die...?"

Before the woman could answer, the air suddenly filled with a racket of different animal noises. Just as rapidly as all of the mobs perished, they respawned - and there were more of them. And they didn't seem friendly. Jimmy immediately let out an angry hiss and opened his wings, then covered Lizzie with one of them in a protective gesture.

"Shit... What do we do?" he muttered under his breath.

Fight. That's the one thing you're meant to do, Phoenix.

"We should run, wait until they get away-"

But Jimmy didn't even listen to her. He immediately sprang into action, jumping at the nearest monster - a skeleton, which he immediately beheaded with a strong kick. He let out a low, guttural growl, his lesser wings opening to help him feel and use the wind currents to his advantage. The moment the skeleton fell to the ground in pieces, he immediately pounced at a nearby zombie, tearing it to shreds thanks to his claws. Anything that got too close to him was immediately pummeled and torn into smithereens. Nothing was safe from a furious mess of talons, burning feathers and primal strength that was Jimmy at that moment. Even the passive of friendly mobs, which got too close to him, were immediately destroyed. The grass and the sakura petals covering the top of Mount Bam were quickly covered with a layer of blood, with a few scorching feathers falling into the mess.

The one thing that pulled Jimmy out of his frenzy was a sudden, startled scream. His pupils immediately dilated as a scent of familiar blood hit him. In his angry flail, he didn't notice that Lizzie got just a little bit too close to him, and his claws tore right through her arm, leaving a big, bleeding wound.

"Oh my gosh! Lizzie, I'm so sorry!" he immediately leaned over Lizzie and covered her with his warm wing. It was clear that she was badly hurt, but she tried putting on a brave face.

"I-It's okay, really..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "It's fine... I guess you can protect yourself after all..."

"We have to get you somewhere safe, now..." Jimmy grabbed her by her wrist, the one that wasn't absolutely mauled by him, but she recoiled in pain.

"Wait, wait, Jimmy... I think you should kill me now" she whispered. "Before something else comes and finishes the job, and we lose the one chance you have..."

"Lizzie-! But... But..."

"Just... Be gentle, okay?" she asked with a sheepish smile.

The phoenix shut his eyes tight. He hated it, he hated the fact that he hurt his teammate, and now he had to put her out of his misery... He hated himself for that, more than anything. He couldn't even watch, but he heard as Lizzie dropped to the ground, ready for Jimmy to finish what he started. The man raised his trembling hand, blood already dripping down his talons. He held his breath as he struck his teammate one last time.

LDShadowlady was slain by Solidarity.

As he lowered his dirty claws, there was one thought that crossed his mind. A thought he doesn't dare to vocalize.

"That shouldn't have felt so good to do."

---

Barely a few minutes after the onslaught finished and Jimmy and Scar finished cleaning the hill off of monsters, the ringing sound repeated. The phoenix growled quietly, opening his wings to shield his teammate. 

"Stay back, I'll deal with them" he muttered "Get in the bunker."

"I'll be fine, Jim... I'm on green, I'm not gonna die that easily" the man smiled in a reaffirming way. He tried pushing Jimmy's wing, but immediately regretted it as the burning feathers hurt his skin right away.

"Scar, please... I need you two safe" Jimmy looked back at him. For a moment, the primal instinct in his eyes was replaced with genuine worry for his friend. The man opened his mouth to answered, but Jimmy cut him off "Wait, I hear something... Someone's coming..."

"Who?" Scar turned back towards the stairs leading up the mountain. His face lit up the tiniest bit when he noticed that Grian and Scott were coming back to them, after the messy encounter earlier that morning. "Oh, hi guys!"

"Watch out!" the phoenix suddenly tackled his friend to the ground and covered him with his own body. A fireball shot right over them and crashed right into the bamboo, which grew on the border of the mountain. "Stupid blazes..." he muttered, as he slowly got off Scar and turned to face the monster. It started fuming again, ready for another attack.

"Uh, guys? Your bamboo is catching fire..." Grian pointed out, but Jimmy shot right back at him:

"Not now, Grian! Stay back!"

The phoenix hissed and lunged forward at the blaze. He shielded himself from the next fireball with his wings, then slashed right across the creature's maw. As his emotional turmoil was peaking, his wings were not just getting hotter and hotter - his feathers actually caught fire, despite still being attached to him. The blaze pushed him away, causing Jimmy to hit the dense bamboo with his back. His breath rushed out of his lungs on impact, and the trees immediately caught fire, which started quickly spreading.

"Jimmy! Get outta here!" Grian yelled, rushing towards them.

"Leave me alone! I can deal with this!" the phoenix growled and jumped right back at the blaze, pinning the monster to the ground. He raised his talons to deal the finishing blow, but just for a moment, he hesitated. The creature's eyes might've been full of primal energy and fury, but... They reminded him of something. Or rather someone. For a second, he heard a familiar voice in his head.

"You okay, rancher?"

That moment of uncertainty ended as swiftly, as the blaze's life ended under Jimmy's claws. The monster exploded into a puff of white smoke, which immediately got into the man's lungs. He started coughing, struggling to catch his breath. Why did he even think about Tango in that moment? He was becoming unfocused again... He could almost hear the Watchers scolding him for that. He leaned against the ground, slowly regaining control over his breathing.

The moment he finally got up, he noticed in horror that a big chunk of the bamboo forest around him was completely gone, burned into ashes. And the fire was spreading quickly. Grian, Scott and Scar were busy quelling the fire and cutting off the trees that were unaffected, so that more of them wouldn't start burning. He shakily picked himself up, intending to join their efforts. The moment Grian noticed him approaching, he turned back and yelled at him, opening his clipped wings.

"Get outta here, Jimmy! You're gonna cause this to burn further!"

"No, you get out of here!" Jimmy growled, getting off the ground and hovering over the parrot. "This is my home, and you're an enemy! I can deal with this myself!"

"You can't even control yourself! What are you tryna achieve?!"

"Oh you son of a-" he scowled, but his expression relaxed the moment he noticed Scar's worry. Scott looked just as uneasy about the situation, but after the betrayal earlier today, he didn't even pay the blue-haired man any mind. But Scar... He really did want Jimmy gone, at least for now. The phoenix opened his mouth, as if silently asking for an explanation.

"Jimmy... Please, you look heated..." he asked, trying to keep his voice calm. "Go find Lizzie and make sure she's safe, okay?"

"I-I... But I..." the man took a deep breath and crossed his arms on his chest in a gesture of self protection. "Okay, I'll go find her..."

"Thank you" Scar let out a sigh of relief and turned back, to continue quelling the fire. Grian left Jimmy with one last angry stare, until he joined the efforts again.

The phoenix watched them for a second more, until he picked up into the sky. He stopped a few dozen feet above the surface of Mount Bam, then started looking around the server. It was hard to see from up there - but it felt safer to stay and think up there. Spotting Lizzie turned out to be easier than he expected, thanks to her bright pink hair. Among the moving masses of mobs, he noticed her at the riverbank, close to spawn. Jimmy took a few deep breaths to ready himself, then dived in the air, getting closer and closer to her at unmatchable speed. 

His flight was so fast that Jimmy had trouble processing what was happening, the closer he got to his teammate. Only when he was several feet in front of her, he noticed what she was fighting - an evoker, a humanoid creature shrouded in a black robe. A swarm of vexes surrounded Lizzie, their fangs and tiny blades digging into her skin as she tried to fight them off.

"Liz!" the phoenix called out, trying his best to alert the woman that he was coming. Lizzie narrowly avoided the man, which ended up crashing into the evoker, pushing both of them into the water. The rush of air caused her to lose her balance and fall into the river as well, losing her advantage against the vexes in a second.

LDShadowlady was slain by Vex.

"No!" Jimmy yelled as he noticed his ally disappearing in a cloud of smoke, again. Water rushed right into his lungs, causing him to start choking. The evoker tried to fight back, but the flailing phoenix ended up kicking the monster in the head, cracking its skull. 

The avian emerged from the water, but immediately fell on the shore, his wet, heavy feathers preventing him from flying. He curled up on the grass, coughing up water and opening his wings, so that they could dry faster. He was feeling lightheaded from the temporary lack of air. And above all, he felt horrible for causing the death of his teammate twice already.

Get up. You have to go and fight. You can't stay here.

"I'm trying..." he muttered, struggling to keep himself together. His mind was already out there, scheming how to fight the hordes of wild monsters. At the same time, he was drenched, exhausted and on the brink of losing consciousness. Even the warmth emitted from his wings, causing the water to evaporate fairly quickly, did not help him too much. 

Get. Up. Now

He only managed to pull himself forward a couple of feet, before he ultimately collapsed on the ground. In last ditch effort, he covered himself with his wings, to hide from this big, strange, dangerous outside world.

---

You need to go out there. You will get killed if you don't.

Jimmy could barely feel his body, as he was suspended in the strange space that was The Midway. He always ended up here when he died, but he knew for sure he wasn't dead... He didn't even know how he knew. He just did. The man rubbed his face, trying his best to calm down everything that happened.

"Just... Give me a moment to... To think" he huffed. "I can't keep going like that...I need a minute to... Process..."

So you want to perish again?

"What? No! I just need to..." he let out a quiet groan. He didn't even look at the Watchers surrounding him, but he could feel all of their stares on him. "Can you leave me alone, for just a minute...? I can't think with you guys around..."

He was answered by silence. He didn't know whether the Watchers actually left him alone or not - and he didn't dare to open his eyes, so that he wouldn't be disappointed. Instead, he just started thinking over his situation. He was on yellow, Lizzie was on yellow because of him and Scar was on light green...It wasn't a horrible situation, but it was getting rough. He could feel himself slipping, his mind getting more and more difficult to control... Did he really cause the forest fire earlier, or was that the blaze? Did that even matter? Well, the anger he saw in Grian's eyes, as well as worry in Scott's and Scar's... Why did he even care? Grian was an enemy, Scott was a traitor... But for some reason, he cared. As if they weren't just an enemy and just a traitor. Were they? Why was it suddenly so hard for him to remember? He groaned and softly hit his forehead, trying to get his brain to cooperate.

"What am I even doing...?" he whispered to himself, barely keeping himself from shaking. The Midway was so unbearably cold, why did his wings not heat him like they did back on the server...? "What is happening...?"

You need to go back. Now. The less questions you ask, the safer you are, Phoenix.

"But-!"

Jimmy suddenly woke up on the riverbank. His body seemed to move on its own, as he immediately got off the ground. He was still wet and exhausted, but his brain was already going into overdrive. His wings opened on their own and pulled him towards Mount Bam, to go check up on his flock.

His interest piqued when he noticed Grian hanging out with his teammates at the bottom stairs leading up the mountain. He landed on the grass several feet away from them and folded his wings. Suddenly, he wanted to hide them as much as possible.

"Jimmy!" Lizzie sighed with relief when she noticed the man approaching them. "There you are! Are you okay?"

"You missed a fight with a Warden, dude!" Scar let out an amused laughter. Jimmy looked at them with a tired expression.

"A Warden...? How?"

"Well, it spawned close to Martyn and Ren's base! It was amazing!"

The phoenix's face suddenly went pale. A Warden appeared while he was knocked out... And he wasn't there to protect his flock. His feathers immediately furrowed, as he felt a pit opening in his stomach. He grabbed Lizzie by her arm, watching out to not accidentally scratch her.

"Are you guys okay? It didn't hurt you, right?"

"No, no, we're fine" the woman answered with a soft smile. It calmed Jimmy down, but only for a second - before he noticed her wristband. The strap was now yellow... And it was all his fault. 

He let go of her and turned towards Grian. Only then, he noticed a huge iron golem towering over the short Watcher. Even after Jimmy's sudden growth spurt, it was so much bigger and more imposing than him.

"Why do you have this thing...?" he muttered in a tone full of suspicion. Grian smirked as he looked up at the phoenix.

"This is Bloop! And he's there to sub for Mumbo, since you murdered him in cold blood."

That statement immediately awoke something in Jimmy. All his deeply rooted regrets and shame over what he's been doing, over what he was becoming - gone. That statement really did sound like a challenge. In just a moment, his brain seemed to fill with thick smoke again, blocking any sensibility he might've still possessed.

"Bloop, hm? You think that I can't handle him, if I could kill Mumbo?"

Internally, he smacked himself for that. Why did he even say that? He didn't even know if he really did kill Mumbo the previous day... It could've been just a coincidence. But at that moment, it didn't matter. He opened his wings to appear larger, but that did not phase the giant robot made purely out of metal in the slightest.

"Jimmy, don't do it..." Lizzie asked in a timid voice.

"C'mon Tim" Grian grinned at the taller man. "C'mon, punch him, see if that works out for you..."

The phoenix huffed and twitched his claws. In a split second that his body did not even register, he slashed across the golem's face. A horrible grinding sound ringed in the air, causing everyone to recoil and cover their ears. Jimmy smiled with pride, but immediately jumped back when the creature went into attack mode. It threw a strong, metallic punch towards him, but the Listener took off, getting out of its reach.

"Ha! See? I can do it on my own so easily!" he smirked, until he suddenly felt a strong, cold grip on his ankle. He looked down and in just a second, he noticed that the golem's long arms managed to reach out and grab him, even when he was up above him. "Uh oh-"

The iron golem immediately pulled Jimmy into the ground with incredible force. A loud cracking of bones could be heard, making Scar and Lizzie gasp in horror. Grian just turned around, to not see what was about to happen. The phoenix didn't even have the time nor energy to get off the ground, before the golem attacked again. The man perished in a cloud of smoke, accompanied by the horrifying sound of a crushed skull.

Chapter 7: Losing control

Summary:

Grian realizes that things are quickly slipping out of his control. And he's not the only one with this realization.

Notes:

Okay so, at first this chapter was supposed to be a bit longer, but then I realized that I can put what was meant to be at the end here in another chapter and add some bonus content.
Also, Scaridarity shippers, have your crumbs :>

Jimmy immediately respawned on the little starting island in the middle of the river. His whole body was aching, despite the danger from the golem being gone. The phoenix struggled to catch his breath, overwhelmed with what just happened. He grabbed his lesser wings, almost wanting to pull them out. He was on red, again ... So Lizzie's sacrifice was for nothing. The man groaned loudly and pitifully, struggling to not break down right then and there. The swift, brief escape of this world in the form of death did not help much - he was still feeling drained and increasingly paranoid. For a moment, he tried getting up, but ultimately fell back on the grass. He wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball of shame and disappear-

You can't. Get up and fight.

As if on command, Jimmy picked himself up and slowly approached the edge of the little island. It took him just a while to fly over the water, but his wings were barely listening to him at that point. He desperately wanted to curl up in a nest, hide under his wings and sleep for the next month-

Until suddenly, he noticed some movement in the corner of his eye. The man immediately straightened up and hissed as a warning. Who was it, an enemy? His pupils dilated when he realized that the man that was approaching him was BigB, a fellow player. After living in the Pale forest for too long, his body was overgrown with greyish vegetation, and his brown eyes turned more of an orange color.

"Hi Jim!" he waved at the phoenix. He seemed unphased by how the man looked, as if his sudden transformation into a phoenix was nothing new. Jimmy nervously smiled.

"Hi, B... What are you doing out here...?"

"Oh, I just finished setting up a trap! Well, it's close to your base, so I guess I should warn you about it... Wanna see?"

"A trap? At my b-" Jimmy bit his lip, trying not to sound too surprised. He should've expected that. BigB was very much a free spirit, who kind of did whatever he wanted. It was safer to be in his good graces, because otherwise it was hard to predict what he could do. "Y'know? Yeah, fine, sure..."

"Great! Come with me..."

Jimmy followed him, trying to mask his hesitation. He's barely seen BigB since the start of the game, why was he so friendly? He could just wait for Jimmy to fall into his trap and he'd have one rival left... But it wasn't what he wanted, for whatever reason. Instead, he just slowly treaded towards Mount Bam as if they weren't surrounded by hordes of monsters. He looked completely relaxed, while at the same time Jimmy was on his toes, ready to jump at any monster or animal that dared getting too close. Eventually, the man noticed how tense Jimmy was and turned around to him.

"You okay? You seem nervous..."

"Well, I'm on red, and just died" Jim chuckled nervously. He tried hiding his hands in his pockets, but his claws immediately got caught in the fabric, so he quickly quit his advances.

"Hey, so did I! A Vindicator axed my head" the man chuckled, playing with one of his short dreadlocks. "Well, no more getting back lives, since there are no more dark greens left, right? So it doesn't matter..."

"Wait, when did Gem die?" the phoenix asked in a confused tone. He was so caught up in action that he didn't even die when the last person who was still on dark green lost their life.

"Skizz shot her from that big tower o' his!" B chuckled "At least they're making use of it after it killed Mumbo, right?"

"Oh... Oh, right" Jimmy chuckled bitterly. So the rumor about him most likely killing Mumbo did not spread... Maybe it was for the better.

BigB led Jimmy up the stairs, which were now ruined by the multiple TNT minecarts that were shot right at them. He stopped the phoenix at one point, where the wooden structure was in complete ruin. The blond man huffed as he realized that if it wasn't for his friend, he would've fallen right into a hole, which was dug deep into the ground. He peeked inside and shuddered, seeing a deep, dark shaft.

"Pretty neat, huh?" B asked with a smirk, then looked down the stairs. "Oh, hi Lizzie!"

"Hi BigB! Hi Jim!" the woman smiled and started waving as she passed them...

And immediately fell into the hole.

The last thing they both heard was her scream of panic, before a loud thud of a body hitting the ground drowned it out. Right away, a notification popped up on their wristbands.

LDShadowlady was impaled on a stalagmite.

"BIGB!" Jimmy immediately spun around and jumped at the man, tackling him to the ground. The man let out a startled yelp as he hit his head on the rigid rocks.

"Jim, calm down! It was an accident!"

"B! You son of a bitch!" the phoenix let out a furious screech and slashed his claws right above the man's face. "I'll never let that go, y'hear?! I'll kill you for that!"

"Jimmy, stop!" BigB covered his face with his hands. He let out another painful scream as the bird's talons tore right through the skin on his palms. "Ouch! Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"You will be!" Jimmy raised his wings, which immediately went aflame. Before he could launch another powerful attack, someone grabbed him by the hand and pulled his wrist to the ground.

"Jimmy, calm down!" Scar's voice immediately knocked him out of his bloodthirsty daze. The phoenix fell from the top of BigB on the ground. How could Scar overpower him so easily? He huffed as he started struggling against his teammate.

"Scar, he killed Lizzie! He trapped our base and killed her!"

"I-I'll cover up the hole, I swear!" BigB pleaded, blood streaking down his wounded arms. Jimmy looked back at him with angry sparks in his eyes.

"Go. Now . And never come back!"

The man scrambled up from the ground and ran away from the mountainside as fast as he could. He tuckered his bleeding hands in his shirt. Jimmy watched him, his heavy breathing letting out smoke out of his lungs. He then turned back to Scar.

"Why didn't you let me kill him?"

"Jim, you have to tone it down! We're never gonna make any allies if you start beating up everyone!" the man answered in a commanding tone, but his grip on Jimmy's wrist lessened a little.

"He killed Lizzie, Scar! How could I not do it to him after that?!"

"Jimmy... Look at me."

The phoenix looked Scar right in the eye. Seeing the stillness in his stare almost startled him. How could he be so calm about everything that just happened? BigB just caused their teammate to turn red, they were in danger, and if Jimmy didn't go there to protect Lizzie-

"Jim, calm down, please... We can't fight everyone right now. Breathe with me for a moment, okay?"

Scar pulled his friend's wrist and put it on his chest, so that the phoenix could feel him breathing and would hopefully repeat it. Jimmy did not understand the gesture for a moment, but after a while of struggling to catch his breath, he followed the man's lead. He closed his eyes and hung his head, trying to calm down his heightened instincts. It probably took several seconds, maybe a minute or two - but it felt like hours passed. For the first time in a while, he started feeling his head getting more and more quiet, as his body felt more and more exhausted and spent. He moved forward a bit and leaned forward, his head resting against Scar's chest.

"Isn't that better?" Scar asked with a calm smile. 

"Yeah..." he whispered. "I'm still gonna kill BigB, I swear..."

"That's fine" the man chuckled quietly. "But not now, 'kay? We gotta meet up with Lizzie in the bunker, and figure out what to do..."

"Mmmhm..." Jimmy muttered against his friend's shirt. "Thanks, man... I... I think I needed that."

Scar helped his teammate get up from the ground, still holding his hands. The phoenix struggled to keep himself up, but ultimately followed Scar up the stairs, avoiding the trap which neither of them felt like sealing up. At that moment, where he felt like he couldn't trust his own mind, he could only help that he could rely on Scar's.

---

"Hey, Tango!"

The blazeborn, who was sitting on the roof of his house, looked down to see Bdubs standing right under his house. He waved at his teammate.

"Hi Bdubs! Look at this fool!" he chuckled, pointing at Skizz. The man was standing on a long, clearly unstable bridge, poking from the side of the infamous TNT minecraft launching tower. The shorter man followed his hand. "Uuugh, it's so tempting to knock him off..."

"You wouldn't do it, you're on green" Bdubs teased him with a cheeky green.

"Oh, you bet?" Tango looked back down at him, pulling a wind charge from his pocket. A blue, cold marble, a bit smaller than his palm, started emitting chilly air and started floating just above his hand. "Watch this!"

The blazeborn took a second to aim his shot, then threw the wind charge across the land and towards the other man. The orb narrowly avoided hitting Skizz - if he was standing but a meter closer, it would've hit him right in the chest.

"Woah! That was close!" Skizz started laughing, for some reason unphased about the shot. Grian, who was sitting on the other edge of the tower, tensed a little.

"Skizz, come back, you're gonna fall" he called out, his expression clearly worried. He looked at Martyn, who was sitting right next to him, trying to find reassurance. The Listener looked just as unsure, but put on a smile to hopefully calm Grian down. After Jimmy tore his blindfold apart, Grian lent him a piece of red fabric, origins of which he didn't want to disclose. It was quite dirty, but at least for a while it worked just fine.

"I'll be fine, don't worry! Tango is my buddy, he wouldn't- Aaagh!"

The second hit connected, the orb exploding into a big gust of air right on Skizz's chest. The momentum of the bullet knocked Skizz right off the bridge, his clipped wings uselessly flapping to hopelessly save him.

"SKIZZ!" Grian jumped to the edge of the tower. He reached down, as if he wanted to catch his friend, but there was nothing he could do.

Skizzleman fell from a high place.

"No... No! No, there's no way!" the parrot yelled in vain, gripping on the edge of the tower. He leaned over, looking down at where his friend fell to his death. 

Earlier that day, he took the time to dig out the area around the tower and filled it with water - so that if someone fell, they'd hopefully land safely. Skizz missed the body of water by just a few feet. He laid there on the grass, his face in the dirt, his wings opened as he tried to pick up flight. It wouldn't take long before his body would start turning into dust.

"No... Skizz..." Grian tried his best to hold back tears. Only the previous day, he lost Mumbo, and now his only other ally was gone... Just like that. All of Skizz's efforts were for nothing. The parrot hid his face in his hands. Unsure how to react, Martyn approached him and put his hand on Grian's shoulder.

"Hey..." he whispered. "It's gonna be okay... You can live with me and Ren, y'know? I'm sure he'll be happy to have you with us..."

The Watcher leaned against his friend, struggling to calm down. Martyn's words were somewhat reassuring, but the pain remained... He wished he didn't have to hear these words. He looked up for a moment, locking eyes with Tango from across the server. The blazeborn chuckled nervously, backing off.

"Uh-oh, I think Grian's pissed..." he giggled, quickly getting off his roof and hiding inside, to avoid Grian's wrath.

"Martyn... Come with me. I need to talk with someone."

For the first second, Martyn wasn't sure what that meant - but Grian getting inside of the tower and enveloping himself in his wings immediately jogged his memory. He sat on the stairs to not disturb him - and to potentially eavesdrop. It felt weird to look at a Watcher in full attire and not immediately hate them. Should he join him? Before he could make up his mind, the parrot turned to him. His eyes were covered, but there was an expression of longing on the visible part of his face.

"Wanna join me?"

"Oh, I'm always down to bother some Watchers" Martyn smirked and got up from the stairs, stretching his arms.

Grian turned away from his friend. Maybe it was a mistake to bring someone who he knew the Watchers hated...? But at that point, it didn't matter. He needed answers. He huffed and opened his clipped wings, trying his best to collect his thoughts.

"I wish for judgement on my watchful eyes."

Immediately, they were both surrounded by impenetrable darkness. Martyn shuddered, but Grian didn't even move. Immediately, they found themselves surrounded by a circle of Watchers, staring them down silently. They did not seem pleased.

"What is going on?" Grian immediately started complaining "Jimmy isn't out first, and you've turned him into a monster! And both of my teammates are dead! What kinda sick joke is this?!"

The deities did not answer, just kept looking at them disapprovingly. Grian's breathing became strained from bottled up emotions. He needed the answers, and he was in charge here - why were they treating him like that? He clenched his fists and opened his wings, which were still clipped in this form of his.

"Are you messing up my game? C'mon! Don't forget who is the Administrator here!"

You have been messing with our goal for your own amusement, Administrator. The cause of the Alliance is no longer your priority. Not to mention, you've become acquainted with an enemy of ours.

"What? What do you-"

"I think they mean me" Martyn muttered, lowering the tall collar of his robe. "These bastards tried to finish me off, and it didn't work, so-"

You.

Without another word or action from the Watchers, Martyn dropped to the ground, struggling to breathe and clutching his damaged eye. Grian immediately kneeled down next to him, catching his friend.

"Ugh... You really think this is gonna work on me, you cowards?" the taller man gasped for air, his whole body starting to shake.

"Martyn? What's going on?"

"You know what... " Martyn huffed, but in the middle of his sentence, his voice intertwined with the Watchers'. Just as all of the deities spoke in unison, they seemingly claimed the Listener, using him to taunt Grian. As he opened his mouth, all of the Watchers spoke through him. " You created this game to turn us all into monsters. Now that it is becoming true... You are washing your hands off of our blood and closing your eyes, pretending it's not there. "

"Shit! Martyn, snap out of it!" Grian grabbed the Listener by shoulders and tried shaking him off his trance. He shielded them both with his wings, struggling to keep his emotions at bay. Still, the Watchers continued.

" You're slowing down our progress, Administrator. Do not fret, however. For we have possessed enough data to break into your patterns and start introducing ones of our own. Your authority is no longer needed. "

"What...? What are you trying to do?"

"Just stand back and watch, for we have our own weapon. We freed it from shackles and in return for power, it gave away its liberty freely. And soon enough, it will come to claim you, as well. And if it won't, we will."

Within a second, a blast of light blasted them both and knocked them out of the pocket space they just were in. They were both launched back and crashed into the walls of the tower. Before Grian could even open his eyes, Martyn scrambled up and approached him. He clearly struggled to keep himself upright and his damaged eye was now uncovered. The scar on his face now had a faint, purple outline.

"Grian! What happened, why do they suddenly hate you?" he grabbed his friend by the wrist, pulling him up. The parrot leaned against the wall.

"I-I don't know... I-I think I'm in trouble, Martyn... Big trouble..." he whispered, his voice shaking "And it doesn't feel good for once..."

"Welcome to the club" the man chuckled, supporting himself against the wall with one hand and covering his eye with the other. "Just don't wish for knowledge for them. You won't like the price."

"They mentioned something about a weapon... Do you think they meant...?"

"They meant Jimmy, for sure" Martyn huffed. He turned around to pick up the piece of fabric that Grian gave him to replace his eyepatch. He took a moment to look at it. "Wait a second... Is that Mumbo's tie?"

Grian nodded, then curled up under the wall. He loved annoying the Watcher, because they never fought back against his shenanigans... But this time, they were clearly pissed. He hid himself in his wings, trying his best to keep himself from breaking down while Martyn was looking.

"Do you wanna be left alone for now...?"

The Watcher silently shook his head in affirmation. He hugged his knees against his chest and buried his face in his sweater.

"Okay... Just remember, my offer still stands, 'kay? You can join me and Ren whenever you need."

"Thanks, Martyn" Grian answered quietly. "And... I'm sorry. For everything."

The Listener just silently smiled, then turned towards the stairs and slowly left the tower, leaving him alone as per his request. For just a second, Grian looked after him, as if to ask him to stay after all, but he stayed quiet. He hid in the corner of the tower - sad, alone and for the first time, powerless.

---

"Oh gosh! Guys, look!" Lizzie gasped as a notification appeared on everyone's wristband. "Skizz just died! He's out!"

"Skizz's dead?" Jimmy's head poked out of the hole he was digging while enlarging their bunker. His face immediately lit up "Let's go! Guys, this is already my best placement ever!"

"That's amazing!" Scar chuckled and ran up to Jimmy, then hugged him tightly. The phoenix immediately picked him up and spun around with him in his arms, rubbing his cheek against Scar's with an excited chirp. "You can actually win this!"

"Y'know what? I can, and I will! I hereby declare that I will win this game, no matter what it takes!"

"I wonder who killed him..." Lizzie muttered, typing on her wristband. She tried to ignore the possible repercussions of what Jimmy just announced.

"Oh yeah, I gotta go and thank them!" Jim smirked and put his forehead against Scar's. The heat in his chest was rising, but for once, it felt good.

"So, who do we kill next time, Mr Dangerous?" Scar asked with a cheeky smirk and lustful tone.

"Well, how about-"

The Administrator.

Jimmy was immediately startled by the sudden voice in his head. He did not like this idea... Why did they suggest that idea all of a sudden...?

"Uhhh... How about Grian...?"

"Mmmm... I'm in" Scar smirked and put his hands against Jimmy's chest. "Any cool ideas...?"

"Guys, it was Tango who killed Skizz!" Lizzie interrupted them, making both of their teammates turn towards her.

"What? But Tango is green!" Scar frowned a little upon hearing that "It must've been an accident..."

"Tango? Oh geez... I gotta go see him, right now" Jimmy giggled, all giddy and excited like a little kid. "Besides, I'm starting to get a little claustrophobic here, this is not a space for a big guy like me..."

"And what, you're just leavin' me here?" his teammate, which he was still holding in his arms, looked at him with a mock pout. Jimmy chuckled and touched their foreheads together.

"I'm just gonna talk to him! I'll be right back, my partner in crime" Jimmy left him with a little peck on his cheek, the tiny feathers on his face tickling Scar. He then opened his wings and before anyone could even say a word, he flew out of the bunker and right towards the crime scene.

Notes:

Btw, thank you again for the insane support you've been giving me on this fic! If I could just ask you for one thing, leave more comments, they're very fun to read and incredibly motivating! It can be anything you want :>

Chapter 8: Enabling and enablers

Summary:

The players find themselves consulting with their friends and allies about what they should do about their circumstances. Their enablers find different ways to be supportive.

Notes:

Last chapter before the next session! I have some high hopes after what we saw on NameMC not gonna lie

"Tangoooo!" Jimmy landed softly right in front of the wooden shack that his friend inhabited. Well, at least he would've, if it wasn't for a huge gaping crater, which all of a sudden emerged on his front yard. "Woah! What happened here?"

"Hi Jim!" the blazeborn peeked from his window, his tail flicking behind him in a mischievous way. "Yeah, Skizz tried blowing up my house! Good thing his aim sucks..."

"But your doesn't, as I've heard?" the phoenix looked up at him with a smirk.

"Hell yeah! Wait, I'll come down to you!"

Tango closed the door and after just a few moments, he opened the front door to greet his friend. He let out a soft meep as he narrowly avoided the huge hole right outside of his doorstep. Jimmy chuckled and reached out his hand to assist him. The blazeborn hasped with excitement.

"You've got talons! Wow!"

"Pretty cool, huh?" Jim smirked and the moment Tango grabbed his hand, he pulled him closer. The shorter man let out another squeak as he almost pushed the phoenix, landing right next to him. "Careful! You don't wanna be eliminated next, huh?"

"Naaah, there's no way, man! I'm still on green! You, on the other hand..." Tango smirked, leaning against his friends and put his hands on Jimmy's chest. "I'd give you a life right now, if I could..."

"I'll be fine... I'm winning this time, no matter what. and you better be there to see it!"

"Oh yeah? Well, that would be interesting, for sure..." Tango teased him, reaching out and stroking his finger through one of his lesser wings. Jimmy let out a happy chirp as he squished the man against himself. "And how are you going to achieve that?"

"Well, I have a few ideas" the phoenix smirked, his cheek rubbing against Tango's. "And I actually came here to ask you something..."

"Ask me? About what?"

The phoenix pulled the blazeborn even closer and plopped down on the ground with him, covering him with his wings. He was clearly in a good mood - he kept on quietly chirping, rubbing his face and his lesser wings against Tango's face and hair. And his rancher did not mind it a little bit, as he wrapped his hands around Jimmy's neck.

"Mmmm... I might get used to it" he whispered, moving himself closer to Jimmy whilst sitting on his lap.

"Yeah, you better... Cuz I want you to join my flock" Jimmy whispered, looking straight at Tango. His rosy, mischievous eyes intertwined with his friend's red eyes. The blazeborn let out a surprised squeak.

"Your what ?"

"My flock! Me, Scar and Lizzie! We live up there, on Mount Bam, and it's awesome! I protect them and in return, they love me!"

"Oh, good for you!' Tango chuckled and put his head against Jimmy's chest. He was used to being the warmest person around as a blazeborn, so it was nice to be able to warm himself with the help of someone else for once. Jimmy's warmth was different than his in a strange, yet tangible way. As someone who knew a lot about fire, he could tell that the phoenix was still a fledgeling when it came to control over his flame. 

Jim tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm glad that living with them works for you! But... I already have my own team, y'know?"

"Oh, do you?" the phoenix added, biting his lip and frowning. Immediately, his voice went from upbeat and cheerful to bitter and even jealous. His rosy eyes turned a but redder. 

"Yeah! I've been hanging around with Bdubs and Etho, and it's been pretty great! Well, Etho's been disappearing at night... But teaming up with them has been amazing so far!"

"Bdubs and Etho... Haven't you teamed up with them already?" he asked, his fingers tensing on their own, the dark claws glistening in the sun.

"Well, yeah... So what? I can't do it again?" Tango chuckled and playfully pushed Jimmy. The phoenix did not look like he was joking. "Well, I've also teamed up with you already for that matter..."

"It's not the same! We were- We are soulmates!"

"Woah, Jimmy, it's okay!" Tango grabbed him by the hand. "What's going on? It's okay, you don't have to be angry..."

For the first time, the phoenix did not give into his sudden burst of anger. Instead, he focused on the sensation of Tango squishing his hand gently. His skin got so thick and rigid, the touch did not feel as delicate as it used to. He sighed and let his eyes close, as his fingers intertwined with Tango's. The blazeborn also had claws, but they were much smaller and duller - the dark maroon scales only covered the tips of his fingers. Their skins connected in an intimate gesture, sharing their warmth between each other.

"I-I'm sorry... I don't know why I yelled" he whispered, internally pushing all of his unreleased anger down to hopefully bottle it up, at least for the time being. "I just... I just want to protect you..."

"I'll be okay, buddy" Tango smiled gently "Next time, okay? Or if Bdubs and Etho end up dying" he added jokingly. Jimmy's ears perked up.

"Huh... Okay..." he muttered, not letting his wings twitch too much from the excitement of a sudden idea. "I'll be keepin' an eye on you, okay? Just so that you don't end up hurting yourself..."

"Thanks, man" the blazeborn smirked and leaned forwards, leaving a little kiss on Jimmy's forehead. The phoenix's wings immediately opened at the sudden thrill. "I think I have to go now, I have to finish that huge hole in my front yard, I'unno if you noticed it" the man giggled "Wanna help me?"

"Oh, um... I gotta go as well. I'll have to talk to Scar and Lizzie about...Stuff" he excused himself with a silly smile. "But I'll come back, okay? Tonight, even. I promise."

"Sounds awesome."

Tango got up from Jimmy's lap and carefully, as to not fall into the hole, slithered back inside. The phoenix looked after him, then moved his focused stare to the houses of his teammates. The copper tower belonged to Etho, and a smaller stone house was Bdubs' build. Hopefully, soon enough they will be abandoned, once Jimmy's plan works out.

The man opened his wings and just a few minutes later he was back on Mount Bam. Now that he was on his own again, the suppressed anger started bubbling back to the surface. Why did Tango refuse? Did he not like him anymore? Did he not like who Jimmy was becoming? He started pacing around the summit, struggling to calm down. Ironic... When he lived with Tango, he was always the one to help the temperamental blazeborn with calming down. And now the roles reversed, and he struggled with regulating his own emotions. He let out a series of puffs and hisses, his wings heating up and starting to smoke. Why couldn't he just let it go and focus on something else? Tango's sweet, innocent face flashed in his mind, as well as his gentle, warm touch. Did he hate Jimmy now? Maybe he wanted nothing more to do with him?-

The moment the dam broke and the emotions forced their way out of Jimmy, he was standing in the middle of Mount Bam. Without even thinking, he grabbed the reputation board and started pulling it out of the ground. He huffed, the strain barely quelling his burning anger and jealousy. After just a few strong pulls, the whole board was ripped from the ground and fell on the grass with a numb thud. He let out a loud, frustrated shriek, his claws twitching as if looking for another target to vent his anger out on. Lizzie and Scar were lucky to not be around - flock or not, the furious phoenix would've probably attacked them next.

Jimmy only came back to his senses when he was already stomping all over the reputation board, breaking it into pieces and leaving smoldering footprints. His breathing was getting heavier and heavier as the smoke numbing his brain was slowly fleeting. He stood over the signs of his own destruction - literal signs with players' names and "reputation score", whatever that meant. Scar was in charge of the board and his point system was quite hard to grasp.

Oh, right. It was Scar's board.

Immediately, the phoenix squeaked as he understood what he had just done - destroyed something that his teammate treasured and cared about. He quickly fell to his knees, trying to put the board back together. It was broken beyond repair, however - cracked in multiple places, with the smoke and embers eating away at the uneven, crooked letters. He knew that Scar wouldn't be mad, or that he won't show it - but still, he was a part of his flock, and there was nothing he hated more than disappointing his flock... He sighed and sat on the grass, pondering his situation for a moment. Even for him, these sudden outbursts of anger were slowly becoming too much to deal with. He hid his face in his hands, mindlessly nibbling his own palm to hopefully calm down. 

"I'm such an idiot..." he muttered to himself, using his wings to shield himself. He disappointed Scar, his friend, his partner in crime...

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

The phoenix picked himself up and got to work straight away.

---

By the time Martyn arrived back at Renwood mound, it was already dark outside. The hill's defenses looked even more impressive now that the bamboo they planted grew to be several feet high. The man climbed over the wall and landed on the other side, narrowly avoiding falling in the water. Losing an eye, or at least the function in it really messed with his balance - and working on gaining back his agility was taking its time. A peaceful smile appeared on the man's face as he noticed Ren, rowing towards him in a little white boat.

"There you are, me hand!" the canine called out with a pretend Scottish accent. Emphasis on pretend. "You okay, my dude?" he added, returning to his usual way of speaking. His partner immediately climbed inside of the boat and leaned against him.

"Yeah, I'm fine... Just got possessed by these stupid winged bastards" he chuckled in a bitter way. Ren's tail stopped wagging.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, Skizz died... And Grian is pissed. He wanted to take it out on the Watchers, and I got ricocheted in the process."

"Geez..." Ren pushed them away from the shore and set his oar aside, then started gently scratching the skin on Martyn's scalp. "You gotta be more careful, my dude... We wouldn't wanna get separated again now, would we?"

"Yeah..." the Listener sighed and closed his eyes with a gleeful smile on his face. "So, uh, Grian is on his own... I offered him to join us, but I think he needs to rethink... But just in case, you'd be okay with that?" 

"Yeah, man!" the dog answered with no hesitation and an upbeat tone "Well, as long as he can take being around us both... Especially at night" he teased, playfully pinching his friend's sides. Martyn flinched and chuckled.

"Oh, you bastard..." he giggled, but then let out a quiet sigh. His hand slowly moved towards his injured eye, but pulled away before even the tiniest touch caused another painful shock. "I feel like such an idiot..."

"Who, you? You're, like, the smartest person around, dude!" Ren smirked and pulled Martyn closer to himself. "C'mon, talk to me baby, what's up?"

"There's something wrong with Jimmy... He's been acting like a complete lunatic. And it seems like not only did the Watchers change him, they're controlling him in one way or another... And I have no idea how to help..."

Ren hummed, then laid his head on Martyn's shoulder, their cheeks nuzzling against one another.

"Hey" he whispered "You can't solve every problem there is. You're doing whatever you can, and that's what matters... If there is a way to help Jimmy, I'm sure you'll find it. And if not... Well, maybe this is just beyond us."

"But I wanna help him! Jerk or not, he's still my friend!"

"I know, dude! He's my friend too, and everyone else's too!" Ren let out a quiet chuckle, then added, pushing his cheek against Martyn's "But at this point, this is not a problem that friendship can solve, I think. All we can do is hope that Jimjim is sensible enough to snap out of it. And if he isn't... We'll have to protect ourselves, somehow."

"I still feel so stupid..." he muttered, crossing his arms on his chest. "It's as if the Watchers are taunting us... First me, and now Grian... And if Jimmy gets harmed in the process, I'm never gonna forgive myself..."

"Well, I'm sure he'd forgive you... He might be weird right now, but if he wasn't out of his mind, he'd appreciate the effort, for sure..."

The Listener sighed and looked at Ren in the corner of his eye. The moment the canine reached out his hand, he grabbed it.

"How do you even put up with me?"

"It's a pleasure to do so" Ren smirked. "I told you already, you're stuck with me, baby. And, c'mon, cut yourself some slack... You're too harsh on yourself." 

"I died like an absolute idiot today" Martyn rolled his eyes, although his expression was getting a bit more relaxed. "Someone set up a trap at Etho's, and I set it off like a moron... I just can't keep my hands to myself, y'know?"

"I feel you... I also can't keep my hands on myself, especially when you're around..."

"Ren!" The Listener immediately burst out into laughter, his ears perking up despite being somewhat annoyed with Ren's attitude. "You only think about one thing, don'tcha?"

"Pretty much!" the canine grinned and bumped his cheek against Martyn's. "C'mon, can you blame me?"

"As a matter of fact, I can't" Martyn shrugged and leaned back against his partner. Ren hung his head over him and carefully, as to not cause him more pain than necessary, he touched the new eyepatch.

"What happened to the old one?"

"Oh, Jimmy ruined it... And Grian gave me this one. It took me a while to realize it's actually Mumbo's tie..."

"Wait, for real? Damn... If he gave you his dead boyfriend's tie, I guess some amends would have been made..."

"Huh... I guess you... I guess you're right" the Listener muttered and closed his eyes, relaxing into his partner's warm embrace. Jimmy's transformation was still fresh on his mind, but at that moment, he just needed a moment to sleep and collect his thoughts. Maybe he would dream about the answer.

---

The moment Scar emerged from the bunker, he noticed Jimmy hard at work. The phoenix cut down several long pieces of bamboo and dug them into the ground, then hung a few signs on the makeshift poles. Then, using his claws, he started carefully - but also very messily - scratching out names of certain players. Grian. Martyn. Etho. Bdubs. Scott's name was also there, but the scratch marks were not all that deep, as if he was still hesitating.

"Well hello there, Jimmy!" the man greeted him politely "What happened to the reputation board?"

"Oh, Scar!" Jim turned to him with a big, confident grin on his face "I made something even better! Any guesses?"

Scar looked up and down at the new build. It somewhat reminded him of the strangely missing reputation board. There was no point system however, only names of the players - and only a few of them. He squinted, trying to find a connection.

"I... I'm not sure" he muttered. "Is this a possible alliances list?"

"No... Quite the opposite, really. I made us a kill list!" the phoenix announced with a proud smile. Scar looked up at him, then let out an amused chuckle.

"Oh really? Wait... Grian, Martyn... Why Etho and Bdubs?"

"Well, I asked Tango if he wanted to join my flo- I mean, if he wanted to move to Mount Bam. He said no, because he still has his allies... So the plan is, I have to kill them."

"You mean, we have to kill them" Scar corrected him with a cheeky grin. Jimmy turned to him, his rosy eyes lighting up with excitement. He immediately picked his friend up and twirled around with him. "Hah! You said it yourself, you silly goose, we're partners in crime!"

"Oh my gosh, Scar, you're literally the best" the phoenix chirped, his forehead landing against Scar's. He started quietly giggling with excitement. "I even have some ideas... But I think it's too late to do that now..." he yawned, yet pulled Scar even closer to his chest.

"We moved our beds to the bunker, just so you know! We can put our beds together! Y'know, like best buddies!"

"Yeah... Yeah, why not" Jimmy agreed and nodded his head. He then added quickly "Wait... You'd be okay with Tango joining us? And being a Bamboozler too?"

Scar shrugged.

"Why not? You and Tango are still friends, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course! That's why I want him to join us!" the phoenix chuckled, slowly walking towards the bunker with Scar still in his arms. "It's strange, I... I was usually the one to help him calm down, but... Today, when we met, he had to help me..." he muttered under his breath, a bit of concern creeping into his voice.

"Why? What got you so heated? Pun intended."

"I... I don't know, honestly... I started yelling at him, cuz he didn't wanna move in with us..." the man sighed.

"Well, we're already working on solving that, huh? Bdubs and Etho are on the kill list, we'll get to them eventually. So no worries about that, dude!"

Jimmy chuckled and looked at his buddy.

"You're such an enabler, I swear!"

"Listen!" Scar chuckled, then put his hands on Jimmy's cheeks and squeezed them. "Winning Secret Life taught me one thing. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do. Y'know?"

The phoenix nodded, silently weighing the words. Well, Scar was not wrong... His attitude was what won him the last game. Maybe this was just what Jimmy needed to win this one?

---

Putting their beds next to each other turned out to be a pretty good idea. Lizzie dug out her small little room for privacy, so she was more than fine to leave her teammates to themselves. As he tried his best to fall asleep, Jimmy felt the familiar weight of Scar on one of his wings. He put a blanket between his feathers and his friend - he still struggled a bit with controlling his temperature, so that way, the chance of accidentally burning Scar was much slimmer. He kept on staring at the rock ceiling of the bunker, then back at his teammate. He looked peaceful while he slept, although his eyes were quite sunken and dark. He changed considerably after the last game, which he won... But deep down, Jimmy was sure that if he managed to win, he could fix it. Somehow. After all, the Watchers themselves rooted for him. And that was more reassuring than anything. He leaned over and grabbed Scar's hand, squishing his palm gently. As he looked back at his enabler, for the first time since his transformation, he fell asleep peacefully.

Notes:

This chapter is a little shorter and a bit more of a setup, but I kinda like it. I like writing conversations between characters.
Ranchers, Treebark and Scaridarity enjoyers, I hope you're satisfied :>

Chapter 9: When reality starts to crumble

Summary:

The new wildcard activates. Some people love what it has to offer, some - not so much. Not to mention, the beings who run the game make their presence more and more apparent.

Notes:

TW: Description of decomposition, mangled bodies etc.
If you wish to skip that fragment, it starts from Grian screaming "M-MUMBO!" and ends at the next paragraph break (or whatever that line is called). I'll include a shorter, non-gore description in the end notes

Wow, so, this session... It was amazing, for all the right and wrong reasons. This session will be at least 3 chapters long, so outside of this one, you're getting at least two more next week.
I put a few little easter eggs in this one, lemme know if you find anything interesting! I love reading your comments! Remember that you can tell me anything in there, it's extremely motivating!

Also just a tiny little spoiler... This chapter will have something in common with the next one, in terms of structure. I wonder if any of you can guess what I mean.

Despite Martyn's offer, Grian decided against joining him and Ren for the night. After burying what remained of Skizz's mangled body, he started aimlessly wandering around the server. He didn't have anywhere to go - he technically had his base, but it was quiet and almost haunting without his friends to accompany him. The Watcher barely kept himself from breaking down, as he could feel the control slipping from his hands - control over the games, the lives of the other players, his own life... The only thing he still had going for him was that he was still on his green life - and their numbers were dwindling by the day. Maybe he could now be a valuable asset to someone else, who would for once tell him what to do, instead of him being in charge of everyone...

By the time his legs started hurting so much he could no longer walk, he was by Gem and Joel's base. The players noticed the parrot, exhausted, cold and with his eyes puffy and red from crying and took him in without a single word. That night Grian spent on the back seat of Joel's car, curled up on the dirty leather upholstery and inhaling the faint scent of dust and blood. Half of the night he spent restless, picking feathers off his wings in a nervous manner - for the first time since he could remember. The other half, he slept like a rock, as if wishing to not ever wake up again.

When Grian finally woke up the next day, he was greeted by the sun already high up on the sky. It was almost noon... He almost overslept - the wildcard was going to activate any moment. He clumsily got up from his spot, his wings rubbing against the car roof as he turned around to leave his crowded nest. Joel and Gem were sitting on the grass between their bases, sharing breakfast.

"Hi, Grian!" the woman waved at him. The Watcher groggily approached them, his legs still aching after the previous day.

"Hi..." he muttered, still rubbing his eyes to shake off the last of his sleepiness. "The wildcard has not activated yet, I see..."

"Hey, you kinda know all of the wildcards that are gonna appear, right?" Joel asked, looking up at Grian who took a seat next to them. He handed his friend a piece of bread, then continued "Don't you wanna give us a bit of intel?"

"I... I guess I could... I kinda did spoil Mumbo and Skizz a few things" Grian admitted with a silly smile on his face. "Okay, okay, just not tell anyone... We're gonna need a lot of torches and lanterns. Today's wildcard is that the sun turns off until... Well, until it's supposed to set."

"Dang, that's pretty brutal... You expect us to run around incomplete darkness, killing each other?" Gem chuckled under her breath.

"Hey, that's a fun idea!" Grian shot right back, also letting out a quiet laughter. He was in better spirits than yesterday evening, but he wasn't completely done grieving just yet. A second later, they all heard the all too familiar sound of clicking.

"Uh-oh, it's happenin'!" Joel immediately jumped up from his place and grabbed a torch "Guys, stay close!"

The moment the clicking stopped, they all expected to suddenly go completely blind from the lack of sun. But surprisingly enough, they didn't. It didn't really seem like anything changed at first. The sun was still shining, and as Grian looked up to make sure about that, he also realized that it's still painful to look at.

"What...? I don't- I don't get it..." Grian whispered. "Maybe it needs some time? Cuz, y'know, light speed, and distance between the sun and-"

"Guys, look!" Gem pointed at her wristband. "It looks like a hint! ' Match the ones who perished '... What does that mean?"

"I've got one too!" Joel looked down at his own wristband. " 'Ascend above the others', what does that even mean?"

Grian looked down at his own hand. At first, his wristband was dim and didn't tell him anything - then, an ominous message popped up on the screen.

' You'll be nothing without allies.'

"Wow, that's nice" he pouted quietly, until Gem's voice suddenly brought him back.

"Oh my gosh, guys! I can fly!"

The parrot looked up to witness Gem floating just a few feet above them. She also looked different - her whole body appeared translucent, as if she became a spirit or a ghost. Joel laughed with amusement, then looked down at his own wristband again.

"Wait, that is sick! It's like a cool superpower! Can I do that too?"

"I dunno! Maybe we all have different powers? C'mon, try it!" 

Gem reached out her hand, as if to help her teammate get up to her level. Grian watched silently, still pondering his own hint. It was much meaner than the messages that Gem or Joel got... He got distracted again as he heard the man's amused yell.

"Grian, look! That is so awesome!"

Joel couldn't grab Gem, as her body appeared immaterial - his hand phased right through hers. But as he attempted to do that, he immediately realized that he was able to take a step higher without anything under him and basically stand on air. He took a few more cautious steps until he fell back to the ground - a soft landing fortunately, not letting him get hurt.

"Wow..." Grian chuckled. "It's gonna be so easy for you guys to run away from others, y'know?"

"Heck yeah! C'mon G, what can you do?" Joel asked, reaching out his own hand towards Grian. The parrot looked at it with hesitation, but immediately turned away.

"I-I dunno... My hint is... Weird. I think I may not have a power...? It just said: You'll be nothing without your allies. "

"Well that's mean..." Gem crossed her arms on her chest "But we're allies, right? So you're not nothing, right?"

"I... I really don't know what's going on" Grian started anxiously laughing "This was not supposed to be today's wildcard, I- I have no idea what any of this means! Did they... DId they change the rules...?" he quietly asked himself.

"Who?"

"I'll head out now, I think" Grian muttered, stepping away from his new allies "I need to... Think. And, hey, maybe I'll figure out my superpower out there, while running away from someone who wants to kill me?"

"Okay, okay... Just be careful, okay?" Gem asked, softly landing next to them. Her body became solid yet again, as she turned off her spirit form at will. "Don't get killed out there, or we'll kick you out" she added jokingly.

---

"Martyn, my dude, I'm pretty sure I just saw Gem flying."

"What?" Martyn joined Ren on the top of their watchtower and followed his partner's line of sight. Indeed, whatever Joel and Gem were doing was very fishy, with both of them seemingly breaking laws of physics. After a few more moments of scouting the area, they noticed more strange occurrences - Pearl jumping somewhere tens of meters above the ground, Tango zooming around his base, as well as all of their movement slowing down for a minute or two. The Listener scrunched his nose as he witnessed all of that. "What is going on...? Do we suddenly have superpowers?"

"Dude, look!" Ren moved back from the edge of the watchtower, staring at his wristband. "It says something! ' Become one with the others' , well, sounds exciting, if you know what I'm saying..."

"It says..." Martyn opened his mouth, but immediately closed it as he noticed a message on his own wristband. 

D̵̲͗͋͗o̴͙̗͌̏̆n̵̩̲͂̌'̶̮͎̑̈̄ͅt̵̢̳͌͝ ̴̪̣̓̊͊͜t̷͚̫̔̑h̴̡̤̀í̷͍̑n̴̠̫̉́̕ķ̷̫̊̈̄ͅ ̵̱̪͋̐̕͜w̷̢̉̓̇e̸̹͂ ̸̟̋̕f̵̜͎̆͒ŏ̷̼̝͇̒̚r̸̠̥͍̈́͠g̴̦̮̼̐o̶͈͘t̶̛͕́ ̷̹̈́ͅa̵̪͗̃͜b̵̼̒̂̍ȯ̵̢́́u̸̢̙͂t̵̲͌ ̶͇̠̌̑̚ẏ̶̡ó̶̹̲̰͂́ứ̷͎͐,̴͔͓̆͛̽ ̷̛̙̫̓͌͜F̵̠̲̹͂o̴͓̾̈́ố̵̻̰͎͠l̴̼̝̈́̀̋.̶̢̣͐́

"W-what the hell? I think mine is glitched..." he muttered, squinting to try and read through the mangled text. 

Suddenly, Ren gasped with excitement.

"Oh my gosh, dude! Turn around, turn around! You're gonna love this!"

"Okay, okay..." Martyn chuckled with a faint smile. The moment he turned around, his face went pale and all he managed to muster out was a very not family friendly "HOLY SHIT!"

In front of Martyn stood... Martyn. Or at least someone who matched exactly how he looked, down to the smallest details. The height, his pointy ears, his clothes that hid his dissatisfying body type, messy and dirty hair, overgrown stubble, tired and dark eyes, his slouching that became a problem lately, his eyepatch and huge disgusting scar on his face- immediately, he covers his eyes to not see it. Even so, Ren appears quite excited about his transformation. 

"Oh man, this is awesome! I knew you were handsome, baby, but this is like, next level" the man smirked, his voice apparently being the only thing that didn't match Martyn. He approached him with a confident smirk and leaned over his partner, either to intimidate or seduce him "I wish I could stay in your hot bod like that forever..."

"Please stop that" Martyn asked quietly, feeling quite uncomfortable about the whole ordeal.

"C'mon, this is fun! I would be quite thrilled to look like that every day, if you know what I'm saying..."

"Ren, please" Martyn turned towards him, his ears pinning down from embarrassment. He looked straight into his eyes - what felt like looking into his own eyes. He never, in his wildest dream, would've said that he hates Ren - but now, when he appeared just like him and was a blatant representation of everything he hated about himself... In that short moment, he wanted the man to just leave him alone.

The canine noticed his insecurity bubbling to the surface and immediately backed away. He looked down at his wristband, which was displaying a simplified icon of Martyn's face - probably signifying his transformation into his partner. After just one click, he turned back into his natural form. Martyn sighed with relief at this.

"Thanks. And... Sorry" the Listener muttered. Ren sat down a few feet away, giving his closest friend some space to recover.

"You don't have to apologize, dude... You really don't like yourself, do ya dude?"

Martyn nervously chuckled as he combed his fingers through his hair.

"Well..."

"I promise, I won't turn into you again, unless you let me, okay? You're getting the official diggity dog promise" Ren raised his hand with a silly smile. That one small gesture immediately made Martyn feel a bit safer, as he moved back closer to his teammate.

"Thanks, man" he whispered.

"C'mon, now we gotta figure out your power! What did your wristband say, baby?"

"I dunno, the text was glitched, I couldn't read it... And now it's gone" the man sighed as he looked at his band again. "I have no idea what I might be able to do..."

"Hey, we've got time, right? We can try and figure it out!" Ren suggested with an excited grin, then looked back down at his own screen. "We've got time to figure it out... Do you think I can turn into someone else, as well? C'mon baby, you know I love it when you put your brain into all your little thoughts and schemes!"

The man chuckled under his breath. He sat down at the edge of the watchtower, looking over the server and witnessing the other players figuring out their new powers. He leaned over the short wall, putting his head on the cold stone and trying to think. His ears twitched as they tried to collect any sounds from too far away for him to hear. 

"Okay, let's think... It might depend on something... You were able to match me on the biological level, right? Even your height and body type, despite us..." Martyn briefly looked at his partner, the tips of his ears reddening a little. Ren was taller by a few inches, not completely dwarfing Martyn, but the difference was there. He was also the skinny-muscular type, while the Listener's muscles were not as pronounced, with his shape getting a fair bit stockier after some time. He immediately turned away again "So that means it's probably not just as simple as you just looking at me and matching me this way... Especially since you replicated my missing eye and all... Maybe it's like, DNA thing? Technically you would have contact with my DNA after making out, right?" he chuckled nervously and after a moment of hesitation, turned back to Ren again.

But this time, instead of Ren, he saw BigB sitting right behind him. He raised his head and nervously chuckled, his voice matching Ren's:

"I can do that, too..."

"I really hope my theory was wrong, cuz... How did you get B's DNA?" he asked with a bit of hesitation. The canine smiled awkwardly.

"Remember Double Life?"

"Oh, yeah, right."

Martyn sighed and went back to observing the area. Maybe seeing other people's suddenly emerged quirks would give him any idea of what his own would be... But nothing quite came to him. Despite being in overdrive again, his brain was failing him, again. And he hated himself for that.

"Hey, baby? Are you... Mad at me?" Ren asked quietly, after returning to his normal form.

"What? No, no, of course I'm not mad at you! I'm mad at..."

"At yourself?"

The man shut his lips tight and bit himself in the tongue, for good measure. Now was not the time for insecurity. He had a death game looming over his head, and his beloved to protect. For now, he pushed all of his negative emotions down and bottled them up somewhere in the depth of his brain. Not now.

"Hey, I can see Grian from here" he whispered, staring at the parrot who approached the graves of his two fallen teammates. The man kneeled on the ground, still looking as defeated as he did the previous day. Martyn sighed, wishing he could be there and comfort him... Or at least listen to him.

" I'm so sorry, guys... This place is not the same without you... " Grian's voice rang in the Listener's brain. It was as if he was right there, although it was a little bit distorted.

"Whoa!" Martyn pushed himself away from the wall, startled by the sudden realization. Ren caught him, grabbing his partner by his shoulders.

"Martyn, what's happenin', baby?"

"I-I can hear Grian under the graves, all the way out here!" he chuckled, his newly emerged superpower being a pleasant surprise. His ears perked up with excitement. "It's as if the Watchers gave me my Listener powers back, and made them even better!"

"Oh, dude, that's amazing! You can be the world's greatest spy!" Ren tightly hugged his friend, his tail wagging quickly. He tensed after a moment and released his hold over the man "Oh, uh, sorry, I should've asked..."

Instead of backing away, Martyn hugged him back and put his forehead against Ren's, squishing the canine's cheeks with his rigid hands.

"It is amazing! I can go around gathering intel about others, and we'll know what to dod if they ever wanna attack us!"

"The Watchers have no idea what they've just done, giving the most OP power to the smartest guy on the server!" the dog smirked and gave a soft kiss on his partner's lips. "You go get them, baby!"

"I will! But first, I think I gotta go talk to Grian..."

---

Grian was not the only person to wake up late that day. Inside of the BAMbunker, Scar and Jimmy were still happily dozing off, cuddled against each other. The phoenix's warm wings kept them both safe and docile, at least for once - until they were both awakened by quick steps on the ladder and Lizzie's voice.

"Guys, guys, wake up! You need to see this!"

"Uuugh... Five more minutes, please..." Jimmy whispered, sloppily covering his face with his clawed hands, Miraculously, he managed to not scratch his eyes out.

"You can sleep later! First, we gotta figure out your superpowers!"

"Did somebody say 'superpowers'?" Scar immediately sprang out of the bed. Somehow, he was even more electric than usual.

"Yeah, you get it! C'mon, Jim! Get up!"

"I don't need no superpowers, I'm already the strongest guy around... I can beat these guys into a pulp whenever I want" the phoenix groaned, still struggling to properly wake up. If he was to be honest, it wasn't just his laziness or his confidence, which started ballooning over the past few days. His whole body felt wrong - his bones and joints ached, his wings were too hot and heavy, his head was stuffed full of cotton. After a minute or two he finally opened his eyes, only to be greeted by complete, impenetrable darkness. "Wait, what the heck?"

"See? That's my superpower, I can blind people!" Lizzie said with a big bright smile. "Well, only temporarily, but that'd be so good for trapping people! Scar, what can you do? You should have a hint on your wristband!"

"Got it! It says... ' Get close to people, but don't let them get close to you' . Cryptic, huh..."

"And what does mine say?" Jimmy muttered, raising his wrist over his head to see. "'Your biggest feature will be your implement' ...?"

"That's what she said!" Scar immediately spat out, only got get slapped in the back of his head by Lizzie. "Ouch! Hey, my timing was good this time!"

"My... Biggest feature...?" Jimmy repeated mindlessly, pulling himself up on the bed. His clothes started feeling tight again- did his growth spurt continue while he was asleep? "I don't think they meant that, Scar..." he chuckled quietly.

"Well, maybe they don't know!-"

"I'm gonna ask you to stop right there" Lizzie asked with a dumb smile and covered Scar's mouth with her own hand. "Biggest feature, huh? Well, your wings are very big... Maybe that has something to do with them?"

"I can try with that..." Jimmy chuckled, then grabbed one of his wings and pulled it open. There were no changes, or at least he didn't see any... Jokingly, he used his wings to cover himself from his teammates. He found himself quite surprised at their shared gasp.

"Wait, Jim! You just vanished!"

"Wait, what? You're kidding me, right?" he asked, peeking over his wing. The shock on their faces looked rather genuine... "You're joking?"

"No, we literally can't see you! This is so cool!" Lizzie let out an excited squeal.

The phoenix slowly got up from the bed and circled around his teammates. They really didn't see him? He ultimately stood behind them and opened his wings, and then touched their shoulders. Both of them jumped from shock.

"What in the world!- Wow, Jim! That was awesome!"

"Was it?- Well, uh, I guess that's pretty useful" Jimmy chuckled. "There's just one problem... If I need to actually use my wings to disappear, I can't fly while invisible. Man, that would've been so cool..."

"Yeah... But, hey, that still makes you an awesome spy! C'mon, we gotta try this all out!"

The Bamboozlers exited their bunker, greeted by the usual sounds of chaos on the server. For once, it wasn't just everyone trying to kill each other - people were struggling to figure out how their new powers worked. It was quite an amusing sight. Jimmy almost yelped as he felt Scar jumping on him and climbing on his shoulder. Surprisingly, he could barely feel his partner in crime on him.

"Wow, dude, I can carry you like it's nothin'" the man chuckled. "How are you this small and light?"

"Is that your superpower, Scar? Being a little guy?" Lizzie asked jokingly, then started laughing as Scar jumped on her. She didn't even seem phased by that - clearly, the answer was yes. And Scar seemed quite happy about that. He leaped back on Jimmy and sat comfortably on his broad shoulder.

"Apparently... Now I can be the angel on your shoulder, man!"

"More like a devil" Jimmy giggled, reaching out and scratching Scar under his chin. He barely avoided drawing blood, forgetting about his claws for just a moment.

"That works too."

"I think we should split up for today" Lizzie suggested "Jimmy, you should go and gather intel. If you can set up any traps, that'd be great... But focus on spying on others. Scar, I think you can go wild and try to kill a few people... I'll stay here in case someone tries to sneak in and set up something bad."

"Good plan" Jimmy nodded right away "I wish my superpower was something more deadly, like laser eyes... But that works, too!"

"If you had lazer eyes, you'd find a way to kill yourself with them" Scar teased, pulling his finger over Jimmy's overgrown chin. The phoenix shivered from excitement.

"Scar, you're distracting me..."

"Good!"

"Guys, focus" Lizzie chuckled under her breath. "We gotta kill at least one person today, and we're staying in the game! Bam!"

"Bam!" Scar and Jimmy answered the call with amused laughter, before each of them dispersed in their own direction.

At first, Scar joined Jimmy as they descended down the stairs. They were both in high spirits thanks to their newfound powers and exciting new wildcard.

"Man, I can't wait to kill someone today! You wanted Bdubs and Etho gone, right?" he asked.

"Yes please! I'll try to get them too, but I have different priorities today..."

"C'mon, I'm sure you can get someone!" Scar jumped off his shoulder and started walking in front of the phoenix, with his face still turned to face his friend. "You said it yourself, you're like the most powerful guy around!"

"You really think so, huh...?"

"I know so! C'mon, we're the Bamboozlers! And this server will fall under our- Aaaagh!"

"Scar!"

Scar was so occupied with talking to Jimmy, that he didn't even notice that he stepped right into someone's trap - a huge shaft leading a few dozen feet down, into a pit of dripstone. The terrified phoenix leaned over the hole, but the only thing he saw was a cloud of white smoke, left by his now red friend.

Goodtimewithscar was impaled on a stalagmite.

---

Grian noticed Martyn approaching from afar, but didn't say anything. Despite now being allies, he really wished that the man would just leave him alone to grieve over his dead teammates. He sighed as he noticed that the Listener's stare was pointed to him, as he was getting closer.

"Oh, great..." he muttered under his breath. He flinched as he saw Martyn quietly chuckle, as if he heard his complaints.

"What, you're not happy to see me?"

"What? How did you- How did you hear me?"

"That's my superpower, apparently... I can hear people from the other end of the server, as long as I can see them" Martyn revealed with an amused expression. He stood over the two graves, hiding his hands in his pockets. "I wonder what superpowers they would've gotten..."

"Mumbo would probably explode on command" Grian chuckled bitterly "And Skizz... I dunno... Maybe he could crush people's bones when hugging them?"

"You make it sound like he couldn't do that before" Martyn playfully suggested, then bent over to look at Grian. "How are you?"

"I can't figure out my own power... I don't get my hint, it's so weird-"

"No, I mean... How are you doing?"

"I'm... I'm fine, really. Slept with Joel and Gem tonight. I have no idea how Joel stands sleeping in the car..."

"I'm pretty sure he just lies down, instead of standing" Martyn snarked again, although his expression was clearly lighthearted. Grian barely kept himself from laughing.

"Okay, okay, you smartass... I can tell you're back at being a witty jerk, huh?"

"Yeah! Didn't you miss that?" Martyn teased.

"Maybe a little..." Grian chuckled. The moment the Listener extended his hand to help Grian get up, he grabbed it to let himself be pulled up. A spark went off from his fingers, but neither of them noticed. "Well, I was trying to figure out my superpower, but my hint was... Mean..."

"Mine was glitched" Martyn shrugged "But this power feels so... Weird... If the Watchers hate me, why would they give me my actual power back? And improve upon it?"

"I dunno, man... It wasn't even supposed to be the wildcard for today, I had something else planned! An-and I think the Watchers stripped me of my authority, and changed my own rules! I hate it! It's so awful, like I'm... I'm..."

"Not in control? I know somethin' about it" Martyn chuckled quietly, looking down at the ground. Did the soil suddenly move a little, or was he just seeing things? Grian bit his tongue, realizing how it must've sounded to Martyn, somehow who lost everything he knew not too long ago. Including the security of the feeling of control.

"Sorry..."

"Don't be. We'll figure it out, if we stick together, right?" the blond man suggested, his smile a little bit more confident. Grian looked up at him and nodded with a tinge of excitement.

"I guess..."

Suddenly Grian yelped, as he felt something grabbing him by his ankle. He looked down for just a moment, then jumped away with a terrified scream.

"M-MUMBO!"

A half-decomposed hand, full of dirt and mold emerged from the ground, trying to feel the ground around itself. A moment later, another hand shot up from the second grave - a bigger one, with broken and mangled fingers. Inhuman moans and groans reached their ears as they started backing away.

"W-what's going on?!" Martyn yelled, taking a few shaky steps away. He looked in horror as the hands turned into rotting arms, and then the rest of the dead bodies emerged from the graves.

Mumbo was somehow in one piece, despite him turning into way more pieces after blowing up at the tower. His suit was torn to shreds, his body overgrown with mold and fungus. His brown eyes were almost completely blank, with only his irises appearing ghostly grey - and bearing no sight of thoughts. Blood and saliva were dripping from his mouth. He took a single step and almost fell to the ground - Grian almost jumped forward to help him, but pulled away at the terrifying sight and disgusting stench of rot.

Skizz did not look much better - despite dying not too long ago, he also looked half-decayed already. His eyes were also empty and dull, gone was his iconic, charismatic expression. He pulled his wings, almost completely stripped off feathers, behind himself like dead weight. His limbs appeared broken and twisted, probably after his death from falling from the tower. His open wounds were still shedding blood, somehow. 

"The-they're alive!" Grian yelped, half horrified and half hopeful.

"I don't think it's the right word, bud..." Martyn whispered.

Skizzombie took a step towards Grian, tripping over his own legs.

"Stay back!" the Watcher yelled. He opened his wings, although it didn't give him much of an edge.

"Griaaaan..." the undead moaned out in a strained voice. "Whaat's up, buddyyyy...?"

"That is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life" Martyn muttered, his face full of disgust.

"Skiiiizz, wait uuuuup..." Mumbo stumbled through his words, his hand shakily grabbing Skizz's torn up suit.

"Are they really... Themselves? Why are they even here?" Grian whispered, hiding behind Martyn.

"I dunno... I think it might be someone's power, to control zombies... Maybe even raise dead players from the dead, as it seems...?" Martyn whispered and drew his sword. "I think we should put them out of their misery, look at them."

"Wait!- Maybe it's not that bad...?"

Both of them silently stared as the zombies scrambled further into the server. Their movements were slow and uncoordinated, with horrifying sounds of popping joints and cracking bones. They didn't seem to be in pain, but they didn't seem to exhibit many emotions in this state... Martyn sighed and raised his sword.

"I'm sorry, Mumbo... I hope this hurts less..."

With one clean swing, the Listener cut off the moustached man's head, which fell to the ground. The rest of the body took two more shaky steps forward, until it fell on the grass. Before Martyn could do the same to Skizz, Grian grabbed his own sword and repeated the movement. The undead dropped on the ground, his body still twitching in painful, post-mortem convulsions.

"I'm gonna be sick" Grian covered his mouth with his hand and turned away. Martyn gently patted him on the back.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be all good... Go back to Joel and Gem, okay? I'm gonna go and see if I can gather any useful intel, okay?"

"Okay..." the Watcher nodded. He was pale and barely kept himself from throwing up at the disgusting sight. "Good luck..."

---

Jimmy's spying turned out extremely fruitful. He got a little out of the habit of walking everywhere, since he was now too used to flying - so when his joints started aching again, he returned to the hillside of Mount Bam and watched people from there. He was extremely careful to not let anyone see him - the longer he kept his ability a secret, the better. He gathered a lot of important data - he now knew the powers of Scott, Pearl, BigB and a few more players. He figured out that Grian didn't know what his power was - and witnessed Skizz and Mumbo rising from their early graves, as well as their second demises. Quite a horrifying sight, but he had to keep watching to make sure he didn't miss anything important. There was one piece of information that seemed especially handy - apparently, Martyn's power was super hearing...

Like a real Listener.

The moment he learned about it, the Watchers' voice roared in his head.

This Fool has to die today.

"No problem" he muttered, resting his hands against his wings which he kept wrapped around himself. He sat on the edge of a cliff leading down Mount Bam, his legs dangling aimlessly. His ears perked up as he noticed Scar approaching him, not quite sure where his partner was.

"Jimmy...?"

"Here" the phoenix called out, trying to lead Scar closer with his voice, not having to reveal his spot. The man sat down next to him.

"How are you doing?

"I know the others' powers... At least most of them. A few of them are dangerous... Cleo, Scott... Martyn..."

"Speaking of, he's coming" Scar suddenly cut him off "Don't move, I'll get him to leave..."

"O-okay..."

Jimmy only slightly turned his head. He silently watched as the Listener climbed the steep mountainside, getting closer and closer to them. For a moment, the phoenix held his breath, so that the man wouldn't even hear him breathing.

"Well hello there, Martyn! Are you looking for something? Someone?" Scar asked, blocking his way forward.

"Hey Scar... Just wanted to get a good observation point, don't mind me..."

"Hold on, mister, this is a private area!" Scar spreaded his arms to not let him get closer to Jimmy.

"Oh, c'mon, Scar, I'm not gonna do anything fishy..."

"Are you now?" the man huffed, grabbing Martyn by the shoulders. The Listener's ears pinned down.

"Let me go, Scar."

"Why?"

"I said. Let. Me. Go."

Scar's expression immediately turned from stern to playful.

"Of course... Here, let me help you."

With one clean swoop, Scar pushed Martyn off the cliff. The Listener let out a muffled scream as he tumbled down, hitting rocks and bamboo on the way. Jimmy gasped, but barely kept himself from smiling. Especially, when a notification popped up on his wristband.

Inthelittlewood was doomed to fall by Goodtimewithscar.

Notes:

Okay, so for those who skipped part of this chapter because of the TW: the scene depicts Mumbo and Skizz rising from their graves in a pretty... Rough condition. Grian and Martyn are horrified, and end up killing the two players, as they believe that their undead existence if painful and this way they'll shorten their misery. After that they split up.

Chapter 10: Uncasual casualties

Summary:

TW: mention of rotting bodies - but only passing mentions, no heavy focus on that

Grian and Martyn have their last attempt at saving Jimmy. Their plan fails beyond their worst expectations.

Notes:

Okay so funfact! This chapter is (or at least was, back when I checked in my writing app) exactly 5k words and 500 sentences! Yeah it's kind of a beast
There is at least one more coming from the last session, I'll try to write and release it tomorrow but no promises!

Also, one more tiny little note, just wanted to ask your guys' opinion.
I was thinking of linking my Ko-fi or Paypal somewhere in case you WANT to support me and my work. This would in no way influence how often I post new one-shots or chapters, it's just like a little extra "thank you". But if you find that to be too greedy or uncomfortable, I won't do it! Just lemme know in case you don't like that idea

After losing his life in such an embarrassing way and turning red, Martyn confined himself to the watchtower in the middle of Renwood Mound. He sat on top of the tower, listening to everyone he could see and noting down any important information he managed to gather in a notebook. He spent the whole afternoon there, not even listening to Ren calling him from the surface. The canine was getting more and more worried - he knew how serious his knight tended to become when he turned red and committed his every moment to scheming and planning. For a moment, the man even pondered whether he was just like that during Limited Life... That would explain so much.

"Martyn my dude, you alright there?" he called out, no longer even expecting an answer. He cussed under his breath. "I swear, he's so dumb... But also handsome... Ughhh..."

"The duality of men" Ren was suddenly startled by someone's voice, coming from outside of their base. He immediately smiled when he saw BigB peeking over the stone wall. "Hi, Ren."

"BigB, my dude! Whatcha doin' here? Don't you live, like, on the opposite side of the server?" the canine asked, barely containing his excitement and hiding his wagging tail.

"I brought him here" another voice joined them, and soon after, its owner - Grian managed to climb on top of the wall and sat on it, his wings tingling from the strain. Unexplainably, he was on his yellow life now, despite still being green when Ren last saw him. "We have a plan, and you and your boyfriend would help a ton.

"G, man! When did you turn yellow?"

"I... It's a long story. I fell."

"Well, good luck getting him down from the watchtower" Ren changed the topic and turned towards the watchtower. "He hasn't left since he respawned... He didn't even tell me how he died!"

"Wait, I have an idea" BigB suggested, then put his hands up to his mouth to make his yelling louder - although if Martyn noticed them and used his newfound power on them, it wouldn't even be necessary. "Martyn! We need help from you two! We're gonna use Ren as cannon fodder if you don't get down!"

"And we will kill Jimmy! Probably!" Grian added, also attempting to amp up his voice with his hands.

"Wow, sheesh, really?" Ren chuckled nervously "I did not sign up to have my face blown up!"

"You won't... Just look" BigB said with a teasing expression.

In less than a minute, Martyn slid down the ladder and landed in the knees-high water. He ran up to them, trying his best to ignore the water slowing him down.

"What are we doing? Who are we killin'?" he asked, protectively standing between Ren and their soon-to-be allies. The canine couldn't help but smile fondly, seeing his partner's overprotective gesture.

"As many people as we can... Hopefully including Jimmy. At this point, it's our last chance" Grian sighed, nervously combing his fingers through his wings. "And we have a team full of people who want him dead!"

"Does that include me?" Ren asked with hesitation. He, after all, did not have a personal reason to hate Jimmy - aside from him hurting Martyn emotionally and physically a couple of times. The rest of the players took a long glance at him. "What? I'm just askin', geez!"

"Wait... B, why do you wanna help us?" Martyn asked, attempting and failing to hide the jealousy in his voice.

"Oh, I caused Lizzie to die, and Jimmy didn't like that" the man answered, raising his hands to show off big wounds on his hands, covered with a few layers of bandaid. "Besides, I'm also on their kill list, so I guess I'm officially an enemy."

"They have a kill list now, huh? Why am I not surprised..." the Listener rolled his eyes. "Okay, what's the plan?"

Grian huffed, then turned to Ren.

"You go gather as many people as you can, pretending you're gonna show off your superpower. Then one of us sets up an ender crystal and detonates it, trying to get as many kills as possible. The only problem is, you may die."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa- I ain't lettin' that happen" Martyn immediately interrupted him. "I can be the bait. I'm not risking Ren dying."

"Wait, dude" the canine rested his hand on his partner's shoulder "You can't do that, you're on red! If this goes wrong, you're gonna die!"

"I already won once... And it didn't pay off" the Listener chuckled bitterly, rubbing his injured eye. Ren and Grian nodded with understanding expressions, only BigB appeared confused. "I'm fine with dying. You're one of the last greens, you might have a chance to win."

"Dude..."

"Wow, your devotion is, like, somethin' else" BigB pointed out with a playful smirk. Martyn immediately turned towards him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Guys, guys, don't fight" Ren took a stand between the two players, attempting to quell the impending argument. He then turned to his teammate "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Yes... Jimmy already hates me, so he might come to check out what power I have and how he can use it against me. And in case this fails... Grian, you will still have a chance, as a yellow. Don't mess it up."

"I won't... We won't."

"So... You guys need me, or...?" Ren asked nervously, shifting from one leg to the other in a nervous gesture. "I can go and help!"

"I guess we can use extra hands... Okay, let's go" Grian gestured to all of them to move. "We don't have much time left, let's use it wisely..."

---

To attempt their plan, they needed many players in one spot. The issue is, people already formed into stable groups for the day and were not keen on moving. Gaining more and more of an audience seemed fairly simple - but starting was the difficult part. So, the group first ventured out to a spot where quite a few players gathered to talk through their newfound powers. Just a bit north from spawn, the group known as the Gs sat over the riverbank and talked about what they were going to do for the day.

Even when they were far away, Martyn led the group through a forest to keep on eavesdropping on their enemies - and he needed to maintain eye contact to achieve that. After a full day of listening to others' conversations, his head was starting to feel sore and full of information. Why was it so much easier when he was a Listener? He stopped for a moment, rubbing his temples to take a bit of a break from constant listening. It wasn't like the Gs were spreading any crucial information, anyway. Ren immediately stopped right next to him, attempting to comfort his teammate.

"You alright, dude?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." he muttered. "All I really learned was their powers. Pearl can jump high and glide, Scott can morph into animals, Impulse can teleport and swap places with people... I didn't catch what Cleo said, but I noticed Mumbo and Skizz sitting next to her."

"Wait, aren't they dead?" BigB asked, quite confused by the revelation. Grian immediately shuddered.

"She must be the one controlling them... Yikes" he huffed "I guess it's on brand... Be careful."

"You guys go first, I'll join you in just a moment" Martyn asked. Ren gently squeezed his hand in a supportive gesture, but then left his partner as per his request.

The Listener leaned against one of the trees, groaning in frustration. The inability to focus, to contribute to his team - it was downright infuriating. Despite being the key to the team's intel, he still felt like he was only weighing them down. Maybe it would be for the best if his role came down to killing Jimmy and dying in the process... 

Until suddenly, he heard a mischievous giggle right behind him.

His reflexes immediately kicked in and he turned around, swiftly grabbing his sword to defend himself. But there was nobody behind him. The man let out a startled growl, his pointy ears twitch to scout the area for any possible sounds. The moment the soft rustle of stomping of grass hit him, he pointed his weapon towards where he expected to see someone. Again, nothing.

"Who's there?" he asked in a commanding tone. 

"C'mon, guess..." the playful voice flew right above Martyn's head. "You're not as stupid as they claim you are, right?"

"Of course it's you, Jim" the man huffed "Why are you here?"

"C'mon, I just wanted to talk! Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I can't see you... And even if I could, no, I wouldn't be happy. Your new boyfriend killed me today."

Another light, playful tap on Martyn's shoulder. The man turned around yet again, failing to see Jimmy. Immediately, the puzzles clicked in his brain

"You're invisible."

"Nice! See? You're not as dumb as you look!" Jimmy chuckled, continuing to circle his enemy to annoy him. "Too bad you don't have much time to your wits, anymore..."

"You're threatening me?"

"I'm warning you. The Watchers want you dead . Today."

"The Watchers wanted me dead since they made Grian push me off Monopoly Mountain" Martyn chuckled in a sour way "I'm not scared of you, and I'm not scared of them."

"You should be."

Suddenly, Jimmy's face appeared right in front of Martyn's. The shorter man's reflexes kicked in in an instant, as he swung his sword right into the phoenix's face. He narrowly avoided the slash, but he didn't come out of this unscathed - the blade cut off a few feathers off his lesser wings. The man let out an animalistic hiss and moved back, the golden feathers scorching as they fell to the ground. The feral fury in his rosy eyes only lit up further.

"You dirty little ..." he growled, his voice suddenly shifting. It sounded as if there were at least a few more entities speaking through him. His expression for just a second shifted ever so slightly to appear more unsure - but immediately, it became even angrier and more stern. " This game ends for you today. Right now. "

"No, it's not... Jimmy, they're tryna control you, right? C'mon, you're better than this!" he pleaded with his friend, but kept his grip on his weapon strong in case he actually needed to engage in a fight. 

The phoenix didn't even have a chance to doubt what was just happening to him.

He's bluffing. He wants to kill you, see his sword? End this now.

"You're bluffing. You don't care what they're doing to me? Drop the sword."

"I do care! You're my friend!"

"Then drop it!"

Without even a moment of hesitation, Martyn dropped his sword on the ground. Muffled thud of the metal hitting the grass rang in their ears. For a second, Jimmy looked at his fellow Listener with confusion and even worry. Why did he actually do that? So he wasn't bluffing? Did he really care? He claimed he knew a lot about the Watchers, but they hated him for a reason... That they never disclosed to Jimmy. In just a moment, the phoenix started doubting everything that happened in the past few days. So it wasn't just jealousy or hate?-

Don't overthink this. He's unarmed. End this now.

"But-"

Don't. Think. About this. Kill him.

In an instant, the phoenix's body moved on its own. He lunged right at Martyn with an inhuman screech and incredible speed. The man narrowly avoided the hit, moving aside and readying himself for a fight. Jimmy landed right behind him, then grabbed the sword by the blade and tossed it into the nearby bushes. Crap. Now Martyn was unarmed, against the burning, clawed predator. Still, he could see that Jimmy was slipping, slowly but surely... And he needed to exploit that, to hopefully get to him at last. Another feral attack barely evaded Martyn, who put all of his focus on his defenses. He might not match Jimmy in strength and speed, but there was one thing that he could still do. He could still outsmart him.

As the phoenix landed on the ground with a grind of his talons against rocks on the ground, he lifted his wings, which shined brighter than the sun. But he didn't fly up, as he probably wouldn't have much of a place to maneuver - instead, he covered himself with them and immediately vanished. This revelation immediately implanted itself right into Martyn's brain. He needed his wings to utilize his new power - so he was either invisible, or flying. That was a huge relief. And as he stared at the place where Jimmy landed, he was able to clearly hear his heavy panting, the rustle of his feathers, even his joints quietly clicking in place. If he had the time to focus enough, he'd probably hear his heart thumping, his blood flowing through his body, maybe even his thoughts.

But he didn't have the time.

Another attack managed to barely scratch his chin, leaving a shallow cut. In return, Martyn dealt much more damage with a strong kick directed at Jimmy's hip. The illusion fell, but the phoenix immediately pulled himself up and disappeared again. All of a sudden, it was so easy for Martyn to focus. Track Jimmy down, evade his attack, hopefully hit him back, recuperate, rinse and repeat. The phoenix, who clearly gave in to his primal instincts had a hard time finding an opening in this cycle. Martyn's attacks were far weaker than what Jimmy could deal to him in one flaming blow - but he actually managed to hit him, and that was enough. At some point, he landed with his body close to the ground and let out a loud, angry hiss at the Listener. Martyn took a step back, his chest rising and falling much faster from the strain. A few new cuts adorned his clothes, but he was mostly unscathed.

"You can't beat me" he said in a confident, serious tone. "Let my friend go, before I kill him. And you'll lose your precious weapon."

" Stupid Listener... Do you really know nothing about what a phoenix is? " the eldritch tone escaped from Jimmy's mouth, clearly not belonging to him. Martyn was moments from finally turning to the offense and attacking Jimmy, until a sudden scream reached his ears.

"Martyn! Dude!"

"Ren!" he gasped, and that singular moment was enough for Jimmy to pounce at him and knock him off his feet. The Listener struggled against the bigger, heavier, stronger opponent. "You bastards!"

" You've lived more than enough... It would've been for the best if you never left The Midway. "

"I guess I'll see you guys there eventually, huh? But not now!"

The Listener grabbed his opponent by his lesser wings and pulled his head down, headbutting him with his own forehead. At the same time, he directed a strong kick into the phoenix's stomach. Jimmy let out a painful wail, this time his voice sounding completely his. The man fell off Martyn and curled up on the grass, struggling to catch his breath. As the shorter man scrambled up, he took one last pitiful glance at Jimmy.

"Sorry, dude... Please, hang in there..."

He immediately ran in the direction of the earlier scream. He rubbed his hurting forehead with one hand and checked his wristband on the other. There was a fresh notification - Mumbo just killed Grian, making him turn red. The man hummed under his breath, clearly startled by the revelation. Last time they saw the zombies, they could barely stand on their own - and all of a sudden, they managed to kill someone? He gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath that he didn't get his sword back. 

As he left the forest they were just crossing, he entered a clearance on which the carnage was taking place. All that remained of Grian was his sword, which Martyn immediately picked up. It took him just a moment to take in his surroundings and decide what to prioritize. There was only one choice, really - Ren was currently fighting against Skizzombie, their swords loudly clashing against each other. Out of nowhere, the zombies were suddenly just as strong and aware as the players, if not more so.

"Ren! I'm coming!" the Listener yelled, jumping right in front of his partner to protect him from Skizz. One quick slash cut off the undead's arm, but he didn't even seem bothered by that. He blocked another attack, the loss of his limb barely influenced his balance. "Stay back!"

"Martyyyn... Why did you tryyy to replace us?" the zombie moaned, another hit barely missing Martyn's shoulder. "Grian is our frieeeend..."

"I can tell, since Mumbo just killed him!" he huffed "Who's next, huh?!"

And then, as if on command, a loud explosion went off right behind the Listener.

The blast pushed Martyn and Skizz several feet back, causing them to tumble into each other. There was no crater, indicating a TNT or creeper explosion. Quite opposite - there was a block of obsidian, left in the spot of the explosion. 

"Mumbo!" Martyn let out a frustrated groan, then looked back down at his wristband. There was one more notification, which horrified him. "NO! Ren!"

Skizzombie tried hitting Martyn again, but it took only one clean swing of a sword to behead him. The Listener scrambled up, struggling to keep his breathing stable. It was his one job, to keep Ren safe... And he failed. His partner just turned yellow.

And what was he supposed to do now?

---

This day was even more stressful to Tango than any of the previous ones. As one of the last greens, he had a huge target on his back - not that his death would provide any benefit to his enemies, that was. He was constantly ambushed, the attacks being driven purely by spite. His superpower made his task of avoiding dying quite a bit easier - with his superspeed, people had quite a hard time catching up to him. Still, despite that advantage, he already managed to die once - to Mumbo, who inexplicably appeared, looking as if he just left his grave after months of rotting there. But even when he turned yellow, the constant onslaught of all the different players did not stop. 

The man stopped right besides Etho's base, resting his hand against the copper wall to recuperate and catch his breath. His tail was nervously flicking from side to side. Despite his newfound power, his hooves were not used to covering so much ground in such a short time. The man nervously perked up his head when he heard the flap of wings above him - but immediately calmed down when he realized it was just Jimmy. The phoenix landed softly next to him.

"Hi rancher!" he smiled gently. "How are ya?"

"Strugglin'..." Tango huffed with a stupid smile. "Everyone wants to murder me today..."

"You need a bodyguard? I can kill anyone who gets toO close to you" Jimmy suggested with an innocent smile. Usually Tango loved it, but this one time, it unnerved him more than anything.

"Eeeeh... Nah, thanks, I'm good..."

"I mean it! You may not be a part of my flock yet, but I will protect you!"

The blazeborn tensed as he heard it. At first, the idea of joining Jimmy's alliance was tempting... But he quickly realized it went far beyond just teaming up. Something was fundamentally wrong with his rancher. And if he didn't know how to help, he could at least not encourage him... Or at least he hoped that was the case.

"Jimmy, I'm fine, really... Well, I mean, I did die to Mumbo out of everyone, but-"

"Mumbo?" The phoenix's expression immediately became half anxious, half feral. He just killed Mumbo two days earlier - how could he suddenly kill Tango?

"Yeah, and he's back! Look at this fool!"

Jimmy followed Tango's gesture, his stomach dropping and his whole body becoming tense and uncomfortable. Mumbo was standing just several meters away, close to Cleo and a few other players. He was alive... Somewhat. He was already being claimed by rot and vegetation, but he somehow kept himself up and running. The phoenix didn't even notice when his hands tensed into fists. Did he come back from behind the grave, just to taunt him? Was that a punishment?

"I'll be back in a moment" he huffed, covering himself with his wings and vanishing in an instant. The blazeborn looked around in confusion, not sure where his rancher just went.

The phoenix sneaked towards the group as silently as he could. They were standing right next to a strange contraption, something like an obsidian casing, with Impulse sitting inside. There was Cleo with Mumbo and Skizz, Pearl, Scott, BigB... And even Martyn. He was the biggest danger at that moment, most likely. But the fury melting Jimmy from inside didn't even let him process anything. In an instant, he pounced right at the undead with a blood curdling screech.

The zombie fell to the ground, but managed to direct one hit right into Jimmy's face. The damage taken caused the illusion to disperse, but the phoenix paid no mind. In an instant, he tore his past victim to shreds with his talons, leaving the stench of rotting blood in the air. He panted, sitting over the dead-again corpse.

"Jimmy! That was rude!" Cleo immediately yelled at him. The man let out another hiss, then picked up from the ground and flew up above them. He turned to fly back to Tango, who was still standing in his spot. Jimmy huffed with relief, as he closed his eyes and landed next to his rancher.

"That's better..." he huffed. "I hope he doesn't bother you anymore..."

"Yeah, thanks, Jim! That was nice of you!"

The phoenix let out a startled cawk as the voice he just heard didn't belong to Tango. He opened his eyes, only to notice Impulse standing in the exact place the blazeborn was just in. Immediately, he grabbed the man by the shirt and pulled him up.

"Where is Tango?!" he yelled, shaking the man like a chewed up toy.

"Hey, hey, easy! We were just tryna knock him down a peg, get him to red!"

"Get him to-" Jimmy immediately let Impulse go and turned towards the group he just left. Tango was inside of the obsidian casing, where Impulse was just a second ago... And they just swapped places, apparently. Letting the group trap and kill the blazeborn. "Tango! NO!"

The phoenix opened his wings to get to the trap as fast as possible, but it was too late. He just barely noticed Martyn throwing a creeper egg inside the casing. It immediately cracked, spawning the infamous exploding monster, which blew up just a second later.

Tango was blown up by a Creeper.

"Shit! Tango!" Jimmy let out a loud, pitiful squawk. He immediately dived in the air to attack the group, but he was quickly fended off by the players. The explosion barely hurt anyone except for Tango - so if he actually committed to attacking them, it'd be a 1v6. Jimmy was becoming more and more confident with his abilities, but even he knew he couldn't risk this. Instead, he hissed at them and flew up to Mount Bam to lick his wounds and rethink his plan.

---

"Hey, Jimmy!" the first thing Scar did after climbing up the stairs was join Jimmy under one of the blossoming cherry trees. He climbed on his friend's shoulder, playfully stroking his lesser wing, which was missing a few feathers. "Guess who killed Bdubs for you!~"

"You're awesome..." the phoenix chuckled and turned his head to give his partner in crime a small peck on the cheek. "I need just one more little favor from you..."

"Anything, man! Name a player, and their head is falling off" Scar said with a wide, devilish grin. 

"Martyn. I need you to kill him. I would do it myself, but..." he huffed and wiped sweat off his forehead "I need a minute to wind down."

"One dead Martyn, comin' right up!" the man giggled and jumped right off his shoulder. "You'll be proud!"

Jimmy followed his companion with a stare, his expression peaceful in a brutal way.

"I already am..."

---

It was getting too dangerous for Martyn to keep on fighting. It also wasn't safe to return to his base - he risked someone following him and attacking him and, even worse, Ren. He already failed his king, his partner, his one true motivation once that day - he was not risking doing this again. Instead, he started sneakily climbing up Bdubs' tower. It was the highest place around, outside from his old watchtower - and his plan was to hide there and keep on spying on people. He could only hope that Jimmy wouldn't pounce at him from above. Everyone else didn't seem to mind him refusing to die.

The man pulled himself up to the top of the tower and immediately got as low to the ground as he could. He sat on the floor, crawling towards the slightly raised walls to hopefully peek from over them. He left his notebook on his watchtower, so he couldn't write down what he learned - he could only hope he'd remember. And that he wasn't noticed by anyone.

The first part may have been true, but the second certainly wasn't.

"There you are..." Scar whispered with a sly grin. Thanks to his suddenly smaller and lighter frame, it was incredibly easy for him to climb up walls - and this was the perfect moment to utilize that. Silently, as to not alert Martyn too soon, he pulled himself up.

"I hope Bdubs isn't home..." Martyn muttered under his breath. His fingers kept tapping on the sword he grabbed after Grian died - the last implement he had left to himself. He focused on his surroundings, trying to gather any intel he could possibly use. The players were dying quicker than usual, everyone felt that the end was getting closer and closer... For just a moment, he looked down to see a new notification - about Grian slaying Mumbo. Yikes. That man killed his undead friends several times already - and it probably wasn't getting easier.

"Hi, Martyn!" as the Listener looked back up, he found himself face to face with Scar. He let out a startled yelp and moved back, immediately clutching his weapon.

"Scar! You scared me!" he exhaled sharply, watching as the man effortlessly climbed over the wall. "What do you want?"

"Oh, Martyn... I want you ."

The Listener let out a bitter, anxious puff.

"W-what? I mean, uh, I don't know what Ren would say..."

Scar looked at him dumbfounded, and then his head perked up.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't make myself clear!" he chuckled, then immediately added "I want you to die. Like, right now."

"Oh... Wait, what?"

Martyn barely blocked a swift slash of Scar's sword. He clumsily picked himself up and grabbed his sword tighter. Scar seemed excited, downright giddy to slay him. He knew that the man tended to be pretty out of pocket, especially when red - but this was something new. It was a new kind of bloodlust he had never seen before.

"Jimmy sent you, didn't he?" he groaned, barely missing slashing through Scar's arm. "Scar, listen, you cannot work with him! He isn't himself right now! He's downright dangerous!"

"What do you mean? He's been a real sweetheart to me! Maybe he just hates you personally?" the man giggled.

Another hit connected, leaving a long wound across the Listener's chest. He recoiled, his breathing becoming even more strained. He barely avoided another slash by jumping on top of the wall, gaining high ground. It didn't last - Scar immediately joined him, forcing them to balance over the edge. If they failed, the ground was many feet under them, too many to just survive the hit. Their swords clashed against each other, letting out loud, clanging noises. Martyn was clearly on the defense, so he decided to use his time to plead with Scar.

"Jimmy is brainwashed, he's not thinking clearly! He's gonna be really dangerous if we let him live! You need to let me kill him!"

"And why would I do that?"

Scar suddenly threw his sword up, to free his hands for just a moment. In that split second, he managed to sweep him off his feet. Before Martyn fell to the ground, Scar grabbed him by the collar with one hand and caught his sword with the other. A pretty cool party trick, if it wasn't so deadly.

The Listener looked straight into his opponent's eyes. He looked terrified. At that point, there was no way he could regain his balance - his life was literally in Scar's hands. He grabbed his wrist, to hopefully stabilize himself at least a little.

"Scar, please... He's a danger to himself, to you and to everyone... You need to listen to me..."

For just a second, Scar started hesitating. Jimmy was definitely acting differently... But different did not have to mean bad , right? He was just confident about his abilities, while trying to survive... For a moment, the man's grasp on Martyn's collar tensed, as if he wanted to let him live.

"Please... You know how awful winning is, right...? You don't want all of that to happen to him, right?-"

Before Martyn could even finish his sentence, Scar made up his mind.

In an instant, his sword pierced right through the Listener's chest.

And then, he released his grasp over him.

The blond man plummeted down the tower, bleeding out on the way. His vision became hazy, the throbbing pain in his chest overwhelmed him. As his eyes teared up, he shut them close and mustered his last words before hitting the ground. His last words ever, maybe.

"Ren..."

Inthelittlewood was slain by Goodtimewithscar.  

Notes:

Remember when I mentioned in the last chapter that that one and this one have something in common, structurally? Yeaaah... They both end with Martyn being killed by Scar. Poor lad.
I'd love to see your live reactions so drop them in the comments, I'm curious :>

Chapter 11: Cursed be those who watch

Summary:

Jimmy crashes Martyn's funeral - or at least what he assumes it is. The players learn the truth about what's been happening to them for months.

Notes:

This chapter is almost 5,5k words, and despite getting into more of the "things that didn't happen durring the session" territory, I still really like it! I've actually written a few things into the story on the go, as I realized they fit perfectly. So there *might* be one more chapter before the next (and probably final) session, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Little did Martyn know, Ren saw the whole thing with his own eyes. The moment the thunder crossed the sky, signifying the falling of another player, the canine ran towards the tower as far as he could. He didn't even notice that his body acted on its own, activating his superpower and morphing into his partner. He's never ran this fast before in his life.

"NO! Martyn!" he yelled, his voice breaking in the middle of the man's name. The moment the body hit the floor, he fell to the ground, tears making his vision blurry. He grabbed the Listener by his wrist, to check for a pulse. He put the man's hand on his cheek, the coldness of his skin spreading chills through his body. "Martyn, dude, baby, talk to me! Martyn!"

Scar leaned over the edge, watching as Ren gently took the body into his arms and cradled it, as if soothing his partner's pain he didn't even feel anymore. He whistled quietly, then started climbing down the wall to report his deed to Jimmy. He felt bad for maybe a moment... But the idea of being praised by the phoenix made it all feel worth it.

"Martyn... Martyn, baby, I'm so sorry..." Ren whispered, putting his deceased partner's head against his chest. "You did well, you did so well..."

"Ren! What happened?" the canine didn't even more as he heard Grian's voice and quick footsteps. The man gasped upon seeing the horrifying scene. "Oh no, no no no... Martyn..."

"Grian, my man... I need your help." the man whispered, his illusion falling, revealing just how broken he looked.

The parrot nodded silently. He didn't even need Ren to finish, he understood fully well what he meant. He put his hand on the canine's shoulder, a little spark coming off his fingers. 

"I'm so sorry, Ren..." he whispered after a moment, then kneeled next to him. He took a short look at the Listener's face. He looked tired, but peaceful. Blood marked his chin and hands, when he tried touching his wound while falling. Scar pierced him right through with his sword, with the end of the blade sticking from out of his back. Even if he hadn't been stabbed, it was pretty clear he wouldn't have survived the fall.

"I just hope he died, knowing how I feel about him" Ren muttered under his breath, carefully caressing his fallen lover's hair. "And that I'm proud of him..."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure he knows that... And he feels the same, trust me" Grian chuckled quietly, gently patting the canine's back in a supportive gesture. "C'mon, let's go... Let's put him to rest before he turns to dust."

---

Jimmy did not witness Martyn's death, but the lightning strike immediately piqued his interest. Someone just died... A few moments after he asked Scar to kill his most dangerous enemy. Immediately, Jimmy tensed up, half-expecting his teammate to be the one who just perished. He didn't even look at his wristband. For some reason, he didn't feel scared about his friend... Not only because he believed in Scar's abilities. There was another thought that constantly nagged him, preventing him from fully enjoying the man's company.

If he failed, and Martyn killed him... Then Jimmy wouldn't have to do it later on.

"Hey Jimmyyyy!" the phoenix jumped from surprise when he heard Scar's voice, coming from the entrance to BAMbunker. "Guess what just happened!"

"You didn't..." Jimmy turned to him and chuckled in disbelief.

"Yes I did! You asked, and I delivered!"

"Oh my gosh... C'mere, Scar!"

The man jumped on top of the bed and leaped right into Jimmy's arms. The phoenix let out a happy chirp and nuzzled against Scar's cheek, his big wings enveloping them both. For a moment, he pushed away the horrible thought he was just mulling over.

"I'll never be able to pay you back for that..." he whispered, until Scar put both his hands on Jimmy's cheeks.

"You kiddin'? It was nothing, dude! Do you need anyone else dead?"

"Wow, Scar... You're really bloodthirsty, huh?"

"Anything to please my teammate!" Scar smirked and squished Jimmy's cheeks.

He might become a problem. Keep that in mind. If you don't kill him, he will turn on you.

The phoenix immediately tensed, his wings heating up a bit.

"You don't have to kill anyone now..." he chuckled quietly and left a little kiss on Scar's forehead "You should probably take a break for the day, y'know?"

"Naaah, I'm fine! I wanna keep going, I need to keep using my power! I can do so many cool things with it!"

"Oh yeah? What can you do, aside from sittin' on people?" Jimmy asked with a teasing tone.

"C'mon, try it! Punch me!"

"Okay, okay... I'll try to be gentle..."

The phoenix raised his fist and attempted to hit Scar in his chest. Immediately, the pain he inflicted on his teammate fired back - a jolt of electricity shot right back through his arm, causing him to yelp in pain. Scar giggled in a painful way, then reciprocated the punch. The impact pushed Jimmy straight into the wall, knocking the breath right out of his lungs. The phoenix fell to the ground, huffing and panting.

"W-what...? How did you..."

"See? I need to use this power as long as I can, dude! C'mon!"

"Okay, okay, fine..." Jimmy chuckled nervously. The grueling thought reemerged in his brain. He may not only try to kill you... He will actually succeed, if he tries. You need to get rid of him. "Kill Grian for me, why won'tcha?"

"Grian! Got it!" Scar smirked, although he seemed a bit less enthusiastic about the prospect of killing the parrot. "You stay here, where nobody's gonna kill ya, okay? I'll be right back!"

Immediately, Scar jumped back on the ladder and climbed out of the bunker. Jimmy pulled himself back on the bed, restlessly fidgeting with his lesser wings. It felt wrong to push Scar so hard, to make him go and kill anyone that was a danger to them... Getting more and more angry and restless, he pulled on his lesser wings, letting out a sharp, animalistic hiss. He should be out there, killing anyone who wants to oppose him...

Go out there. Kill and burn. They can't hide from you forever.

Jimmy didn't even let the Watchers finish another one of their mantras. After just a moment, he flew out of the BAMbunker and out into the server.

---

The whole way back to Renwood mound, Ren carried Martyn in his arms, keeping him as close to himself as possible. He put his hand over the man's eyes, as if to shield him from this big, cruel world that just failed him. As they walked through the server, more and more players started joining them. First Tango, then BigB, Scott, Impulse, Gem, Joel Cleo, Bdubs, Etho, even Lizzie. All of them silently walked after Ren, watching as he carried his partner to rest. 

"You stay with him, I'll dig up the... Y'know" Grian offered after they arrived behind the southern wall surrounding Renwood mound. He bitterly chuckled "I've been doing it a lot lately, I don't mind..."

"Thanks, dude."

Ren sat down under one of the trees growing outside of their base. He continued gently stroking Martyn's cheek, silently hoping that it was all just a big mistake, that he would still wake up... But he didn't. The Listener's skin was becoming colder and paler, his eyes more sunken and dark. The canine quietly hummed, as he hugged his knight, his hand, his love.

"Is this how you felt when I wasn't around...?" he asked quietly, nuzzling his cheek against Martyn's. "I'm so sorry... I promise, if I ever see you again... I'll never let you feel like this again."

"Ren...?" the man looked up, hearing Lizzie's voice over him. The woman didn't look him in the eye, her face full of guilt. "I'm so sorry that happened..."

"Why...? Liz, it's not your fault..."

"But Scar did it... And if he didn't, Jimmy would have done that... And I'm their teammate! I wish I would've said something, I wish I stopped them, I-"

"It's... It's fine, really. Just... Stay safe out there, okay? These two... Just watch out."

"I will."

"Ren... C'mere" Grian asked, standing over a dug out hole in the ground. He rested against his shovel, looking at the canine with a pitiful expression.

The man silently got up from his spot. He already noticed that his lover was starting to perish - his hands started turning into dust and blowing away in the faint wind. Ren stopped preventing his eyes from tearing up - his cheeks were wet from silently crying over the loss of his beloved. He kneeled over the hole, not yet ready to say goodbye. He pressed one last gentle kiss on the man's lips, wishing he didn't have to separate from him. In one last gesture, he took off Martyn's torn up headband, before putting him inside of the hole to rest.

Immediately after separating from his lover, he broke down into a crying, shaking mess. A few of the players surrounded him, offering their silent support. Grian leaned over the hole and pulled the sword from the wound, then dug it into the ground in front of the grave, before starting to cover the hole with dirt.

"I swear... Before I turn red, Scar will be dead" Ren muttered, tying the headband around his wrist to keep the remaining part of his lover close to him. It still held just a little bit of his scent... The canine raised his eyes to the sky, before his pupils contracted and he let out an angry growl at the sight.

"Please don't kill my teammate, that's not nice..." Jimmy teased, flying just above Martyn's grave. He looked down, but the body was already covered with a layer of soil. "Ahhh shucks, I didn't get to say goodbye..."

"What are you doing here, Jim?" Ren grunted, his ears pinning down and the fur on his tail bristling.

"What do you think I'm doin'? Celebrating!"

"Oh, cut it off!" Cleo immediately fired back with an annoyed expression. The canine looked at her, trying and failing to hide the shock on his face.

"Yeah! You're so excited that you're not the first one, you have to make it everyone's problem?" Gem rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't even your kill!" Joel pointed out "What are you happy about?"

"What's with you all? This is the whole point of this game, to kill each other! And suddenly all of you are upset that I'm not dead yet?" the phoenix hissed, landing right over the edge of the not fully covered hole.

Grian pulled away several meters from the group and looked down at his wristband. He really needed to message someone, someone who wasn't even here... When he noticed something. The tip to his superpower was gone, but it was replaced with simplistic icons of Martyn and Ren. But why? And what did that mean? He squinted, then clicked the first icon and looked back at the group.

"You told Scar to do it, huh?"

"You're acting like a lunatic!"

"What's going on, Jim? This isn't you!"

He could hear them as if he was right next to them... He could even hear their breathing, rustling of their clothes, clang of the weapons they had on them. Immediately, the realization clicked in his head. Silently, as to not bring too much attention to himself he sneaked into the group, then deselected Martyn's icon and chose Ren's. A few more little pictures appeared, and at that moment, he knew full well what to do.

"It isn't me? I'm being competent for once, and you guys take me for some kinda maniac! Do y'all just hate me that much?!" the phoenix screamed at his friends, picking up flight again. He could just go back, wait for the night and slaughter them all when they slept... And that felt incredibly tempting. He looked down at the group, and his jaw immediately dropped.

All of a sudden, Martyn emerged from the group, looking alive and well. His hoodie was a bit torn up on the chest, but other than that, he looked unscathed. And he looked at Grian with a confident, cheeky grin.

"Competent? You sent Scar to kill me, and didn't even bother yourself? What a joke..." the man chuckled. His voice seemed a little strange, but it was clearly him... All of the players looked at the sudden revelation in shock.

"You... What?!" Jimmy looked at his wristband. Martyn's name was completely gone from the player list - he wasn't listed as alive or dead. But he was right there... The phoenix looked at him again. "How?! You were dead!"

"My death was... Greatly exaggerated " Martyn chuckled and crossed his arms on his chest. "Go back to these demons that sent you, and tell them that they won't get rid of me that easily!"

"You... You..." the man was completely flabbergasted. He even stopped flapping his wings, causing him to land on the ground. Well, it was true, he didn't even see Martyn's body... Did Scar lie to him? Was this all just a huge prank that the server pulled against him? He looked at the group in shock. The players did not seem pleased with him... Several feet behind the whole group, he noticed Scar, who was trying to get close to hopefully attack Grian. But Grian wasn't even there... "What is the meaning of this?!" he audibly asked the Watchers, not even caring if he sounded like a maniac.

He's dead. Don't trust everything you see.

"He's not, he's right there!"

It's a trick. Don't fall-

"I can tell it's a trick! Scar tricked me- Everyone tricked me! They all want me dead!" the man pulled on his lesser wings. He was shedding more and more feathers, which started burning in the air. Immediately, he took off into the sky, as far away from everyone as he could. His head was spinning, his chest felt tight- Everything suddenly seemed like a ruse, like a big trick directed specifically at him. His eyes teared up, but before any tears could reach his cheeks, they evaporated from the heat he was emitting. As soon as he was high enough that he was sure nobody could hear him, he let out a loud, primal, angry screech, straight from his burning chest.

The moment the phoenix disappeared from view, Ren turned towards his friend... Or who he had to assume he was. 

"Martyn...?" he whispered. He then looked at the grave "You... You..."

"No" the man answered quietly, then clicked the icon on his wristband, disabling his superpower. Immediately, from Martyn, he transformed back into Grian. "It took me a while to figure out, but... My power is to copy others' powers. And I used yours. I'm sorry, dude..."

"No, no, no, it's... It's good. Jimmy thinks Martyn is alive, and..." he sniffled, barely keeping himself from breaking down again. "We have to use that to get rid of him. I'm sorry I didn't help you guys earlier..."

"Grian, you know what's wrong with Jimmy, right?" Lizzie asked, approaching the Watcher. The man nervously looked around, suddenly intimidated by just how many players were around them. And they all seemed eager to get an answer...

For just a second, Grian locked eyes with Scar standing outside of the group. The man flinched, ready to back away. He was sent to kill Grian, after all... But this seemed like a much more serious matter, going outside of their little game. Grian looked serious; he rarely ever did, but when he did, it was clear it was important. With hesitation, he approached the group, ready to listen. The parrot sighed, crossing his arms and looking down into the ground. Revealing the truth about the games risked everything for him... Everyone could turn against him at a whim, learning that all of this happened because of him. 

But at that point, it didn't matter. He needed to save Jimmy. And if everyone turned on him in the process, then so be it. Not like he didn't deserve it.

"I... I do"he finally answered. "And I think it's time you finally know."

---

The very last hit, the one which proved to be fatal, sticks to Martyn's skin like a wet, disgusting bandaid. In just a second the cold, sharp air of The Midway enters his lungs. He knows where he is, and he knows why he's there. And he knows that despite being suspended in the endless void, he's not alone.

Out of nowhere, heavy, black chains shot out of the endless abyss and wrapped around his body. His wrists, his ankles, even his neck, are tied down by the freezing cold metal. He struggles to catch his breath - not that he needs it anymore. He wants to fight against the bindings - his body can barely move under the weight of them. Instead, he uses the one thing that usually proved more useful to him than his muscles.

"I know you're here, you bastards!" he screamed "Come out! I'm not scared of you! I will fight you all, until you're just a splatter on The Midway!"

As if on command, tens of cloaked, winged figures appear all around him. The chains grow even heavier, restricting his movement further. Other ones appear - around his head and his chest. A dark metal plaque snaps shut around the lower half of his mouth, preventing him from speaking - or at least making it more difficult and painful. 

There you are. You really thought you could evade us, Fool?

"You sick monsters..." Martyn growled against his metal muzzle, his whole body tensing and twisting as he desperately tried to free himself, to find any opening, to stop this creeping feeling of being completely powerless. "Let me go, and then we can fight!"

There's no need. We are only here to watch. And watching your downfall was a pleasure.

Martyn huffed, the strain on his body becoming more and more painful. Either he just started feeling the rigid, uneven edges of the metal digging deep into his skin, or the chains just became like that. Either way, he was becoming a sweaty, wriggling mess, with little to no hope of getting out of this.

"I swear, if my hate for you could take up space, it'd be bigger than this abyss" he hissed, pulling back to hopefully snap the chains. They didn't even budge. "What are you gonna do to me now, huh?"

Only silence answered him. Another set of chains sprang out of the void to tie him up - two of them bound his arms to his chest, another one tied his legs together. One more wrapped itself around Martyn's hands, and before he could even realize what was going on, it tightened far more than his body would let it. For a moment, the awful sound of breaking fingers crossed the abyss. The man let out a muffled scream into his muzzle. His vision started becoming blurry from the pain. Another chain wrapped around his stomach, also tightening in an uncomfortable way, then connected to the chain wrapped around his torso, forcing him into a position that bent backwards. He could already feel as his limbs started going numb from the lack of blood flow. His eyes teared up on their own.

"Answer me, you cowards!"

For your insubordination, we should end you right here and there, and spread your particles over The Midway as a warning to other dirty Listeners like you.

Martyn's face immediately went pale, his ears - probably the last part of his body he could move - pinning down in fear. He was no stranger to dying after six horrifying death games... But this was different. Final. Tears streaked down his metal-covered cheeks as the realization hit him. He would never see his friends again. He would never laugh and joke with them, scream at them, do anything with them. He would never hug Ren again... The cheerful laughter of his favorite canine crossed his mind and at that moment, it hurt more than his heavy shackles. His breathing became hitched, as if it wasn't already severely limited by his muzzle-like restriction. His head dropped, hiding his tears from the Watchers. He would not give them the satisfaction. He couldn't break. Not yet.

But we can also be merciful... And thus, we present you with three options.

"I ain't making no deals with you" Martyn growled, but they didn't pay him any mind.

One. We leave you here, until your mortal body succumbs to the oblivion on its own.

Two. You stay here forever, as a dirty Listener you are. Death will not save you - you will stay here until the end of matter and time.

Or three. You bow to us, and we set you free. Wipe your slate clean and become a noble, obedient Watcher once again.

The man huffed quietly, weighing the options. He didn't even consider option three - with all the knowledge he possessed, he could not even imagine being wiped clean off it and turned into a Watcher again. Not with all of his memories, his friends, his love... That was not even an option.

So he could even remain as he was and wait until his body perished from starvation or rotting alive, or he could be turned into a Listener one final time, and be stuck in his immortal shell forever. With no way out, but also with no way to die. Both options were horrible. Either way, he was done for. He would never see his friends, he would never feel the sun of his skin, the refreshing laughter of his companions, the wonderful cold air ringing in his ears... He could either slowly perish with all of these memories, or be stuck here forever, with only them to keep his company.

He made up his mind.

"If I have to choose... I'm staying human. I don't wanna have anything to do with your stupid Alliance anymore." he hissed at the Watchers.

Foolish Listener...

The chains tightened around him even more. Martyn bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming. The taste of blood quickly filled his mouth, and with no way to spit it out, all he could do was swallow it. Gross. His mortal shell was at its limit, but the Watchers were not keen on breaking him right now. They wanted him to suffer, and they wanted him to suffer for as long as possible.

The Midway can upkeep mortal existence for a long, long time. But what kind of existence is that... Empty. Pointless. Devoid of experience and sensory. Death is far more merciful.

"I don't care" he grumbled "I will find a way out. I will see my friends, and I will put an end to you, forever. If not in this life, then may my hate for you bring me into another one, where I can hate you even more. I will keep coming back, and I will never stop until each and every one of you is dead."

Yours will be done.

A flash of light crossed Martyn's eyes - probably the last thing he'd ever see, not counting the endless abyss he was forever forced to witness. But before the Watchers left him to his torturous punishment, he felt something soft slipping away from his face.

His eyepatch.

The man gasped, immediately hit with a vision. It was distorted, even more so than usual. Everything was slightly blurry, slightly glitched - but he could still make out his surroundings. He was back on the server - among a group of almost all of the players. They were standing around Grian, who was telling them something. He also took notice of a strange, half-covered up hole in the ground before he attempted to tune in. He could only hear short phrases, which didn't seem to connect all too well.

"The Watchers- -endless cycle, where- -collecting data, but- -and Martyn is-"

Martyn shut his eyes tight, realizing what Grian was doing. Was he... Revealing the truth about the games to all of the players? But why? He opened his good eye, greeted by The Midway yet again. As he expected, he was completely and utterly alone. But there was something else that he just noticed... Cracks. Visible cracks, appearing on the very fabric of the abyss. They were still pretty small, but they were indeed there... He didn't know what they meant. But he felt like he understood what was happening. 

Immediately, Martyn turned as much as he could to look and assess his situation. There was only one thing he could really do, aside from just straight up giving up. He could peek into the server... But there was no way of establishing contact. No way of warning them of what was happening. No way of telling them that he was trapped.

Or was there?

---

It was quite a shock to Grian that the players did not immediately turn on him after learning the truth. That didn't mean they were happy to learn that they were stuck in a loop of killing each other over and over and over again. But for time being, they were willing to put their animosity away and help save Jimmy - if there was still a way to do so. The players ended up dispersing to get back to their bases and plan what to do next, but a few people remained around the grave.

"Cleo, dude, can I ask you for a favor?" Ren asked, his voice quite a bit timid compared to how he usually was. The zombie turned towards him.

"Yeah?"

"It was you who could raise Mumbo and Skizz from the dead, yeah? Can you... Try and do the same to Martyn? I... I wanna see him one last time... Say goodbye..."

"Oh, um... Yeah, sure, I can try" she shrugged and approached the grave. "Just be careful, I don't know whether he's gonna be already rotten or not... And it's a pretty gross sight."

"I'll be fine... I won't throw up, if I didn't eat anything today" the canine chuckled in a sour way.

Cleo stood over the grave. They turned off their power on their wristband, then raised their hands. Zombie Skizz and Mumbo, whose corpses were lying dead somewhere far away, spawned right next to her. With each respawning, they looked a bit more awake, a bit more present - even if they were still completely obedient to Cleo. Several seconds passed, but there was no sight of movement from the freshly covered grave. Ren's tail immediately dropped.

"W-what...?"

"Maybe he needs to be dead for some time...?" Cleo muttered, just as confused with why her power didn't work.

"Wait, let me try" Grian's finger tapped on the zombie player's shoulder, then he attempted to use the power. Again, nothing happened, aside from the undead, rotting players turning to face the Watcher. "What's going on...?"

"Well, Martyn is nowhere on the player list..." Cleo pointed out, showing their wristband. Indeed, Martyn was not listed as a living player, nor a dead one, next to Skizz and Mumbo.

"Huh..." Grian rubbed his chin, pondering the situation. "Maybe it's some kinda... Weird... Listener... Trick?"

"You think they can just... Do that?"

"I dunno... I don't know about Listeners all that much... Jimmy does. And Martyn, but..." Grian chuckled bitterly. "I never understood how you, Ren, get him..."

"Oh, it's not so bad once you get g-aaah!"

The zombies, which suddenly turned obedient to Grian, immediately understood the unintended command. Their half-rotten brain turned "...Ren, get him..." into "Ren! Get him!" and together, pounced at the canine. They both tackled Ren to the ground, punching and kicking the flailing canine, pulling on his long hair and doing everything to turn the dog red.

"Dang it! Grian! Do something!"

"Stop it! Guys, stop it!" Grian pulled Skizz by the arm, grimacing at how his skin felt and smelled. Cleo grabbed Mumbo, but it was too late - the last strong kick from the taller zombie ended up shattering Ren's skull, and the mortal wound caused him to turn into dust.

Rendog was slain by Mumbo.

"Dang it!" Ren immediately sat up on his bed where he respawned. He let out a long, pained and frustrated groan. This was easily the stupidest way he's ever died. He rubbed his aching skull, his other hand landing on Martyn's pillow. As if by pure instinct, the man grabbed the pillow and hid his nose in it, savoring the smell as long as he could. 

When he looked up again, he immediately noticed Grian stumbling over the wall. The parrot approached him with a stupid smile. 

"Sorry, dude... I didn't know they were listening to me now..."

"It's... It's fine" Ren whispered, his grip tightening on the pillow. He then added in a lower, rumbling tone "You know what happens whenever I turn red, don'tcha...?"

Grian let out a startled, but amused chuckle. He did... And he secretly loved that for once, he was not on the receiving end of Ren's fury. This time, he could finally witness him in action. The canine pulled himself up from the bed, then unbound Martyn's headband from his wrist and used it to gather and tie up his own long hair. Grian sat on the bed, watching as Ren scoured his chests.

"I wish I had it with me..." he sighed, then turned to the parrot. "Grian, my man, you know how to craft a fine axe?"

"I... I do" the Watcher smiled nervously. "It's not gonna be no Red Winter, but..."

"It's alright. As long as it can kill a canary, it's gonna be just fine."

---

Gem was sitting on top of her little house, thinking over everything that she just learned from Grian. It seemed like a lot, she could barely believe it... But everything seemed to click into place. So Jimmy was in real trouble, and they had no good ideas on how to save him... She hated feeling restless like that. She had to do something. Maybe she could find him and talk to him...? And if not talk, she could always live up to her nickname, GeminiSlay, again.

She activated her power and turned into a spirit form, floating above the base. She was aware she didn't have much time, the sun was close to setting... Luckily, this form of her not only made her almost untouchable, but also very fast. And there was not a lot of places to check. 

Jimmy wasn't on Mount Bam, surprisingly. He wasn't in Mumbo Tower, he wasn't around the Tuff guys base. He was not in Pale forest and in the Gs' base... By the time she was flying close to Renwood mound, she suddenly heard something.

A scream.

But it didn't sound like a normal, human scream. It was distorted in a pretty gruesome way, it sounded almost glitchy. She looked around, trying to track down its source.

"Gem!"

"Huh...?" he muttered under her breath, turning around.

" -em! Ove- Gem! I'm he- It's me, Mart- Gem!"

"Martyn...?" the woman whispered, floating just above the fresh grave. This is where the voice sounded the clearest - not that it was all that clear even here. "Martyn, is that you?"

"Yes! Look do-"

Immediately, Gem turned around. She could see someone's bloodied hand, covered in heavy black chains, poking from under the ground. It wasn't a normal hand, either - it appeared translucent and immaterial, just like her. It had to be a dead player... So it had to be Martyn!

"Martyn!" she grabbed his hand and pulled on it, but to no avail. "What's going on? What happened? What are these chains?"

"Gem! Warn- -there's something wr- I think it's cra- go tell him I-" Martyn's grasp on her was slipping. The spirit player looked up at the sun. It was almost completely under the horizon. Her power would soon run out.

"Wait, wait, wait! I can't understand you!" she pleaded, grabbing his hand tighter "You’re too distorted! Slower! We don't have much time!"

Martyn took a deep breath, feeling as the disgusting, cold, nauseating abyss entered his lungs. His plan worked thus far, but if it failed because they ran out of time to contact..."

"Tell Grian- -the Midway is cracking- -we need to escape- -after the game ends- -the Watchers are- -losing control-"

"Okay, okay, got it..." Gem huffed. "Is that all I have to say?"

"Please- -tell Ren- -I love him- -always-"

Suddenly, the feeling of holding his immaterial hand vanished. Gem was forced back into her human form and fell down on top of the grave, right into the freshly moved soil. She spat out the earth that got into her mouth and on her lips, then looked down at the ground again. Her hands were shaking from the sudden revelation. They may have ran out of time... But at least she knew what to tell Grian.

And Ren.

Notes:

Okay so, funfact! The fragment about Martyn stuck in The Midway was written right after I finished chapter 9 - I was so emotional after the last session I made a whole short story about this scene and the aftermath of all of this. I could publish it, but it's gonna be a lot different to what actually happens in the story - and even with that, there'd be spoilers. Lemme know if you wanna see it!

And as always, lemme know what you think about the chapter! Your comments are so incredibly inspiring!

Chapter 12: All eyes upon thee, Phoenix

Summary:

TW: violence and mentions of wounds
Jimmy tries and fails to find any comfort and reassurance among his last remaining friends - the only thing that comforts him is the eternal fire that claims his body.
Gem delivers a message from behind the grave.

Notes:

Surprise! I didn't intend to finish a chapter before session 8 releases, but I decided to try and finish this one. I needed to set up a couple of things and honestly, I think it turned out pretty okay!
Lemme know what you think, as always :>

Jimmy spent a long time up in the air, thinking over the revelation at the funeral - or at least what he thought it was. Thinking is actually an inaccurate term - his mind was on fire, overanalyzing every detail, every glance that went his way, every word the frustrated players spat out at him. He wanted to scream, to pull his feathers out, to do anything to quell his roaring fury and crippling anxiety. Did the whole server really pull him into a ruse, just to knock him down a peg and make him go back to his old, timid, pathetic self? Even Scar and Lizzie, his allies, his friends, his flock... The man hid his face in his hands, barely holding himself from sobbing.

Phoenix.

"They all want me dead... They all want me dead, don't they?" he quietly cried. "That's not what I wanted! I wanted them to be proud of me! I wanted them to be happy that I'm doing well! And they're not! What am I doing wrong?!"

Silence, Phoenix.

The man immediately went quiet, his chest contracting and his lungs freezing in apnea. It only lasted a few seconds, not enough to make him faint from the lack of oxygen - but just enough to quiet his anger, at least for a moment, to let the Watchers speak.

You need to focus. The game is nearing its end. The sooner you break away from the bindings of your so-called friendships, the better.

"But... They're still my friends... And they will be, after we get out, right...?"

Who said you will?

Jimmy's stomach dropped, his heart thumping so hard it could jump out of his chest. The voice in his head was getting louder, more threatening, more dangerous - it had for some time. But he was so excited with his performance getting better and better, that he didn't notice it before. He looked down at his hands, covered in darkened, calloused skin, and his sharp, long talons. It didn't feel like him- it wasn't him... How could he not notice this before?

"What... What have you done to me...?"

We fixed you.

"But why? Why did you help me, out of everyone?"

We saw your conviction, your potential... Your desperation.

"And you wanted to... Use it...?"

Enhance it. Turn it into a weapon of your own use. You still have a task to finish here, so don't lose focus.

"But-"

Go now. You've been created to destroy, so seek just that.

Jimmy gulped, as he looked down. He could barely see the ground from up in the sky - especially with it getting darker and darker. His hands were tingling, and the feeling quickly spread throughout his - if he could still even call it that - body. He groaned, flapping his wings even harder and causing them to heat up further, to get rid of his unpleasant feeling.

"I need to go back... I think I'm going crazy from the stress" he chuckled bitterly, then flew down towards his base.

---

"Lizzie...?"

The woman's head perked up, hearing Scar's timid voice. The man stood in the entrance to her room "You were there, right? Is Martyn... Actually alive?"

She looked around, as if checking whether anyone else could hear him. They were alone, at least for now.

"No... He's not. You did kill him... But I think Jimmy doesn't know that."

"Let's keep it that way, okay?" Scar asked, also nervously looking at the bunker hatch, as if Jimmy was going to come at any moment. The man sighed and sat down at the edge of the bet, fidgeting with a cuff of his shirt. "I feel like such an idiot... I shouldn't have let him do all these things, I should've never let him get this far, I- If I didn't kill Martyn, maybe Jim would've been here with us, and acted normal?"

"We don't know..." Lizzie sighed and rested her back against the rigid stone wall. "What Grian said sounded serious... I think we should wait for him to come back, and-"

As if on command, the hatch to the bunker opened and the phoenix slid down the ladder. He looked alert, but in a restless way - his eyes were constantly darting around, wings twitching, hands fidgeting with his suspenders. Scar and Lizzie went quiet and looked at each other.

"You... You're back" Scar chuckled nervously "Did you go clear your head...?"

The phoenix turned towards his teammate. His burning rosy eyes were alert, bordering on paranoid. Immediately, he pinned the man against the wall, his voice low and accusatory.

"Why did you lie to me?" he growled, opening his wings to appear more threatening.

"W-wait, dude, it's not like that! I-I..."

"Jim, calm down, please..."

"You said Martyn was dead! And he wasn't, I saw him! Did all of you trick me into believing that?"

Lizzie grabbed the edge of her skirt, nervously playing with it in her hands. Neither of them met Jimmy's furious glare. The phoenix immediately took their fear as confirmation.

"My own teammate, scheming against me... With the whole server! Do you really hate me that much?!" he hissed. 

"No, no, of course we don't!" Lizzie pulled up from her bed and grabbed Jimmy's wrist. "We're a family, right?"

The phoenix tensed, barely keeping himself from shoving her away. He didn't want to hurt her... But something deep within him craved that. With all those feelings of betrayal, paranoia and fear boiling inside of him, he was on the verge of breaking. If he didn't take it all out on something or someone, he would soon erupt.

"A family wouldn't lie to me" he muttered. He shook off Lizzie's hand from his wrist, but had to really restrict himself to not accidentally hit her. His tone started losing its high energy, becoming less maniac and more miserable. He then turned back to Scar, the tiny feathers on his face furrowing. " Why did you lie to me? You really want me to lose, don't you...?"

Scar went completely silent for a moment. He wasn't wrong - the more he thought about it, he like the idea of Jimmy winning less and less. And it wasn't because he didn't care about Jimmy. Quite the opposite, really. What Martyn told him right before dying really hit him in a way he didn't think about earlier. He did remember his own win, and how horrible, lonely and isolating it felt. Preventing Jimmy from winning sounded more like protecting him. From these Watchers that Grian mentioned, from the other players - and most likely from himself. He knew that Jimmy wouldn't like that, and in his state, he would probably take it as another sign of treason... So there was one last thing that Scar could think of.

"I- I didn't wanna lie! I was sure that Martyn died! They tricked me too! I'm sure Ren is behind this!"

Lizzie immediately went pale. She mouthed Scar's name as if to stop him, but no sound escaped her lungs. She knew what Scar was doing. It was dangerous and she hated it, but she understood. Lying to Jimmy meant keeping him on edge. And that meant that there was a higher chance he was going to make a mistake and lose. Scar was not the best liar, and he could quickly get tangled in his tricks... But at that point, she had to trust her friend.

The phoenix let out a whistling huff. His claws were still restlessly twitching.

"That stupid dog..." he huffed. "He's going on the kill list, for sure. Good thing I didn't cross out Martyn, cuz he still belongs there..."

"Yeah, yeah, exactly! Tell you what: how about I go and tal- I mean, kill Ren! What do you think?"

"No, no... Don't go" Jimmy muttered, leaning closer and putting his nose in Scar's hair. The scent failed to calm him down. "I'll go there right now. I'll end him, and Martyn, and Grian, and anyone else I see on the way..."

"Jim, no" Lizzie suddenly interrupted him. She got up again, but this time she had more conviction in her voice. She looked almost angry. "You're not in your right mind. You're gonna hurt yourself, or do something dumb. You're staying here until morning."

"And who do you think you are to command us? " the phoenix groaned, turning to her. His eyes were full of fire and unrivaled, primal fury. Even to his teammates and friends, he was bordering on terrifying. But this time, she didn't move back when the man approached her. "You don't wanna be on our bad side, do you?"

Scar and Lizzie looked at each other. So Grian was right. Jimmy was not in control, and with each passing moment, he was slipping more and more.

"I don't care, I won't let you control our friend, whatever you are!" the woman poked the phoenix on his forehead, causing him to hiss and recoil in an annoyed manner. "Don't listen to them, Jimmy! They're not your friends, we are!"

"Foolish Fairy..." the man let out a low, guttural growl. He raised his hands, the claws shining in the light given off by his own feathers. Before he could strike however, Scar grabbed him by his bicep and pulled him back.

"Jimmy, stop!" he pleaded, trying to take the phoenix as far away from her as possible. "We can talk about this, dude! We- We'll figure something out!"

For just a second, their eyes met each other. Scar's gentle, greyish-green eyes were full of compassion, worry and downright love... He really did care. He really did want Jimmy to be safe and sound, to not do anything stupid...

But he didn't want him to win. Neither of them did.

They wanted Jimmy to remain in the stasis he was stuck in for so long. 

They wanted the canary to go back to the coal mine.

But the canary was no more.

And that infuriated the phoenix beyond reason.

The next several seconds were just a big blur. A slash, scent of blood filling the air. Two screams - one of shock, one of pain. Someone dropping on the ground, someone rushing to assist. The man ran up to the ladder leading outside of the bunker and rushed out in half-panicked, half-dazed state, the hatch basically flying off as he kicked it away. Then, the phoenix flew away from the mountain as fast as he could, leaving his newest victim behind.

---

Fly high, Phoenix. Soon enough you'll see, these players still see you as a canary.

Jimmy was fully aware that he had no other place to run. After what happened at the funeral, pretty much the whole server was against him. Everyone saw him as a lunatic that he was slowly turning into. There were only two people he could think of that would maybe listen to him. And at that moment, he was flying into one of their bases. He desperately needed someone to listen to him - even if at any moment, the Watchers could trap his voice in his throat.

The phoenix landed on the roof of Tango's house with a loud, tumbling thud. That sound immediately woke up the blazeborn, who was trying to take a nap after an exhausting day of zooming around the server. He sat up on the bed, his tail flicking back and forth with nervousness and trepidation. 

"Hello? Hi?" he called out. A second later, he let out a scared squeal as he noticed the phoenix forcing his way inside through the window. "Jimmy! What are you doing?"

"Tango..." the man huffed, his voice clearly strained. "Can I stay over for the night...?"

"Uh, ummm..." the blazeborn nervously hummed, clearly unsure what to answer. He would always accept Jimmy with open arms. But it was becoming more and more clear that this wasn't Jimmy. Instead, he decided to switch the topic. "Well, uh, Bdubs was gonna come over a little later... And, uh, I didn't expect to see you at the funeral..."

"It was just a trick, Tango!" Jimmy approached him and grabbed the man's hands. Their claws clung against each other. "Martyn is alive, you've seen him! I can't believe the whole server tried to trick me... Me, specifically!" he nervously chuckled. "You didn't know either, right?"

"No..." Tango answered truthfully - well, halfway. He was also confused by Martyn's appearance at his own funeral - but in contrast to Jimmy, he stuck around to learn what was the truth. He was torn, unsure whether he should tell his friend the truth. Still, he continued dancing around the topic. "You don't look too well... Maybe you should go back to your base and take a nap?"

"I just left , Tango!" his hysterical laughter continued "I blew up at my flock, I hit Scar, I-I don't even know if he's still alive!"

Blazeborn scrunched up his nose and glanced down at his wristband.

"Well, he seems-"

"I can't go back there, not now... They probably hate me now..." he continued his rambling, fidgeting with his suspenders to hopefully calm himself down. "You're the last person who doesn't hate me, probably... You don't hate me, right?" he immediately looked back up at Tango. The blazeborn looked away, clearly unsure what to say. Of course, he didn't hate Jimmy... But his friend was spiraling, fast. One wrong word could send him into a frenzy. Instead, the shorter man just gently squeezed his hands. "You... You do...?"

"Remember how you helped me to calm down?" Tango suggested with a warm, albeit concerned smile. "Can we do that again now? Like back at the ranch, hm?"

With hesitation, Jimmy turned back to him. His body language relaxed ever so slightly. He was still tense, his wings nervously twitching, as if ready to escape at any moment - but he tried to resist. Together with Tango, he took a deep breath. 

It made him think of their ranch, all the way back in Double life. Despite how short that game was, it was a happy place for him. Back when the rules were simpler, when he didn't have to worry about alliances, when he-

When he was still a canary.

When he was the first one out. And when he pulled Tango to the grave with him.

After just a single breath, Jimmy immediately jerked back, his wings opening further. He stared at Tango in a half-dazed, half-furious state. So it was still a trick...

Tango noticed it right away. No matter how much he tried to break the walls that separated them, Jimmy kept rebuilding them. Someone who he knew as positively vulnerable and sensitive, now withdrew from any form of comfort and warmth, as if it was going to hurt him. And it pained Tango to see his close friend close himself off more and more.

"You want me to be the canary again, huh?" Jimmy muttered. "The canary is dead. Only the phoenix is left. And he's not going anywhere."

"Jimmy, I- I'm happy that you're stronger now, but... Not gonna lie, I'm worried about you..."

"Then don't be" he hissed back. 

"You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep going like this..."

"I'm not, Tango! I'm going to win this, no matter what. And-" he stopped himself for a moment, barely preventing himself from blowing up at the blazeborn "And don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll still protect you."

"Jim..."

The phoenix opened his wings and flew right out of the window. A few of his scorching feathers dropped on the ground, with the wooden floor quickly starting to catch fine. Tango immediately got up and started stomping out the feeble flames with his fireproof hooves. He wished he could just fly after Jim, catch him, convince him that it was all going to be okay... But all he could do was look after the phoenix, flying towards the dark, night sky.

---

"Uh, Scott?" 

The blue-haired man turned away, immediately distracted from sorting his team's chests. Pearl was standing in the doorway, clearly quite uneasy. Her goggles, now powerless after the wildcard's power ran out, dangled on her neck. 

"What happened?" he asked, quickly noticing the worry in her expression. His eyes shot open as he heard an inhuman screech outside.

"Well, uh... Jimmy came. And he wants to talk to you. You want to, or should we just chase him away?"

The man sighed, hiding his hands in the pockets of his newly acquired red hoodie. He knew what he should answer, but his heart told him otherwise.

"I'll talk to him. Just stay back... He's a bit unstable now."

"Yeah, I can tell" Pearl nervously chuckled and moved away from the door, letting Scott leave their house. After a moment of hesitation, she unbuckled one of her sickles from her belt and handed it to her friend. "Just watch out, okay?"

He accepted the weapon.

"I will..."

It was impossible to miss Jimmy - he was sitting on top of the base's outer wall, furiously hissing and swinging his claws at anyone who got too close. Impulse, Cleo and BigB surrounded him, armed with their swords, tridents and bows to banish the angry bird of prey. The moment the phoenix noticed Scott, his pupils dilated and flew right at him, almost knocking him down.

"Scott!"

"Jimmy, it's okay, just calm down..." Scott asked, grabbing him by his hand. He still had to watch out for his talons. He looked at his teammates, who were clearly unhappy about the development "It's fine, guys... Give us a minute, okay?"

"And what if he kills you?" Cleo asked with concern and suspicion evident in their voice. Jimmy turned back to her and growled, but Scott pulled him back. 

"I'll be fine... Go, please."

The other players looked at each other, but ended up retrieving into their house. The phoenix plopped down on the ground and Scott crouched right next to him. It was late, and Jimmy looked distressed and exhausted... Something was clearly wrong. And he needed to get to the bottom of this.

"Hi, hon..." he said with a gentle, cautious smile "Want me to preen your wings again...?"

"N-no" Jimmy muttered, his wings curling up around him. "I... Do you hate me?"

"What? No, no, I don't hate you, Jim..." he reached out his hand, but Jimmy recoiled with a nervous twitch. "Okay, okay, I won't touch you... We can just talk, if you want to..."

"I... I think I'm losing my mind, Scott..." he whined quietly, hugging his knees against his chest. He covered his face with his lesser wings, to hide the fact that he was on the verge of tears. "I can't do this... I-I hurt Scar, I ran away from him and Lizzie, and Tango... I have nowhere else to go..."

"You can stay here, with me... I promise, you'll be safe" Scott sat down next to him. He raised his hand, in a gesture of promise. Jimmy looked at him with a relieved smile. Immediately, his brief happiness dispelled when he noticed a sickle tied to Scott's hip.

He had a weapon, and he was trying to get close to Jimmy...

How could he be so blind and not notice it before?

The phoenix immediately jumped back, all of his feathers bristling in an instant. He let out a startled hiss. The other man looked at him in confusion, until he remembered about the weapon.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Look, I'm not gonna do anything!" Scott immediately unbuckled the sickle and tossed it away.

Jimmy's body didn't even have time to process this peace offering from Scott. He was immediately reminded of his fight against Martyn earlier that day. The Listener also dropped his sword when prompted - but still proceeded to kick Jimmy's ass. He continued with his nervous growl, moving away from his ex partner. He was still a threat, wasn't he? Everyone was. And trying to find reassurance and comfort was a mistake.

"You too...?" he groaned, his voice almost pained by the presumed betrayal.

"No, Jimmy, I'm not going to hurt you! I swear!" Scott tried taking a step closer to him, but that was a bad idea. Jim barely kept himself from lunging right at him, his talons were tingling in need of blood. But he couldn't, not Scott ... He looked up at his friend, half-furious, half-terrified. Of himself, more so than of Scott. "Jim, please, stay... We wanna help you..."

Immediately, the phoenix took off and flew out of the base. Cleo and BigB immediately approached Scott, who was still looking and reaching out after him. He wished he could fly after Jimmy, follow him, comfort him and tell it was going to be alright...

"I don't think we can help him now" Cleo muttered quietly, putting their big, warm hand on Scott's shoulder. 

"I'm worried about him..." Scott admitted quietly, leaning back against his friends.

"We all are" B sighed "But right now, we gotta figure out how to protect ourselves... So that we can help him later."

Scott turned back, looking briefly at the sickle. It was lying in the slightly damp grass, a few feet behind them. Pearl silently approached her weapon and grabbed it from the ground, picking off any grass blades that stuck to it. Her and Scott's eyes met for a second. They didn't even need words.

Pearl knew full well how Jimmy felt.

And Scott hated knowing that she did.

---

Gem swiftly jumped over the stone wall surrounding Renwood mound and landed in the knees-high water. Immediately, she noticed Grian and Ren standing in the middle of the base. The parrot was busy sharpening and polishing a giant diamond axe, while the canine was busy rambling. The woman started treading the water towards them, waving her arms to catch their attention.

"Guys, guys!" she yelled at them. "We have to talk! Now!"

"And I'm telling you man, he was the best at- Huh? Gem?" Ren turned towards her, quite surprised to see her at such a late hour. "Whatcha doing here, girl?"

"I talked to Martyn! I need to tell you guys what happened!"

"You- How?" Ren's tail, who was previously wagging very slowly, now came to a complete halt. "What did you do...?"

"My power, Ren! I was looking for Jimmy, but came upon Martyn by accident... I wish I could still talk to him, but the wildcard ran out, and... Y'know..."

"What did he say?" Grian asked, getting up from his spot and leaning on the axe. It was almost as big at him. "Where is he, anyway? We couldn't summon him back, like the other... Zombies" he winced slightly at the last word.

"I-I'm not sure... I only saw his hand, reaching out of his grave" Gem joined them on the little island in the middle. Ren jumped on top of the chests to give her space. She then turned to Grian. "He told me to tell you something about a... Midway...? I think that's how he called it... He said it's cracking, that we need to escape after the-"

"Oh crap" Grian breathlessly huffed, his pupils immediately contracting like a startled cat. "No, no, it had to be a mistake, right?"

"No idea what that even is" Gem shrugged, clearly unmoved about the supposed gravity of the situation. "He mentioned these Watchers guys... He said they're losing control, I don't know what he meant..."

"It's bad, it's really bad" the parrot muttered. He handed Ren the axe and immediately moved back "I... I need to message someone. Now. I'll be back soon."

"Gem...?" Ren asked, after both of them watched Grian move away from them, heading towards the other end of the lake. "Did he... Did he say anything to me...?"

Gem looked up and down at Ren, then smiled gently.

"He... He did. He said he loves you. Always."

"He-" the canine's breath hitched right away, as his eyes became teary. He pulled his glasses up higher, to not show that he was on the verge of breaking down. A bitter giggle escaped his lips "Dang it... Even from behind the grave, he has his way with words... Stupid guy..."

The woman quietly chuckled. She never got to know Martyn or Ren all that well, but it was blatantly obvious that they meant a lot to one another. She started fidgeting with her bow, which was put across her chest for easy access.

"I... I need to see him. Can you go with me?"

"...yeah, sure."

---

Jimmy landed almost directly on Martyn's grave, and it wasn't the softest of landings either. Immediately, his talons and calloused hands started digging through the freshly moved dirt, looking for any sign of the body. This was the only reassurance his feral mind was letting him seek. He had to know whether he was really tricked into believing that Martyn was dead - and the only way to confirm it was to see him, dead and unmoving.

He growled, getting deeper and deeper without any sign of a body. The only strange thing he noticed was a bunch of greying dust, mixed with the dirt that filled the grave. It kinda looked like ash - but there was clearly not enough to make up a full body. The phoenix started laughing hysterically again. So he was right, he had been tricked... Martyn was still alive and out there, somewhere. And he needed to find him. So that he could put him back in the grave, where he belonged.

"I knew it... I knew it..." he chuckled nervously, rubbing the dusty dirt with his hands.

What Jimmy didn't know is that he was looking straight at Martyn. Or rather, what was left of him.

As someone who died first four times in a row, he never had a chance to watch someone else die and turn into dust. And clearly nobody ever mentioned that to him, as it probably wasn't all that important.

When Lizzie died first in Secret Life, she perished by falling into the void. Whatever fate she met there, there was nobody around who could see her crumble into dust.

Jimmy may have led Mumbo to his demise, but he never saw his body - or whatever remained of it - wither away.

And he wasn't even around to see Skizz's demise.

But his frenzied mind did not need any explanation. He was right and everyone was lying to him - and that was all he needed.

A second after that, he jumped back as an arrow almost hit him in the shoulder. He hissed and took off, flying just a few feet over the grave.

"Where is he?!" he yelled at Ren and Gem, who caught him red handed. "Hand him over!"

"Get lost, Jim! You've done enough!" Ren's low, angry voice boomed. "Even after he died, you can't let it go?!"

"He didn't! You all lied to me! I'll never believe any of you again!"

"Get outta here, Jim!" Gem called out, shooting at the angry phoenix.

The furious bird of prey charged right at them with an inhuman shriek. Ren grabbed his axe, while Gen readied another arrow. His talons shined in the faint moonlight, ready to draw blood once again.

Until a soft swish crossed the air, followed by a wet, piercing sound.

Another arrow, shot at almost point blank, hit Jimmy right in the chest - a few inches under his heart, right between his ribs. The attack he aimed at Ren missed, as the phoenix tumbled on the ground, the impact pushing the projectile further into the wound. He let out another furious shrill, immediately recollecting himself. Like a wounded, still furious animal, he took off and started flying as far away as he could.

"Yeah! And don't come back!" Gem called out, shooting one last arrow as a warning.

---

Jimmy could feel the warm blood dripping down the wound. With each flap of his wings, he was getting weaker and weaker - but his instincts pushed him to run, to hide, to recover before he's going to fight again. He quietly groaned from pain, as even breathing was now painful - the arrow barely avoided piercing his lung, but it was lodged right under it. The strain was getting more unbearable with each moment. By the time he got to the Pale forest on the opposite side of the server, his vision got hazy and dark. The man attempted to land, but ended up collapsing on the dry, grey grass. He curled up into a ball right there, the scent of his own blood filling his brain. He barely had the strength to even think at this point.

If he could only look up, he would've noticed he landed right next to a circle drawn on the ground. 

The one that Grian drew a few days back.

The one in which Jimmy pleaded his case.

And the one in which the Watchers listened.

As his mind entered a delirious state from the pain, he could almost feel the spot around his wound getting warmer and warmer. Either from the wet, sticky blood, or it was just his deluded brain, making stuff up... He turned on his back, one hand resting on his hand, just above the wound and on his heart. The stars looked so distant, yet so pretty in this brief, incoherent moment of clarity...

He then closed his eyes. He just needed a moment to rest and think. A moment to regain his strength.

As he gave in to the overwhelming warmth, all of the wristbands across the server displayed the same notification.

Solidarity burned to death.

Notes:

Also, I wanna make this clear now, and I will make this clear before the next chapter as well!
I already had a set way of ending this fanfic a few weeks back. At the moment of writing this, we don't know who won - but even though the next session will for sure influence the next few chapters, the ending is pretty much set in stone. But that doesn't mean it's going to be a critique of how Wild Life canonically ends! I will for sure write something about the canonical ending - but I already know how Canary's thrill is going to end, and it might not reflect how WL actually ends. Just so we're clear, this is all for fun, not to say my ending is better than what will actually happen!

Chapter 13: Resurrections

Summary:

The ones, who were supposed to die come back to life. The one who is still dead is no longer alone.

Notes:

Wow, what a finale! I did NOT expect that!
I really enjoyed it, despite neither of my bets (Jimmy or Ren) being the winner in the end. I do gotta say, there are a few canon things that you will definitely see in the story - one very important thing is coming in the very next chapter. I hope you guys are excited!

I have over 3 pages of notes of how the last chapters are going to look out. If everything goes out exactly as I planned, there are going to be 20 chapters in total - and with this being the 13th, there are still 7 coming. These might be quite a bit shorter than the previous one, but 1. I like the pacing I'm going for and I don't wanna ruin it and 2. I need to write something shorter. I hope you guys are okay with that!

It's not your time, Phoenix.

You need to get up.

Get up.

Get up.

Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up.

Jimmy did not expect to wake up in the middle of the BAMbunker - hell, if he was in the right state of mind, he probably wouldn't have expected to wake up at all. He sat up on his bed, groggily rubbing his eyes and yawning. It was a good nap, even if his body was still aching a little. He needed to stretch his wings, very badly. But at the same time, the warm comfort of his bed was too nice to ignore... He fell on his back, ready to rest for just five minutes longer.

The hazy memories of the previous night started slowly coming back to him. What was he so upset about? Oh, yeah, the whole server tricked him into believing that Martyn was dead. Now they all belonged on the kill list - Jimmy couldn't wait to scratch out every single name on the wooden sign. The man pulled his hand over his body, as if trying to feel if it's still his. There was one thing he couldn't quite attach any memory to - a hole that suddenly appeared in his shirt, just a few inches under his heart. Apart from the torn fabric, the only sign that something happened was a faint scar on the exposed part of his skin. He hummed silently, frowning in confusion. What happened there? Was he attacked? If so, then why couldn't he remember anything? And why was there no leftover wound, just a scar? Together with this question, a few others arose. Why was he in the bunker alone? Where were his allies? He somewhat remembered blowing up at them the previous night - but they still loved him, right? After a moment of doubt, he pulled himself up from the bed.

The sudden movement caused him to almost collapse - and when he managed to straighten up, he almost hit his head against the ceiling. Was the bunker suddenly smaller, or did he get bigger again? He pulled on his suspenders, feeling that they were a bit tighter on him than the previous night. It took him a moment to readjust him, but after that, he was feeling pretty much normal again. If it wasn't for the mild pain that he was feeling in his joints. 

Jimmy searched through the bunker, but ultimately started climbing the ladder to get outside. His wings scratched against the rigid surface of the rocks, causing him to quietly whine. Did the shaft get tighter as well, or did his wings get bigger as well? He ended up finally pulling himself out of the bunker and scrambling up from the grass.

"Scar? Lizzie?" he called out. His throat felt incredibly tight, almost as if it was coated with sandpaper. It hurt him to even call out to his teammates. The man looked around, then started slowly circling the top of Mount Bam, looking for them anywhere he could.

---

"You heard it?" Lizzie asked, her head perking up from the hole she and Scar were digging on the side of the mountain. Her teammate scrunched up his nose and followed her line of sight. "It wasn't Jimmy, was it?"

"I don't know..." Scar shrugged. He put his shovel aside and started rubbing the freshest wound on his body - a big one, crossing his left eye, caused by Jimmy's anger outburst from the previous day. The woman told him already to not touch it, but Scar was not ready to listen. "He's dead, isn't he?"

"Maybe he's not? Maybe that message last night was a mistake?" Lizzie asked in a worried tone, then called out "Jimmy? We're down here, on the northern wall!"

Scar muttered quietly and looked down at his wristband. The list of players looked very bleak - almost everyone was already on red, with only four people still on yellow. The fallen players, Skizz and Mumbo were marked in grey, Martyn was completely gone from the list - and Jimmy... The man's face went pale. 

Jimmy was on the list... But he wasn't red, or grey, or any other color.

He was marked with... Purple...?

"Guys!" After he managed to pull himself through the wall of bamboo growing on the rim of the mountaintop, Jimmy ran up to their teammates and hugged them tightly, picking them both up. His grip was almost bone crushing - how did he get even stronger overnight?

"Jimmy! You're alive!" Lizzie let out a sigh of relief. "But how? We got a notification that you died!"

"I did? I don't remember much, to be honest..." he nervously chuckled and put his friends back down. Every word made his throat pain flare up, but he was too happy to see his flock to take notice. "I think I fell asleep in the Pale forest, for whatever reason... And woke up here."

"This is new" Scar immediately noticed a few long, glistening feathers that, seemingly overnight, spurted out of Jimmy's back, in a way that resembled tail feathers. The slender rectrices were warm to touch, supporting a slightly darker shade of gold than the rest of the phoenix's wings. Scar pulled on them "You didn't have them before, didja?"

Jimmy let out a startled squawk at the sudden pull.

"No, no, I don't think so..." he muttered. He would've said more, but he was busy keeping himself from tearing Scar's face off. Did he just gain a new scar? Well, at least his nickname was still accurate... 

"You also have some... Things on your face" Lizzie pointed out. She dusted off her iron shovel and handed it to the blond man as a makeshift mirror.

Immediately, Jimmy noticed even more changes on his body. In a similar way to how the skin on his hands was now darker and thicker, he had similar markings on his face - on the bridge of his nose and his forehead. He grimaced for a moment, not yet sure if he liked this new look.

"Huh..." he muttered, then put his hand on his throat. Why did it feel so awful to talk? "That's a... Change..." he gave Lizzie the shovel back, then looked at the hole they were just digging out. "What's that?"

"Oh, we... We thought that you died... And since we didn't know where you were, we wanted to say goodbye..."

"A funeral?" Jimmy muttered, struggling to say anything more.

"Yeah... But we're gonna cover it up again" Scar quickly added, grabbing his shovel again. The phoenix shut his mouth into a tight line, then took the tool from his teammate's hands.

"I'll help" he suggested, then started covering up the hole. Scar moved back and pulled Lizzie closer, then showed her the player list. The woman sighed, his hands trembling ever so slightly.

He was back...

But was it even still Jimmy?

---

After another night spent cramped up in Joel's car, Grian left early to go check up on Ren. When he left the previous night, Ren was not in the best mental state - he could only hope that he finally got over the loss of his closest friend. He knew full well that he was lying to himself. He saw what Martyn became when Ren wasn't around - so he expected Ren to do something similar, but maybe go insane in another direction. He looked at his wristband - his, as the admin, was fairly bigger and more equipped. It came in handy the previous night, when he needed to contact someone outside the server. He could only hope that the message arrived.

As he scrolled through the player list, he also took notice of Jimmy being marked in a strange new color. Immediately, he opened the log of every one of his messages and notifications regarding him.

<server> Solidarity burned to death.

"Wait, what...?" he huffed, stunned by the suddenly revealed news. Jimmy died the previous night... But he wasn't marked as dead. He was marked as... Something else. As if he was neither a player, not a casualty. He hid his wristband under the sleeve of his pullover and ran towards Renwood mound. It was getting worse and worse with every new revelation.

Turns out, he didn't have to run all the way to the canine's base. As he was approaching the hill, he noticed a shovel dug into the ground right next to Martyn's grave. Cautiously, he approached it to discover another hole - and Ren laying in the middle. He was asleep at the moment - but he looked like mess. His long hair was let loose, his eyes were dark from crying all night and his fur looked dull and dirty. His breath hitched, as if he was sobbing even while asleep.

"Oh, Ren..." Grian sighed and rolled his eyes. He really hoped he could team up with the man to take down Jimmy, maybe even win - but Ren was clearly in no shape to do it right now. He crouched over the hole and reached inside, snapping his fingers in front of the dog's face. "Ren... Damnit, Ren, wake up..." he groaned. The canine flinched and let out a louder snore, then slowly started opening his eyes.

"Marty...?" he muttered. His voice was very hoarse, for pretty obvious reasons.

"Uh... No, sorry, it's just me" Grian chuckled. "How are you feeling...?"

"Oh, Grian..." Ren whined and covered his face with his forearm. "Baby, grab that shovel and bury us here, will you?"

"I... I don't think I'm gonna do that" the parrot sighed "C'mon, get up. We need to figure out what we're gonna do today..."

"What is the point of doing anything, Grian? Can't you just leave us alone?" he whimpered, his tail curling between his legs. 

"The point is, the game isn't over and Jimmy is apparently still alive. I think. Besides, since when are you referring to yourself in plural? Is that something like that king thing you did back in the day?"

"No, it's... We can still feel Martyn close..." he huffed, turning on his side and curling up even more. "After we used our power yesterday, we still have a piece of his DNA in us... It's as if he's still there... Like we're no longer just Ren, we're... Martren, from now..."

"Oh gods..." Grian sighed and hid his face in his hands.

It was probably the worst thing that could happen - they needed to deal with Jimmy, and the only two people who he knew had enough conviction to help him were either dead, or completely broken. After a moment, he peeked from between his fingers back down at Ren. He's known him for a long time, but he's never seen him like this... The dog was usually a social butterfly, optimistic and energetic - sometimes to the point it made Grian exhausted. Seeing him as such a mess, completely broken and wallowing in pity and grief over his friend, literally lying in a grave just like his late love - it was heartbreaking. He was clearly going through it, and he had for the entire night. Grian almost wished he never left, and stayed behind to comfort his friend. They didn't always see eye to eye, but he never wished Ren any harm. At least in a non-war, non-red life environment.

"Grian...?" Ren asked quietly. "Martyn doesn't have a home server, does he...?"

The parrot bit his tongue. He wasn't sure himself, and he didn't want to worry Ren further.

"I... I'm not sure... Why?"

"After a game concludes, we go back to our home servers, right? So where does he go...? Where is he now?"

The Watcher couldn't help but shudder at the question. He never really considered that question. Pretty much every player had somewhere to go after the game concluded and they waited for the next one to start - but not Martyn. That was a good question, where did he go? As far as he knew, the Listeners had something akin to the Watchers' sanctum - but while being hunted down by the deities, could Martyn even go back there? There was only one idea he had... And if what they heard from Gem the previous night was true, it concluded his most worrying belief.

"I... I'm pretty sure he's in The Midway right now" he muttered. "It's a space between servers, between worlds... Kinda like the void that we see in the End. If Gem was saying the truth, he's probably there..."

Martren turned on his back, nervously pulling his fingers through his hair. Since when did he have blond highlights, shyly poking out of the unpredictable wilderness that was his dark, wavy hair?

"So you're tellin' us... He's somewhere out there, in the void... Stuck, completely alone..." he whispered, sounding like he was on the verge of tears yet again.

"We'll get him out of there. We'll get him back, I promise, he'll be okay, I-" he held his breath for a moment, unsure whether he should tell Ren the truth. He leaned back, then forward again, making up his mind. He opened his mouth to continue, but a sudden sharp sound interrupted him.

A ringing sound.

A wildcard was about to activate.

"Oh crap..." he huffed, getting up from the ground and nervously looking around.

"What's going on...?" Ren asked quietly, not even opening his eyes.

"Tha-That's the point" Grian nervously giggled "I-I don't know... I had wildcards planned out, but... After the last one suddenly didn't happen, I have no idea what this is gonna be!"

"Maybe the wildcard is that we're all just gonna be reclaimed by the earth, and will never see the sunlight again?" Ren whined, grabbing a fistful of dirt and scattered it over his chest. He then curled up again, clearly not keen on leaving his mock grave anytime soon.

"Oh, c'mon, Ren, we need to go..." Grian groaned and rolled his eyes. He grabbed the shovel and started poking Ren with it. "There's something going on with Jimmy, and we need to get rid of him! The sooner, the better!"

As the parrot kept poking him, he noticed something quite strange - Ren started... Shrinking. Laying on the bottom of the hole in a curled up position, he quickly started becoming smaller and smaller. His eyes immediately lit up, as he understood in an instant what the wildcard was.

"What the heck... Ren, I know what's going on! The wildcard... It's all of the others!"

"What...?"

"Just look up, dude!"

Martren ultimately looked up from their hole. Why was it suddenly so big and deep? And why was Grian's head the size of the sun from his perspective? He gasped as he scrambled to sit up on the ground. His ears were still floppy and his tail couldn't bring itself to start wagging, but this sudden revelation gave him a much needed shot of adrenaline.

"Uh oh..." he muttered. "Dude, I don't like this... How do we leave now?"

"C'mere" when Ren was just small enough, Grian reached inside and grabbed him by the shirt, then pulled him out. Ren let out a startled woof, not really enjoying being separated from the solid ground. "Where is your axe?"

"I left it behind Martyns grave..." he muttered. Grian put the tiny dog on his shoulder, then approached the abandoned weapon. He silently sighed as he grabbed its hilt.

"I know that death was devastating for you, man... I wish you had the space to get over it at your own pace" Grian admitted quietly. "But right now, we have a game to finish... And win, hopefully. I promise, once we're outta here and once you get to see Martyn again, you'll have all the time in the world to go through it. But... Please, keep yourself together for just a little longer. Martyn needs you now... And so do I. If it comes to it, I'm pretty sure you're the only person who can actually beat Jimmy in a fight. Please...?"

Ren sighed and leaned over Grian's shoulder. He had a point... Even if the world seemed dark and pointless without Martyn by his side, he needed to keep going. For just a little longer. Long enough to beat Jimmy, win this game and rescue Martyn from wherever he ended up... 

"Okay, okay. Put me down, dude."

Grian grabbed the dog again and put him on the ground. Ren's whole body felt heavy and tired after the rough, tearful night in the ditch he dug out to join his love. But he needed to pull through, just a little longer... He started stretching, which caused his body to start growing back to his normal size. The parrot moved back a little bit to give him space. Finally, the Ren he knew was back... Even if for just a short moment. He couldn't help but smile as the canine grew to a size ever so slightly bigger than his usual, and effortlessly grabbed his axe.

"Okay, so what's the plan, baby?" he asked. His voice was still raspy and lower than usual, probably from crying for so long.

"I have an idea... And I think we should try it before we engage in actual combat."

"I'm all ears, man."

"Okay" Grian took a deep breath. "First, we need to go talk with Lizzie..."

---

Something moved within the depths of The Midway. Martyn was the only being conscious enough to witness it - even if his mind, lacking sensory input other than the pain from his bindings, was slowly driving itself into insanity. It was getting harder and harder to focus, as well as differentiate what was actually happening and what was just a hallucination. He squinted, trying to pick up on any movement in the fabric of nothingness around him. There had to be something, anything other than just him in this infinite void, right? 

"Hello?" he huffed out against the metal muffle. The movement seemingly disappeared. The only thing he could feel was the cold, heavy metal, digging into his skin - as well as something warm and gooey dripping down the right side of his face. Just as the visions from his Watcher eye subsided. "Is anyone there? Anyone other than these stupid Watchers?"

It was hard to focus, hard to speak, hard to even think. For people back on the server only a day or so passed - but time was not such a simple matter in the Midway. Martyn completely lost its track, unsure whether he spent just a couple of minutes, or several years stuck like this. But now that he finally noticed something, anything , all he could do was stare into the void.

And await, until it starts staring back.

Notes:

And also, since I already said that the ending will diverge quite a bit from how Wild life ended, feel free to drop your predictions! And if you don't wanna do that, tell me what do you think of the finale! And if you don't wanna do that either, comment anything! I'm not sure you guys liked the last chapter, based on how little comments it got, so I hope you like this one more!

Chapter 14: To kill a mocked bird

Summary:

Grian and Ren form and execute a plan to finish Jimmy off once and for all.

The ringing sound of the wildcards activating, usually only haunting the players once a day, started becoming an increasingly common occurrence. The changing of size, the time perception of the players being dilated and warped, the animals dying and respawning, the trivia bots falling from the sky - clearly, the ones who were in charge of the game decided to throw everything they had at the ones who still clung to life. The players quickly found themselves too busy to kill each other, instead having to focus on surviving. Some were doing better, some worse, while some were surprisingly thriving.

For Jimmy, it no longer mattered how he dealt with the wildcards. His previous experience as the phoenix taught him one thing - he could always overpower his enemies and destroy them, instead of using his wits. The moment he noticed his personalized trivia bot dropping from the sky, he took off and grabbed it, while still many feet above the ground. His touch claws dug into the metal, his burning feathers melting its circus. There was no need to even look at the question and try to solve the puzzle. That was so much easier, quicker and more satisfying. He let out an amused chuckle as he tossed the bot towards the surface. The loud clang of the metal crushed against the ground filled him with pride. While landing, he closely observed his surrounding, in case an enemy of his just appeared on top of Mount Bam.

"Careful, guys! The snails are back! And they got BigB!" Lizzie called out, looking away from the trivia bot that just approached her.

"They did? Yes!" Jimmy chirped with excitement. It was getting harder and harder for him to speak, as if a pair of invisible hands was tensing around his throat. Somehow, making more bird-like sounds did not hurt him even half as much.

"Jimmy, watch out!" Scar yelled towards the bird of prey, noticing a snail creeping its way towards his teammate. Jim immediately took off, hovering a few feet above the surface. At this moment, he got an idea he desperately needed to try.

"Guys, watch this!" he called out. He landed on a tree branch and grabbed one of his wings, then pulled out a fistful of his own feathers. It ached quite a bit, leaving stinging pain behind, but his mind was so overjoyed and full of adrenaline and dopamine to even notice. The feathers immediately went ablaze in his hands - not even hurting his apparently fireproof hands. He tossed the makeshift fireball right at the snail, engulfing the gastropod in flames. At first it didn't seem all too phased by that, yet after a few seconds, its whole body started burning and falling apart. After less than a minute, it was just a pile of burning mucus on the grass. "There we go!"

"Wanna do the same to mine?" Scar asked with a nervous chuckle. Jimmy nodded and opened his wings to join his friend, but he was stopped by a nagging voice.

If the snail kills him, you won't have to do it later.

As if on command, Jimmy pulled back. That was a good point. If he could avoid killing his friends, he should do just that.

"Jim...?" Scar asked, half impatient about the lack of help and half nervous about his slimy enemy getting closer and closer.

"I-uh..." Jimmy tried explaining himself, but his breath was stuck in his throat. Why did he even want or need to excuse himself? He was doing good, he was helping, right? Without another word, the phoenix turned around, opening his wings to leave the mountain top.

"Guys! A little help?"

Both of them turned towards Lizzie, who clearly just enraged a trivia bot with her wrong answer. The robot raised his arms and immediately, a set of glistening, leather armor wrapped itself around the woman's body. She tried taking it off, but it was stuck to her skin, like forcefully glued. 

"I-I think it has the curse of binding!" she groaned, struggling to take off the chestplate. "How do I take it off? I need my normal armor back!"

"I think you need to break it off" Scar pointed out, then jumped away with a yelp to narrowly avoid his snail. 

"I'll help" Jimmy offered, approaching Lizzie. She flinched at the sight of his sharp talons.

"Are you sure you can do this?" she asked. Horrible armor or not, she was not keen on having Jimmy peel the armor off her. Still, it took just one glance into Jimmy's eyes to see that he actually wanted to aid her. His stare was somewhat wild, somewhat feral and unpredictable - but he was still somewhere there, deep down. And she had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

"Okay, okay... To the bunker!" she commanded, half nervous, half playful in her tone.

---

The BAMbunker was probably one of the last safe spots on the whole server. After they both got in, Jimmy closed and locked the hatch, not letting anyone else join them inside. Lizzie still tried to rip the armor off herself, but to no avail. She needed Jimmy's help, whether she liked it or not.

"Just... Be careful, okay?" she asked "We don't want you to accidentally hit me, right?"

"No" Jimmy just answered, clearing his throat to no avail. He jumped on top of the table, the wood quietly creaking under his weight.

Lizzie sat down on the chair, her stare still alert and ready, if Jimmy at some point lost control over himself again. She flinched the moment he swung his claws across the chestplate. It left quite deep marks on the armor, but did not quite break it. It would probably took quite a long time to break them completely.

"Wait, wait!-" she called out before Jimmy attacked her again, covering her face with her hands. "You're gonna hurt me if you just fling your talons like that! Can't we do it... Slower?"

"We have the time?" Jimmy asked in a low, guttural voice.

"Yes, Jimmy, we do... The world doesn't have to end today."

She's wrong. It will. The sooner you get out there to finish off the others, the better.

"It probably will."

"But we... I don't have to die right now, right?" she asked nervously, trying to put on a reassuring smile. For just a second, her expression got right to Jimmy, piercing through his heart. She was a part of his flock, he really did have to protect her no matter what... Even if it took time and patience, and he was quickly running out of both.

Jimmy leaned closer to his friend and started carefully, methodically cutting through the armor and taking off the broken parts. It was a slow and gruelling process, but he knew this was what both of them needed. He needed a moment to calm down and rethink his plan, while Lizzie needed the reassurance that her friend is not gonna kill her. Piece by piece, he was pulling her armor apart, with only minimal damage done to her clothes underneath. A few scratches marked her shirt, but somehow Jimmy avoided drawing blood. It was quite straining on him - his frenzied, feral mind needed stimulus, needed violence, needed something to fight and kill - and this was the exact opposite of that. And it was getting harder and harder to avoid the growing mass of voices in his brain - ones that used to be somewhere deep in the back, but now were on the forefront of his consciousness.

You don't have time for this, Phoenix.

If you kill her now, you can always tell the Red Lily it was an accident.

She's expendable.

This is useless, Phoenix. Leave her and go hunt down your enemies.

"How... Are you?" he managed to mutter out while cutting through one of the boots. His claws were starting to ache - they were made for quick swipes, not methodical cutting. 

"I'm good... Thank you, Jimmy" she whispered, trying to keep her voice upbeat and calm. "We should stay around Mount Bam, it's pretty safe here, maybe we can outlast the others..."

"No. You stay. I go."

He really wished he could use more than a few words at a time, but it was getting more strained with each sentence.

"What? Where are you going? And why?"

"Kill."

"I told you, you don't have to... We can just try to wait everyone out... Okay, well, maybe not everyone, but as many people as we can... This will be safer, Jim..."

"My flock. Need to protect."

"You can protect us by staying here! Why do you wanna kill everyone else so bad?"

"Revenge."

"Is revenge more important to you than your family?"

Jimmy flinched upon these words and momentarily lost his focus. That was just enough time for his talons to twitch and end up scratching Lizzie right in her ankle. The woman let out a quiet, startled cry of pain. The phoenix immediately looked up at her, immediately remorseful and scared.

"Lizzie! I- Sorry!"

"It's okay, it's fine, Jim..." she huffed, her voice trembling ever so slightly. Her leg was now stained with the red of her blood, soaking into the leather shoe. Jimmy, still ashamed of what he's done, moved back a little."

"Should I... Finish?"

"Yes... Yes, please."

The phoenix dropped his head as he continued taking apart the boot, then proceeded to the next one. His hands were shaking, as he was scared of hurting his friend again. After another ten painful, tense minutes, the rest of her armor came off, freeing her from her bindings.

"Thank you" she sighed, grabbing a bandaid from one chest to cover her wound.

"You're welcome. Stay here."

"I will, I will... I'll stay with Scar on the mountain... Just stay safe, okay?"

"No. Stay here ."

The phoenix was already on the ladder when he said that. He unlocked the hatch, squeezed through and locked it behind himself, trapping Lizzie inside.

"What? Jimmy, open it up!" she immediately yelled after him, getting up despite the pain in her leg flaring up. She climbed the ladder and attempted to open the hatch, but it didn't budge. She could unlock it from inside, but it was suddenly too heavy to lift. "Jim! This isn't funny! You can't keep me trapped here!"

"You're welcome" he repeated, placing a chest over the trapdoor. He took one last short glance at Scar, who was struggling against a pack of zombies on the other side of the mountain. Accompanied by Lizzie's banging on the hatch, he took off the ground and flew towards the other bases, ready to find his next victims.

---

The moment Jimmy left the summit, Grian and Ren emerged from the western part of the hill. They've been watching him for quite a while, waiting for the phoenix to leave. His actions were even stranger than usual - he left the bunker and then blocked the hatch with a random chest, then immediately flew away. 

"What is that idiot doing?" Ren hummed, his grip tensing on his axe.

"I don't know... I don't like it. Let's find Lizzie, before he comes back."

The two friends reached the mountain top, cautiously looking around. They didn't want to attract Scar's attention - they still didn't know whether his loyalty lies with his partner in crime or the rest of the server. It was safer to leave him out of their plan and either have him end up as an extra casualty, or finish him off separately.

"Wait... You hear it?" Ren asked, his dog ear twitching as they approached the blocked bunker. He could definitely hear... Banging. Banging on wood, to be precise. Bangind on a wooden trapdoor, blocked by a chest - to be even more specific. Grian took notice just a second later and approached the BAMbunker.

"Lizzie?"

"Grian? Help, Jimmy trapped me in there! I can't open this hatch!"

"Jimmy... What?" Grian repeated, quite befuddled by the revelation. At the same time, Ren grabbed the chest and pushed it aside, then grabbed the handle of the trapdoor and forced it open. Immediately, they were both met by Lizzie's scared and almost teary face. She sighed with relief upon seeing them.

"Thanks guys... But, what are you doing here?"

Grian reached down his hand to help her get out.

"We need to talk... About Jimmy. We need your help."

"About time..." the woman rolled her eyes, but accepted the help. Ren immediately noticed the torn-up clothes and the bandaged wound on her leg.

"Did he do this to you...?"

"Yes... Well, it was an accident. This stupid trivia bot forced me into leather armor with the curse of binding... Jim helped me take it off, but he accidentally scratched me..."

Grian helped Lizzie sit down on the chest. She still looked quite shaken by what just happened a few minutes ago. She didn't even want to look at Grian and Ren. She was pretty sure she knew what they wanted. 

"So... How can I help?"

"We need to get rid of Jim."

"I figured out that much" she chuckled bitterly. "You have a plan?"

"Yes. But... You might die."

Lizzie took a deep breath. This was exactly what she feared... It was not an easy choice. She could be throwing away her life, and her chance to win... But if she didn’t agree, she risked Jimmy getting even worse, and killing everyone on the server. If she had a chance to save her friend from whatever was controlling him...

"I'm in."

"Oh" Ren tilted his head, quite surprised "Don't you wanna hear the plan first?"

"Yeah, sure, of course... But if that's gonna free Jimmy from these... Watchers guys... Then we have to try, no matter the price."

"Wow..." Grian and Ren looked at each other. They expected this part to be the hard one, but Lizzie immediately agreed to help. Maybe they didn't acknowledge her incredible bravery before, but now they had to. "Okay, here's the plan... We'll trap the bunker with TNT. When we're finished, you have to lure him in, and we'll set the trap off. Text him, call a meeting, anything... If we manage to get Scar as well, it'd be great, but if not, we'll deal with him later."

Lizzie looked back at the bunker. It was one of the last safe spots on the server... But now, it needs to be turned into a weapon. Against one of her best friends. She hated that idea, she wanted to yell at Grian for even thinking about doing that... But it had to be done. For Jimmy. She looked the parrot right in the eye and nodded, her expression stern and serious.

"Fine. Just... You're sure this is gonna help?"

"If he gets eliminated, he won't be able to hurt anyone else. And then, I'll do what I can to turn him back to normal, after the game ends."

"Okay. I trust you."

"Thanks, Liz."

The woman got up from the chest, leaving both of them to their devices. It was about time, as another trivia bot just appeared high up in the sky, ready to question her again. Ren and Grian exchanged glances one last time, then sighed.

"Damn, dude..." Ren chuckled nervously. "I don't think I'd have the balls to pull something like that, if I was her."

"Neither do I" Grian admitted, then grabbed his shovel "C'mon. We need to finish it before Jimmy comes back."

---

Blowing off steam was just what Jimmy needed - and all of the monsters that started emerging on the surface let him do just that. He first flew over the players bases, looking for an easy target - but all of the alliances were sticking together, making it harder for him to single somebody out and attack them. He really wanted to get to Ren and Grian first, but both their bases looked completely empty. Good for them, he thought, they might run, but they won't hide...

Attacking the monsters was more like a quick fix before he went on to eliminate other players. It was so easy to burn them to ashes, tear them to shreds or drop them from up high - they provided small shots of adrenaline for his more and more feral brain. They ran out quickly, but putting an end to another end quickly filled him with that wonderful fire all over again. Soon enough, he found himself completely distracted by his bloodlust, not caring about anything or anyone around. Even when a trivia bot spawned next to him, he immediately tore it to shreds, not keen on cutting his carnage short just yet. It just felt so good, to imagine that his enemies would end up like this as well in just a matter of hours, maybe minutes...

For a moment, Jimmy stopped himself while a few meters above the ground. He was getting more and more used to thoughts like these - still, whenever he caught himself with them, it still felt strange. Foreign. Bad. Would he really do it to them?

Yes, he would. Most of them already had their time in the spotlight. Now, it was his time to shine. And the burning wings gifted to him by the Watchers were perfect for just that.

But that means killing his friends, people who he got along with outside of these twisted games. Did they really deserve all this pain from his hands...?

Yes, they do.

He was immediately shaken off his overthinking state, when a loud thunderstrike roared over the server. Someone just died... He looked down at his wristband, his face paleing upon reading the notification.

Goodtimewithscar was killed by eSCARgo.

"Scar!" Jim yelled on the top of his lungs. His throat was burning, both from the anguish, as well as the pain. He's never experienced the death of a teammate before... Especially someone so close to him... In a matter of seconds, his eyes teared up.

Scar was killed by his snail...

The same snail that he asked Jimmy to kill.

And Jimmy disregarded him.

"Scar..." he asked in a more quiet, vulnerable voice, landing on the ground in the middle of a blood-soaked rivershore. It was his fault, it was all his fault... He groaned in remorse, pulling his claws over his face. He didn't even feel the pain from that, too overtaken by guilt. "Scar... I'm sorry..."

A second later, he received another message on his wristband.

<LDShadowlady> catdog

<LDShadowlady> at the BAMbunker

"She wants to see me..." he whispered, immediately remembering their codeword for a meeting in their base. Without a second thought, he took off towards Mount Bam.

---

"Okay, all is set up" Grian approached Lizzie after he and Ren finished setting up the TNT trap. The woman nodded. "Thanks again... I'll make it up to you, I swear. You texted him, right?"

Lizzie nodded.

"Okay, okay, good... If you happen to survive this, I promise we'll protect you. If you want to, that is..."

The woman opened her mouth, but instead of her voice, Grian only heard electronic beeping and static. The parrot opened his eyes wider, it took him a moment to understand what was going on. It must've been one of the trivia bot's punishments - distorting the player's voice, making it unable to communicate. Still, Grian understood what she meant. Or at least he believed he did.

"Grian, come on! He's gonna be here any moment" Ren called out to his friend, while looking out for Jimmy. Grian took one last glance at Lizzie, before the woman turned to the bunker. He sighed and joined the canine on the western wall of the hill. They could only pray that Jimmy wouldn't start snooping and looking for them - even though he had no reason to. "You wanna do the honors...?"

"I wouldn't call it that... But, I was the one who started it all. I need to finish this... I need to bring him back" he whispered, putting his hand on a lever, which was placed on the ground. It was connected to a redstone circuit, which ended with a few blocks of TNT. The moment Jimmy got in, all they had to do was pull the level and watch the fireworks. "Oh, Ren... I wish I was doing that just out of pettiness... Not because this is the only way to deal with him..."

"Maybe in another game" Ren whispered, his shoulder nudging Grian's.

"Yeah, in another... If there is gonna be another..." he sighed. "I'm pretty sure that after this one, the Watchers will not let me start another one... Or, worse, they're gonna run it themselves, and leave me no authority..."

"You'll finally know how it feels to be us, normal players" Ren said with a sad smile. It was clear he was not yet completely back - the loss of his closest friend was still fresh on his mind. Still, the need to see him again was strong enough to keep him at least somewhat together. Grian chuckled and quietly agreed.

"I guess..."

They both went quiet as the loud flap of wings could be heard over the mountain. Both of them hid in the little crevasse they dug out while setting up the trap. They could clearly hear Jimmy opening the hatch and then closing him. Grian carefully peeked over their hiding spot. The phoenix was nowhere to be seen. 

They got him.

---

Jimmy didn't even question why the chest, which he used to keep the bunker hatch shut, was moved aside. He either didn't remember that he did that, or he thought it was Scar's doing. Either way, he entered their shelter, not thinking much of anything. He turned around, seeing Lizzie sitting on her chair, looking at him with a serious, yet sad expression.

"What happened? Why did Scar die?" he asked, quite startled by the gloom atmosphere. The flight made him forget about his throat pain, so the moment he stopped speaking, it immediately flared up again.

Lizzie opened her mouth, answering Jimmy with a static. She looked so focused... And certainly not happy to see him. But she called the meeting, right? Why did she look like that...?

Immediately, an alarm went off in the back of his head.

She called a meeting, but couldn't even communicate with him.

There was only one other explanation.

"Lizzie...?"

"I'm sorry, Jim" he suddenly heard Grian's voice just over them. "It was always gonna be like this..."

And in an instant, the explosion went off.

Neither Jimmy, nor Lizzie had any time to react. The violent eruption of TNT tore the whole bunker apart. The deafening bang could be heard across the whole server. A lightning strike crossed the sky, signifying the falling of two more players. 

LDShadowlady blew up.

Solidarity burned to death.

"We did it!" Grian let out an euphoric scream. Ren pulled him into a strong hug.

"It worked! Holy crap dude, it worked!" the canine started laughing, his embrace almost crushing the smaller player. "Martyn, baby, you've been officially avenged!"

"Oh gosh..." Grian chuckled, struggling to calm down his ecstatic mind. "I can't believe... Finally, we can put this behind us... Jimmy will be furious, but I don't care, he'll thank me eventually..."

The parrot slipped from Ren's embrace and approached the crater, leftover from the explosion. It was huge, there was not a chance that either of them could survive this. The furniture inside of the banger was reduced to splinters. There was blood splattered on the walls. All that remained of the players was just some dust...

And a few golden feathers, lying on the ground.

Grian's pupils contracted at that sight. Why did it feel like such a bad sign?

He immediately pulled up his wristband and opened the chat again.

LDShadowlady blew up.

Solidarity burned to death.

He immediately recalled the notification he saw in the morning. The one about Jimmy's death, which didn't turn out to be true... Or did it...?

"Oh... Oh no, oh no, oh no no no no no..." he grabbed himself by the head, the realization dawning upon him. He turned to Ren with a terrified expression. Ren tilted his head.

"What happened?"

"Look at chat, dude..."

The canine looked down at his wrist, a small frown appearing on their faces.

"Wait... What? Lizzie died from the explosion, but Jimmy... Burned...?"

"Dude... I think the Watchers took turning him into a phoenix seriously" he whispered, slowly turning towards the spawn.

---

The phoenix woke up on the tiny spawn island, letting out an angry screech. His whole body was hurting from the explosion which just ended his life - but he was back, right? How? He pulled himself up, his body feeling even more foreign and more strange than it used to. His head was spinning, unable to form any coherent thoughts. He looked towards Mount Bam. Despite being hundreds of meters away, he could see Grian and Ren. And he could see the terror in his eyes.

Perhaps they started celebrating too soon.

Notes:

Reinterpreting one of my least favorite moments of session 8 yippie! Like, I see why Grian did it. But I still wish he didn't. The good news is, this is one of my favorite chapters so far, if not my favorite! Lemme know if you guys like it too ^^ cuz I'll be honest, I feel like you've been enjoying my chapters less lately. Well maybe it's just me, I dunno. Still, I hope you guys enjoyed this one!

Chapter 15: Friends on the other side

Summary:

The players get to talk to ones they have not seen for a long time. A friend, an admin, a deity.

Notes:

I swear this chapter is cursed, my writing program closed without saving parts (or all) of my progress twice xddd

I hope you don't mind, but this chapter is a bit more... Experimental again. Introducing my own ideas. As I said, it's starting to diverge from what actually happened in the series. Still, I hope you don't mind!

A wildcard is active!

"Geez, which time is it? Like, tenth?" Ren huffed and looked down at his wristband. The piece of tech was starting to heat up from activating so often, making it feel very uncomfortable against his skin. 

"I dunno, dude... I lost count after, like, six" Grian admitted with a bitter grin.

The two players were crossing the forest, heading towards the base of the Gs. The woods provided them with great coverage - if Jimmy followed them, he would have trouble spotting them in the thick of the leaves. Even if he attempted to chase them between the trees, he would probably have a hard time maneuvering. After failing to kill the phoenix and losing Lizzie in the process, they were out of ideas for how to deal with him. They could only hope they'd find someone who was willing to listen and team up.

"Is it just me, or are these things getting a bit too hot?" Ren asked, poking his wristband with his finger. "I can stand a bit of heat, if you know what I'm sayin', but this is starting to hurt a bit..."

"No, no, I feel it too... And I don't like it" Grian admitted. "I think the Watchers are just trying to throw everything they have at us... We gotta stay careful.

Even the rustle of the leaves made them startled, as it sounded just a bit too close to flapping of the phoenix's wings. They barely talked on the way. Grian's mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to come up with any new strategy to deal with Jimmy. Ren was still deep in grief, even if he was trying to not show it. At that moment, they both wished they still had Martyn around.

As soon as they saw the Gs' base, they both took a quick glance at the sky. It was clear, no sign of a furious bird of prey anywhere. They quickly made their way towards the gate, and Grian waved at the other players.

"Hey guys!" he called out. "We need help, can we talk?"

The group was sitting in the middle of their yard, scheming and talking over what they should do next. All of their heads turned towards the gate.

"Is it about Jimmy?" Scott asked, the worry evident in his voice. "We saw that he died with Lizzie..."

"Well... Yes. And no. Can we come in?"

Before anyone could say anything, Scott got up from his spot and opened the gate for them. Grian and Ren kept their distance to not disturb the other players - although it was a bit late for that.

"What do you mean? Is he dead or not?" Pearl asked right away, fidgeting with one of her sickles in her hands.

"He's... Not anymore" Grian specified. "Remember when I told you that the Watchers turned him into a phoenix? I thought it was just a metaphor, but..."

"We set up a trap with Lizzie" Ren added, his tail very slowly wagging from side to side. "She was supposed to be the bait, and she agreed- Somehow... Damn, she's one brave woman, if you know what I mean" he nervously chuckled. "We blew up their bunker, they both died... But Jimmy is back. Somehow."

"Back? How?" Cleo looked down at their wrist. Their skin was clearly reddened by the heat that their wristband was emitting. "Oh. Right. Like a phoenix, from the ashes, huh?"

"Yes. And it's probably not the first time."

"Oh no..." Scott gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. "What do we do now?"

"That's the problem, we're..." Ren took a deep breath, then sighed "Out of ideas. If Martyn was still here, he would've known what to do..."

"Well, if it's something that Watchers started, then Watchers should be able to end this" Scott suggested, trying to sound optimistic. The truth was, he was worried sick for Jimmy - and he didn't even hide that. He looked at Grian, and then down at Pearl. The woman turned away from them. 

"Well, there's enough of us to come up with something, right?" Impulse tried to put on a smile as he approached Grian and Ren. "We've got you, guys."

"Okay, let's think" Cleo got from their spot and joined them close to the gate. "How long did it take him to respawn?"

"We're not sure... A few minutes. Five, tops" Ren said with hesitation. "Why?"

"Well, we could camp around spawn, and kill him every time he respawns... He might stop after a while..."

"No, no, we're not doing that" Scott immediately protested. "He's already in a bad headspace... If we put him in a death loop, he might actually go insane. We don't want that, do we?"

"Then what's your idea?" Pearl scoffed, looking at them in the corner of her eye. She was the only person to not join them at the gate. Scott turned to her right away. Despite them finally starting to make amends, they still sometimes struggled to see eye to eye. There were times where he couldn't even believe that they were both Watchers.

"What do you mean? I'm trying to think of something! Unlike you!"

"Well if the Watchers made him like that, maybe we shouldn't interfere?" she pointed out, finally getting up from the ground. "No matter what we do and what we want, they always find a way to twist it to serve them. You know this, I know this and he knows it too" she groaned, pointing at Grian.

"What are you talking about?" Impulse asked, quite confused.

"You're listening to someone for once, and it's the Watchers?" Scott asked in an accusatory tone. "You don't care about Jimmy, do you?"

"I do! But if we try to oppose them, we're gonna make things even worse! We all tried fixing something after we won! And you, out of us three, should know best that it didn't work! And I'm not even talking about what they've done to Martyn!"

Scott opened his mouth, but then closed it immediately. He knew immediately what Pearl meant - his attempt to change the games in a way, which no longer ended in broken alliances, ended up with Double Life - and the huge mess between them both. Maybe there was something to her words...? The man shook his head, his blue curls falling on his face.

"I don't care. Jimmy needs us. If the Watchers are pissed at us, then so be it. I'm done with them, either way."

"Scott...?" Grian tilted his head a little, quite confused with the sudden development.

"We can, we can..." Scott muttered, pushing himself to think of something on the spot. "If we trap him, and then the last person standing kills him, he won't have the time to respawn before the game ends, right? That's the only idea I have for now..."

"It could work... But how do we even-"

He clearly wanted to ask something more, but he was interrupted by the ringing sound of another wildcard activating. All of the players recoiled in pain, as their wristbands started heating up further, causing a surge of pain. The notification about the wildcard turned into a scrambled mess of text. Luckily, it didn't take them long to figure out what was happening.

"It's the superpowers wildcard" Cleo said almost immediately "The hints are... Well, screwed. We need to test this..."

"I'll go first" Pearl suggested, her voice still full of hesitation. There was something keeping her from aiding her friends just yet - but it wasn't as if she was going to leave them completely alone. She sighed, then closed her eyes and focused, trying to figure out what her power was.

After just a few seconds, a lightning strike roared over them. The ground around Pearl started shaking, until a few pairs of half-rotten arms emerged from the grass, starting to pull themselves up. Two of them they've already seen the day prior - Skizz and Mumbo already looked somewhat aware and alert, as if the longer they stayed zombies, the more present they were. This time however, they were joined by the newly fallen - Lizzie, BigB and...

"Martyn!" Ren immediately ran towards his late friend and pulled him into a tight hug. The zombie huffed, but did not react in any way - it didn't push Ren away, but it also didn't embrace him. It just laid motionless in his arms, slowly filling the canine's heart with dread. "Martyn...?"

"Maybe he just needs some time...?" Grian suggested cautiously.

Ren looked down at his friend, he put his big, warm hand on his cold cheek. The zombie's eyes were quite literally dead - he looked at Ren, but he didn't seem to be present enough to recognize his presence. A bit of dried blood marked his ears. His clothes were torn and covered with mold. The gaping wound on his chest was still present, half-rotten. The longer the dog stared at him, the closer he was to breaking down yet again.

"It's... It shouldn't be like this, right...?" he asked, then turned to Skizz and Mumbo. "Guys, you know what's wrong with him? Shouldn't he be like you?"

"Lemme try" Skizz mumbled out, actually sounding quite coherent - his speech was slow and only a little slurred. He approached Martyn and grabbed him by the shoulder, his broken fingers tensing on him. "Hey, bud? How are you?"

Martyn did not answer at all. While the other zombies could move around and speak (some better than others), he was completely still and unresponsive. Ren turned to Pearl, silently pleading to her to do something. The woman bit her tongue, the grief in her friend's eyes actually getting to her.

"Uhhh... Martyn, hug Ren. Please."

The zombie did not react for a moment, then it wrapped its arms around Ren's neck. His touch was cold, not only literally - his movement was stiff, there was no heart or emotions behind it. Ren squeezed him ever so slightly stronger, silently praying for any kind of response from him.

"Martyn... Martyn, baby, please... I'm here... Talk to me, baby..."

"Ren..." Grian carefully approached him. "I think that... Since Martyn is trapped in The Midway... He can't be here to control this body. So, uh... Sorry, dude. It's not him."

He was only answered with a nod from Ren. The canine hid his nose in his partner's dirty, dull hair. The other players move aside to give him space, as Ren kneeled to the ground with Martyn in his arms. This time, he didn't even stop tears from pouring out of his eyes. He wanted to see his love again...

But if he knew it would look like that, he never would've asked.

"Martyn..." he cried. "Where are you...?"

---

"Ren..." Martyn soundlessly repeated the word, clinging to his memory of his friends for dear life.

The numbing emptiness of The Midway was slowly driving him out of his mind. His mind desperately seeked any stimuli, aside from the painful chains binding him and preventing him from moving. At this point, he could barely remember what the world outside of this place looked like. The endless emptiness of the abyss, ebbing and flowing ever so slightly - his mind was getting used to it quicker than he would've wanted. At some point, he even started doubting if there was something out there, outside of the abyss. He could vaguely remember names, fleeting memories, old wounds... But maybe he just made it all up, while he was stuck here? At that point, it didn't even matter whether just a day passed, or one eternity. He was being slowly stripped of the ability to perceive and understand the world around him - and for someone as analytical and strategic like him, it was pure torture.

Before he managed to repeat the name, the last word that still seemed somewhat meaningful, he noticed movement on the fabric of the void. And it wasn't the first time... So there was something else with him, right? He didn't make it up, not this time...

"Hello?" he called, not even sure if that was the right word to start with. He awaited patiently, his chains shaking ever so slightly under the slight movement of his slowly withering body. After what could be either minutes or days, he heard someone's soft, almost angelic voice calling back.

" A strange, little existence, stranded in my realm... An offering, perhaps? Or a waste? "

Martyn's heart soared the moment he got some kind of answer. His ability to speak and understand what was being spoken to him flooded his mind like a suddenly broken dam, almost resulting in a headache. The Listener's brain was still a little fuzzy, but this was an incredible improvement compared to all the time he spent in there alone.

"No, no, I'm neither!" he immediately answered. He wanted to shield himself with his hands, but they were tied up too tightly for him to move them even slightly. "I-I've been thrown here by the Watchers! Stupid bastards... Who are you? Can you get me out...?"

" My offspring imprisoned you in my great emptiness? How very rude... "

"You have no idea... Wait, offspring?"

The longer he stared into the distance, the more movement he noticed. And it wasn't just something moving inside of The Midway - it seemed like The Midway itself was moving. The empty, pitch-dark space was lighting up, only to dim down right away. He had to shut his eyes tight to not get blinded. When something touched his back, making his whole spine tingle with the euphoria of a sensory experience, it was as if he was already saved. Martyn cautiously opened his eyes, finding himself face to face with someone . 

The beast closely resembled a serpentine-like dragon. Its immaculate size made it impossible to see its end - maybe it had none? Each of its several pairs of eyes, the biggest being almost as big as the man, watched him with cold curiosity. The fur growing on the creature's spine was slowly waving on the nonexistent wind of the abyss. Its endless pairs of paws twitched, talons seemed sharper than the toughest weapons the Listener had ever seen. Upon its scales, a pattern constantly flashed - one that was constantly shifting and changing, but most of the time resembled handwriting - even if in Martyn's delirious state, he was unable to decipher it.

"Wow..." he only huffed quietly at the sight.

" Incredible, for a human to be able to perceive this fragment of my form and not be turned into dust... " the dragon didn't even move its mouth, yet its voice boomed over the whole empty chasm. The tone and timbre actually suggested to Martyn to refer to the creature as 'she', not an 'it'.

"I-I'm not human... Well, I think so, at least. I am... I was, uh..." he stumbled over his words. Not only was he overwhelmed by the ability to finally talk to someone, anyone , but also by who he could talk to. He had no idea who the serpent was, but he could feel on his skin and in his bones that it was someone important. "I was a Watcher. But then they turned me into a Listener, but they hated me, so they hunted me down... And then I got killed, and I ended up here." he muttered, his metal muzzle all of a sudden not really feeling like that much of an issue when speaking. "It's well, uh, a longer story, but I dunno whether you wanna know the details..."

" Tell me, Listener. My spawns started turning against each other? "

"Oh, you have no idea..." Martyn nervously chuckled, then looked up at the dragon again. "But, uh... What do you mean by 'offspring'? You... Created them?"

" Indeed... I create and destroy everything that there was, is, will be and will never come to be. But these beings are of special importance. It's quite upsetting to see them stray away from their goal of guarding life... "

"Oh these bastards... They're doing quite the opposite, really" Martyn sighed. He still didn't know how freely he could talk to the creature. He opened his mouth, but only then the gravity of the creature's words hit him. "Wait, wait... Are you, like... A god?"

"This is but one of the words your people use to name me. I am the story, that is writing, and is being written. Some people call me The Midway, but that is just a part of me. I am more than just this emptiness. I am nothing, yet everything."

"Oh my word" the man whispered, his ears perking down in fear. "I, uh... This is awkward... Forgive me, uh, I had no idea, I-"

"Please, keep talking, Little Tree. I longed to have someone to talk to directly. You may not fear a punishment from me for speaking."

Martyn chuckled. He tried to look away from her for just a second - but he quickly realized that no matter where he looked, he was looking at her. So turns out, all this time, there was someone watching him. Listening. Being with him.

"I... I'm sorry, I just... I have no idea how much time passed since I've seen anything except for... This. For you, I guess" he corrected himself quickly. "I can barely remember... There is a world outside of this place, right? Outside of you?"

"I am the world. But not every part of me looks like this. This is the closest to my truth, but this is not everything. And you..."

The dragon twisted in a loose circle around Martyn. Her warm, glowing scales touched his bindings, heating them up. The man groaned quietly as the metal tightened on his body.

"You have been here for quite a while. You seem withered. Feeble. But your mind is sharp. How it that?."

"Well, guess the Watchers can't even kill me right" he chuckled, his voice ever so slightly cocky. "They're mad that I figured them out and I'm trying to stop these stupid games of theirs..."

"Games? Are they toying with sentient lives?"

"Oh yeah, they're such bastards... Pullin' me and my friends into these stupid games... It started as just some fun, and now... They're crazy, I'm tellin' you."

"Tell me more, Little Tree."

Martyn took a few seconds to collect his thoughts and memories. It felt so strange, to just get to talk to what felt like a god... Watchers and Listeners were deities, fair enough, but they never felt this grand and this ever present. Compared to the dragon, they felt like bugs, weak and small and unimportant. And she actually wanted to hear him talk! For once, he felt like he wouldn't just be the one who had to listen. Now, he could finally speak.

And speak he did. He started with any memories he still had of being a Watcher - especially project EVO, even though he had a hard time recalling the details. Then, he went on to describe his fall from the Watchers' sanctum, experiencing things he couldn't even name - and then the beginning of the games with 3rd Life. He spoke about everything he could, everything he remembered - some things more than others. He did quite a big tangent while talking about Ren - his king, his liege, his closest friend, his one love. The dragon was clearly intrigued by what she heard, but she did not interrupt him once. Martyn then went over Last Life and Double life. He took a moment to recollect himself before talking about Limited Life - his throat started burning from how much he was talking, but he very much did not want to stop. He needed to let it all out, especially if that could help him get out of there... So spoke about him teaming up with Scott, a friend he ended up betraying at the most crucial moment - and about his win, which he ended up regretting. He spoke about losing his eye and going into a complete mental slump during Secret Life. He spoke about the euphoria of seeing Ren again, and the excruciating grief of losing him all over again.

By the time he finished, he could barely speak. He started coughing, his mind and throat on fire. He looked up at the dragon, the curiosity in her eyes not disappearing for even a second. 

"You've been through so much, Little Tree... But you are not finished fighting, are you? You can rest now, and let me reclaim you. You're safe to close your eyes here."

"No, no, I can't... I need to go back. I need to help them... I need to defeat the Watchers, to stop them..." he huffed, then added "Or at least, I wanna see them again... See Ren, Scott, Grian, Jimmy, Scar, Cleo... Everyone..."

The dragon tilted her head ever so slightly. Her stare was so gentle, but she didn't seem to quite understand why Martyn wouldn't just let go and let himself perish. Especially since he was already in the graces of someone like her... Anyone else would gladly accept the eternity of bliss in her.

But not him. He was a fighter.

"Are you certain about this, Little Tree? You can stay with me, and keep talking, until your voice ceases to exist... "

"I can't, I... I'm sorry" he looked up into the serpent's eyes. "You're very nice to me... And I don't want to disrespect you, but... I don't belong here. I need to find a way out of here... But not because I don't like you, I just... I... I need to see them again. I need to see Ren, Scott, Grian, Jimmy, Cleo..." he shut his eyes tight. Please."

The dragon tilted her head ever so slightly. She wanted to understand him, but she struggled to grasp why he wouldn't just accept her offer. Even if she couldn't quite get it, she felt a sense of familiarity and kinship with the little human. Her grasp around him tightened ever so slightly, the heavy chain rattling. He told her so much she wanted to know... He deserved her help.

"Very well... I may not quite understand why you wouldn't choose the endless bliss over dying again, and again, and again, and again. But I have grown fond of your flame, Little Tree. The moment your companions come to reclaim you, I will guide them."

"Thank you..."

Martyn opened his eyes, but he no longer saw the dragon around him. Or at least, not directly. He sighed and closed his eyes again, silently waiting for someone to find him. He was on his own again. But this time around, he at least wasn't alone.

---

Xisuma was slain by Neck Kisses.

"Oooh, jeez!" the armored player respawned on the bed with a resigned groan. He was immediately met with laughter from the other players. It was a nice, warm afternoon on the Hermitcraft server, and the players were enjoying each other's company while playing Etho's game, Ravager Rush. "C'mon, Jev, you make it look so easy! What am I doing wrong?"

"Skill issue, dude" Jev answered in a teasing tone and sat down on the bed right next to him. "Good thing Joel is not around now, I have plenty of time to beat his high score!"

"Yeah, I wanna see that" Hypno snarked right back at him. In contrast to all the other players, who were sitting around the lobby, he found himself sitting right on top of the entrance to the game. He very much enjoyed being above everyone. "Etho nerfed the game so that you can't go into a thousand points anymore! You ruined it, man!"

"No, I didn't! You're just salty you no longer have a chance of beating it, man!"

Their playful banter was met with the giggling of Joe, False and Keralis. Only Xisuma seemed out of it, too zoned out to notice. He was staring down at his control panel, attached to a console on his left forearm. There were a few messages to him - and by the way they were encrypted, it was clear they came from another server. So it was probably very urgent... Keralis immediately picked up on his state and approached the admin.

"Hey, Shwammy? You okay?"

Xisuma's head perked up and he looked at his friend.

"Yeah, yeah, of course... I just got a message, y'know? I think it's urgent... I'll be right back."

"Okay... Just don't take too long, okay?" the taller Hermit chuckled, his cheek gently touching the cheek of Xisuma's armor. The man giggled in an affectionate manner.

"Don't worry... I'll be right back."

Xisuma got up from his spot and exited the lobby. He needed to leave the whole building to clear his mind. He could only hope it was something light, like an invitation to another server... But as he watched the message encrypt and picked up on the sender, his eyes widened.

"Grian...?"

<Grian> Hi X! We kinda really need your help

 <Grian> So remember when I told you about a game I started? I got a few Hermits into it like Scar, Mumbo, Joel, Skizz, Pearl and some others

<Grian> Things kinda went out of my control and the server might collapse soon, probably even today

<Grian> I need you to help me pull us back to Hermitcraft

<Grian> And also there are a few players that are not whitelisted and might not have a place to go if the server closes this abruptly, could you please whitelist them so that they don't get stranded?

<Grian> Also also, we got one guy trapped in The Midway, can you help us pull him out when we arrive?

Xisuma sighed. He took his helmet for a moment to catch some fresh air. Grian and his games... They usually didn't sound like good ideas to him, but this time around, it was really serious. He took a moment to respond.

<Xisuma> No problem, I'll keep the list open so that you can transfer safely if something happens. And give me the list of the players IDs so that I can whitelist them.

The admin waited patiently for the answer - he knew that messaging between servers could take quite a while. He sighed with relief as he finally got the list.

<Grian> Bigbst4tz2, Inthelittlewood, LDShadowlady, Smajor1995

Another message came several seconds later, as if Grian was hesitating whether he should send it or not.

<Grian> and Solidarity

<Xisuma> I'll whitelist them right now, lemme know if you need any more help.

<Grian> Thanks

After that, no new messages arrived. Xisuma let out a quiet, concerned sigh, really worried for what Grian caused this time. After whitelisting the five new players, he put his helmet back on and went back inside to join his friends.

Chapter 16: Criticality

Summary:

TW: a lot of mentions of violence and death

The final battle against the Lifers and an angry bird of prey, sent by the Watchers, commences.

Notes:

This one is a little shorter, but I still hope you enjoy it! :DD

A wildcard is active!

A wildcard is active!

A wildcard is active!

The server was growing more and more unstable with each moment. Players were being taken out one by one by the onslaught of horrors that the Watchers were sending down at them. The time dilated, murderous snails sprawled from every corner of the area, trivia bots started glitching out and asking more incoherent questions. The players tried sticking together around the middle of the map, just between Mount Bam and the spawn island. Their numbers were dwindling fast.

"They're not even gonna let us kill each other, huh?" Ren called out to his friends, narrowly avoiding his snail. He was only using one hand to defend himself - the other was being burned more and more by the wristband. All of the players struggled with their tech slowly burning their skin, and they were unable to take them off.

"I have no idea what they're doing, and I'm pretty sure neither do they" Grian groaned. He looked up at the sky, cautiously watching out for Jimmy - but he shuddered the moment he noticed dark cracks appearing on the sky. "Uh, guys..."

"We have to finish this quick" Cleo muttered "Where's Jim?"

"I'm trying to spot him! He's not been given invisibility again, right?"

"Oh, don't even give me that idea..."

Scott barely managed to dodge a Ravager that spawned from an angered trivia bot. For a short glimpse, he noticed the faint shine of golden feathers deep in the forest. His eyes immediately lit up again.

"Jimmy?" he whispered, immediately distracted. The man looked back at his allies, fighting for their lives, then ran towards the woods. The moment he disappeared between the trees. "Jimmy!"

The man slowed down and ultimately stopped, when he felt someone's intense stare right on him. He clutched his sword, ready to defend himself in case pleading to his friend didn't work. Immediately, he heard a blood curdling screech right behind him. Scott didn't even have the time to turn, before he was tackled and pinned to the ground.

"Agh! Jimmy!" he yelled, falling on the hard ground. He uselessly flailed his sword in the air, but the furious phoenix immediately knocked it off his hand. His fiery wings lit up, blocking them from the outside world. "Jimmy, stop! This isn't you! They won't help you, trust me! Please..."

The bird of prey let out another inhuman shriek. He looked straight at Scott, but he did not see his friend and past lover - he only saw an enemy. An intruder. Prey. He put one hand on Scott's head, and the other he used to grab his chin. The blue-haired man's breath hitched, as he realized what was about to happen.

"Jimmy..."

His plea for mercy was only answered with a loud snap of bones, and an annoyed chirp of the phoenix which immediately left the crime scene.

Smajor1995 was slain by Solidarity.

"Dang it!" Ren immediately noticed the notification "Jimmy's gotta be close, he just got Scott!"

"Oh no, Scott!-" Pearl called out, grabbing her sickles. She groaned from pain as she moved the burned hand "How long is this gonna go for?"

Grian looked up at the sky again. The cracks were becoming even more apparent.

"Guys, something is happening!" Cleo pointed out.

Their wristbands were almost burning at this point, displaying constant flashing messages. The players were almost paralyzed with pain.

A wildcard is active!

A wildcard is active!

ALL wildcards are active!

And then, after a moment of silence-

The end is yours!

MAKE

IT-

Before the last word could be displayed, the wristbands all simultaneously blew up. The flying shards of metal tore through the players' skin, the explosion burning their wrists and hands. Some of them dropped to the ground from the pain, others barely kept themselves on their feet. A loud, pained screech could be heard from inside the forest - Jimmy was probably also affected. It took them a couple of minutes to pull themselves back up, all of them panting from the strain.

"What happened...?" Impulse huffed, covering his injured wrist with his shirt.

"Guys, look..."

The murderous snails started hiding inside of their shells. The trivia bots stopped following them and disappeared into thin air. All of the wildcards started losing effect. They all let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Well, that's something at least..." Ren sighed. "Now, we just gotta finish this all, and deal with Jimmy..."

---

The phoenix hid in the depth of the forest, licking the wounds after his wristband injured his hand. It landed on top of a tree, trying his best to calm his nerves. His mind was fuzzy and cloudy, he could barely take in his surroundings. He just killed another player - but who was that? Was it a good thing to do? He was protecting himself; was he even in danger to begin with? The bird of prey quietly hissed and looked down on the ground, marked with blood.

"What do I... Do now?" he whispered, his throat burning with every word.

Go finish them off. You need to win this .

"I'm tired..." Jimmy muttered, rubbing his forehead.

You'll get to rest after your job is finished.

"I'm tired..." he repeated, his wings rubbing against the tree. The bark and the leaves caught fire quite quickly, causing the bird to jump away with a startled squawk. He watched in horror as the fire started spreading. "It's... Not good... Is it...?"

Very good. Make your fire your implement.

Jimmy moved back, unsure what he should do next. His common sense was yelling at him to run, to warn his friends... But he didn't have friends anymore, did he? They hated him. And they were just prey. His prey. He pushed the annoying common sense to the back and took off from the ground. He had a game to win.

He watched from above in satisfaction, as the other players began fighting above one another. A few of them grouped in Mumbo tower, the others fought on the field just east from Mount Bam. The fire spread through the forest and started creeping closer and closer to them. Jimmy sighed with relief, until he was suddenly interrupted by a scream.

Someone fell from Mumbo tower and crashed on the ground. A loud crack of bones reached the phoenix, who let out a happy chirp as he noticed that the newly fallen player was Bdubs. Etho's body was also lying somewhere among the carnage, so out of his whole team, Tango was the only one standing.

His Tango. The only one he was willing to spare.

And the sight of a wind charge in his hand immediately made it all connect in the phoenix's brain. He killed his teammate! It had to be a clear sign that he also wanted to join Jimmy! Right?

"Tango!" the phoenix squawked and dived towards his one last friend. His sudden appearance startled the blazeborn, which jumped away with a yelp.

"Jim! You're... You're alive!"

The bird of prey immediately hugged his friend and let out a loud, happy chirp, rubbing his cheek against Tango's.

"You killed Bdubs!"

"Yeah, uh, yep... It was an accident, but..."

"Doesn't matter! You can join my flock now!"

"Your... Oh, yeah" Tango nervously giggled "But... Scar and Lizzie are dead, right? We can't really have a flock that's only two people, right?"

Jimmy tilted his head. They died? Why did he not remember that? His glowing pink eyes dimmed for just a second. Wasn't he supposed to protect them...? How could he let his teammates die...?

"He's here!" he was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by Grian's voice, carrying up the stairs towards Mount Bam. The group from the bottom of the mountain started running towards them, ready to attack the phoenix.

"Wait, wait!" Tango called out to them "We can talk this out with him! Look"

He turned to face his friend - but he already knew it was a bad idea. The phoenix let out a loud hiss, ready to pounce at any moment. Tango grabbed him by the wrist.

"Jimmy, please, calm down... We can still fix this, I promise..."

"Tango, get away from him!" Pearl yelled at him.

"No, I won't!" the blazeborn pulled out a creeper egg out of his pocket "Stay away from him!"

"You're crazy, Tango!"

"I guess I am" Tango grumbled and tossed the egg on the ground. Immediately, it caused a full-sized creeper to pop out and hiss in an aggressive way. The blond-haired man tried pushing the monster towards his friends to get them to leave, but he was too slow.

The creeper exploded, knocking Tango far back. His clothes were burned and his ears started ringing from the loud explosion. Jimmy immediately jumped to his defense, shielding him with his wings to protect him from further. He let out another hiss, not letting anyone close to his injured friend.

"Jimmy, it's fine... Please, calm down-"

Tango started pleading to him, until suddenly the phoenix let out a pained shriek. An arrow hit him right in the wing, digging deep between his feathers. If he didn't protect him, it would hit and probably finish Tango off... The blazeborn gasped at the realization, then followed where the shot came from - just like Jimmy did. The moment he noticed Joel with a bow in his hands, he immediately took off.

"Stay here" he grumbled to Tango. He flew right around Tango, keeping his wings close to the ground and enclosing him in a ring of fire. The flames roared around him as Jimmy pounced at Joel, immediately knocking him off the tower. Tango could only hear his friend's loud, terrified scream.

"Tango!" Grian called out to the blazeborn "He wants to protect you! You need to be the one to finish him off!"

"W-what?!" the man almost choked upon the realization.

"The last person standing needs to kill him, so that he doesn't have the time to come back!"

"But..."

Tango covered his eyes as he heard another scream of another player, who Jimmy just attacked. It was all his fault... If he found a way to stop Jimmy, to calm him down, maybe if he just joined his flock... He wouldn't be on such a rampage. Tango stared blankly at the flames, unsure what he should do. He knew that as a blazeborn, the flames wouldn't hurt him much - but at that moment, he was completely lost, too much to find his way out.

---

"You're next, Grian!" Jimmy let out a loud, euphoric howl as he dived in the air towards his enemy. The parrot gestured to Ren to move back, then looked up, right in the eye of his impending doom.

"I'm not gonna fight you, Jim! We can talk this out!"

"Too late!"

The phoenix knocked him right into the dirt, pulverizing Grian. The Watcher tried fighting back, but the overwhelming strength of his opponent overpowered him in the blink of an eye. He only managed to give Ren a knowing look for a second, before his throat was slit open by the sharp talons.

"Good thing I still wanna fight you" Ren growled, his grip tensing on his axe. The phoenix raised from the dead player, blood streaking down his mouth and his claws.

"Pointless" the bird of prey hissed, his voice more and more hoarse with each sentence. "I'll kill you. Then, I'll kill your friend. You think I wouldn't notice that he's still alive?"

"Leave Martyn out of this" Ren barked at him, for a moment forgetting that his partner was gone - now only back as a soulless husk. It took just one more challenging look from Jimmy for him to attack.

The phoenix effortlessly avoided the swing of a giant axe. His talons swung in front of Ren's face, scratching his nose and cheekbones. It didn't stop him for even a moment, as the bird jumped over him. He aimed another swing at where Jimmy was supposed to land, and the blade cut through a part of his wing. Another loud shriek escaped the phoenix's mouth, as this time his attack was even more feral than the last one. Sharp teeth and talons dug straight into Ren's arm, causing him to yell from pain. He shook off the phoenix and caused him to back away, but only for a short moment. Jimmy attacked him once again, tackling Ren to the ground, with only his axe separating them from one another - or rather separating Jim's talons from Ren's throat. The predator started flailing his claws, trying to draw any blood he could.

"How does it feel to be powerless, huh?!" the phoenix screamed, at that point not even registering the agonizing pain in his tightening throat. "How does it feel to be all alone?! How does it feel to have nobody to save you?!"

"Jim, stop! It's not too late, we can help you!" Ren tried reasoning with him, but it was hard to keep a calm demeanor while being faced with a furious bird of prey. He kicked Jimmy in the stomach, pushing him away for just a moment - but he attacked right back, tearing the skin on his face.

"I don't believe you! You hated me because I was weak, right? Now I'm strong, and you still hate me! What am I doing wrong?!"

"I don't! I don't hate you!" he answered, looking Jimmy straight in the eye.

The phoenix huffed. It seemed like that it enraged him even further. Did Ren not fear him? If he didn't hate him and wasn't scared of him, then what else could he feel towards him? His lesser wings opened, the heat in his body almost making his skin glow.

Quit toying with him, Phoenix. You have one more enemy to slay.

Jimmy looked down at the struggling Ren. His whole body was hot and almost burning, but his eyes were ice cold.

"You should."

Another slash up Ren's throat ended up cutting through his arteries, as well as snapping his neck back. The tension in his arms subsided right away, making him drop his axe. The server log noted that in an instant.

 <server> Rendog was slain by Solidarity.

"I'm coming for you, Martyn!" Jimmy yelled as he got up from the body and looked down at the area. 

Flames were burning down the whole server. The forest where it all started was but a charred corpse of its previous green glory. Smoke made the cracking sky appear dull and dark, as if sun began to hide. But it didn't - it was still high up on the horizon, as if watching down upon Jimmy like an offspring. The dead players already started turning into dust. It was quiet, aside from the howling of the wind and the sinister crackling of the flames... But he was not done yet, was he? Martyn was still out there, surely... He opened his wings, despite having barely any strength left to fight, and flew down on the tattered battlefield.

The flames did not hurt Jimmy, but the smoke quickly got into his lungs, making it harder and harder for him to fly. His wings went aflame right away, as if to shield him in case of a sudden attack. The talons twitching, ready for more blood. He opened his mouth to call out Martyn's name, but he only started choking up blood. His vocal chords were damaged, preventing him from speaking. He could only let out an animalistic screech, while looking around for his last victim.

The moment Jimmy noticed a glimpse of something green in the corner of his eye, he immediately turned around and pounced with almost animalistic hunger. Blindly, he started smacking the prey with his claws, not even looking at what he was attacking. In his mind, he started praying, begging for that to be the last thing he had to do, so that afterwards, he could just fall and not have to fight anymore. His body was burning with pain. His bones wanted to leap out of him, his muscles tensing, his mouth filling up with his own blood which started dripping down his chin. Quickly, that blood started mixing with his tears.

"There!" he managed to gurgle out. "I killed him!" he called out to the Watchers, then looked down. It took him a second to fully grasp the sight.

Martyn was, indeed, lying under him, completely mangled. But guessing from the stench of rot and the mold among his dark blood made it clear he had been dead for quite a while now. Jimmy almost gasped at the sight. First he thought that his friend had died, then it turned out he didn't... But at the last second he had to learn, that it was actually true from the start? From the very beginning, one of his biggest obstacles was just his own misconception. A tragic miscalculation. Truly, a giant, ironic fumble.

"He's... He's... Already dead" he whispered. He then perked up his head again, the roaring fire making it almost impossible for him to hear himself. "I did what you asked me to! I killed everyone! I won! What else do you want? What else will make you happy?!"

You're not done, Phoenix.

"What...? I killed them all! I became a monster, just as you wanted me to! I-"

"Jimmy!" he suddenly heard a voice from up the mountain, followed by quick hoofsteps down the burning staircase.

The blood in his veins froze in an instant.

The Watchers were right, and as if to taunt him, they repeated what they said previously.

You have one more enemy to slay.

Notes:

Also, thank you all fo much for the insane support, this fic reached 3k hits today! It's absolutely unbelievable to me! I dream that it will hit 4k before I finish it, and although I doubt it's gonna happen, I'd love to see that one day!

So remember that if you enjoy it, you can share it online or with friends!

Also, I never mentioned it before I think, but I've seen some people draw Phoenix!Jimmy on Tumblr and it's so incredibly exciting! I can't obviously claim that they're made specifically for my fanfic, but I know of at least two people who were influenced by it one way or another, and that's @wishbonefishbone and @fridgrave2-0 so go check them out, they're awesome people!

And if you make any kind of post, theory or even fanart about this fic, tag me on Tumblr @smootnytechnik ! (had to change it cuz Tumblr flagged my profile lmao)

Chapter 17: The tango of life

Summary:

TW: Mentions of violence and heavy injuries

Tango and Jimmy, as the last two standing, don't give in to the Watchers' ways.

Notes:

I swear this was one of the hardest things to write ever, if people don't like it I might as well quit-

Jimmy didn't even register as Tango approached him, limping from the wounds from the earlier explosion. He only felt the blazeborn's small, soft hand on his cheek, and then saw his big, red, worried eyes as he looked down on him. Tango silently gazed upon him, taking in his friend's tired, wild face and anxious expression. His finger traced over the bloody stain on his cheeks, chin and overgrown stubble. The feral, rosy eyes looked straight at Tango, but didn't quite take his presence just yet. 

"Jimmy..." he whispered. "Can we talk...?"

The fire roared about them, but neither of them seemed to notice. They both just craved a moment to rest, to talk, to be with each other. The moment Tango's hand cupped Jimmy's cheek, the phoenix immediately leaned into the touch with a soft, exhausted chirp.

"There we go... There's my Jimmy..." he heard his friend's caring, loving voice. "Can we sit for just a moment? Please..."

"I can't" Jimmy whispered. He took one nervous glance at the sky, the cracking becoming even more apparent with each passing minute. "I have to kill you."

"I know. But it can wait, y'know? Give me... Give us just a few minutes, okay?"

Don't. Finish the job. The sooner, the better.

But this time Jimmy didn't even listen. He fell into his friend's arms, his body limp from overexertion. The blazeborn let out a huff and then a giggle, helping him sit down on the scorched ground. The bird of prey continued letting out quiet, tired chirps as he hugged against Tango.

"How are you feeling?"

"I..." Jimmy started coughing and shut his eyes tight. "This is not what I wanted... I think..."

"I can imagine..." the blazeborn sighed, beginning to gently and soothingly stroke Jimmy's face. Now that he started somewhat calming down, Tango could finally take in his disheveled look. His eyes, despite shining with some sort of primal, inhuman energy, were sunken and exhausted. His hair, lesser wings and the tiny feathers growing on his face were messy, and dirty from the ash and blood. The taller man's whole body was shaking, as he was given a chance to catch a breath for the first time in a while. Tango desperately wanted to tightly hug him, to remind him that it's gonna be okay, to shelter him from this great cruel world... But he needed to give him some space. So he just let him rest, wind down and relax in his arms. At that moment, he needed it more than anything.

"What do we do now...?" Jimmy whispered quietly. Tango smiled upon him, stroking his hair as Jimmy slid from his arms to his lap. 

"Well, you were supposed to kill me..."

"I-I don't want to! I think... Do I?" he nervously chuckled. "I- I don't even know... I can't remember whether I ever wanted to hurt you... Or anyone..."

"They really messed with you, didn't they?"

Tango sighed. He wanted to relax together with his friend, but he was aware he still had to keep his guard up - at least somewhat. Jimmy was clearly unstable, and despite his exhaustion, he could become dangerous at any moment. Not that he wanted to, he looked like he wanted to just curl up into a ball and fall into a deep slumber - but whatever controlled him, clearly was out for Tango. And if he let himself get killed, it could break Jim even further. 

"My head... Doesn't feel like it's mine" Jimmy whispered, cautiously confiding in his friend. "I wanna rip my wings out..."

"I don't think you should do that" Tango replied with a soft smile. "Your wings are beautiful..."

"I wish they would go back to how they were" he admitted, trying to prevent himself from coughing further. "They gave them to me, but... I don't want them... Not if that means I have to be like this ..."

"We'll figure this out, okay? We'll get you your wings back. And if we can't... We'll make these work, okay?"

Jimmy turned on his back, looking straight up at Tango and at the sky. The cracks on the firmament were becoming more and more apparent. As if it was gonna fall on them any moment... But he could barely keep his focus on it. All he could see were Tango's big, bright eyes, watching him with cautious optimism and quiet happiness. Jimmy reached out, his trembling, rigid hand clumsily touching the other man's cheek.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"For what?"

"For everything... I hurt you, I hurt everyone..." tears started slowly streaking down his cheeks, boiling and evaporating upon touching his heated skin. He grabbed and pulled on one of his lesser wings, but Tango immediately stopped him.

"Hey, hey, it's fine... I promise, I'm not mad... And the others will understand you, too, I swear..."

The phoenix was on a brink of despair, when his slowly relaxing mind started coming to terms with the events of the last few days - and it immediately tensed again. Why didn't Tango hate him? Why didn't he want to kill him for everything that happened? Was that a trap? Was he supposed to let his guard down, and then he'd be struck down again? The heat piling up in his chest was becoming quite overwhelming. If he tried releasing it now, he would hurt. It would hurt Tango, as well. It would probably burn the whole server to the ground, even more so than he already had. As he felt his chest tightening, he grabbed Tango's jacket and gripped it tightly, his talons digging into the thick fabric.

"So what do we do now...? Do I... Do I kill you?"

"I don't know... I'd rather not" Tango admitted with a silly smile. "But if you feel like you have to..."

"No, no! I- I don't want to! But-" his breath hitched again, causing him another coughing fit. "They want... They want me to fight you... But... we don't have to, do we...?"

Stop resisting, Phoenix. You know what you have to do.

"No, we don't" Tango smiled gently. "I have another idea... Can you get up?"

With hesitation, phoenix nodded. He pulled himself up from the ground, even though his whole body was unstable and shaking. His joints were aching with the strain of keeping him together, his wings dropped to the ground, too heavy for Jimmy to keep them up. Tango supported him as much as he could, his scaled fingers tracing little circles on his friend's veiny hands. His tough, rigid skin could barely feel the comfort. The blazeborn and the phoenix looked into each other's eyes for a moment, weighing their next words.

"...do you wanna dance with me?"

"W-what?" Jimmy let out a confused chuckle. For just a second, his clouded mind filled with warm bashfulness. It was such a silly idea... They were in an andgame of a literal death game, and Tango just asked him to dance? The blazeborn's tail flickered with excitement.

"Yeah!" Tango nodded right away, his face also flushing red from embarrassment. "These idiots want us to fight to death, huh? And how about we settle things another way? Our way. What do we think?"

"You're impossible..." Jimmy chirped quietly. His hand gently squeezed Tango's. "Yes, I... I do. I wanna dance with you."

Stop it, Phoenix. You're only delaying the inevitable. The sooner you kill him, the better.

His whole body tensed in an instant. He didn't even have the time to react as his claws acted on their own. Only the startled grunt of Tango reached him, as well as the scent of his blood. He immediately backed away, not able to take the sight of his friend's face, scratched by his talons.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, it's fine..." Tango chuckled, although he was clutching his bleeding cheek. He reached out again, silently asking for Jimmy to trust him enough to grab his hand again. 

The phoenix looked down at his bloodied talons, fighting with the urge to pull them out right then and there. If it was just him left, he'd tear his fingers out, pluck out all his feathers, pull out his sharpened canines... But he couldn't. As he looked at Tango, he knew it'd hurt his friend even more than him. And he couldn't bear the thought.

"You... Still wanna do this...? Even if I hurt you- Even if I burn you?"

"I'll be fine, Jim... I know how to handle a bit of heat" he teased, pulling Jimmy closer and tightening the grip on his hand. "You trust me, right?"

"Yeah... I guess I do..." Jimmy chuckled sheepishly.

What are you doing? You're only wasting time.

"Tell these stupid guys in your head to leave you alone for a moment, will ya?" the blazeborn smiled "If they're Watchers, then they should just watch us, hm?"

Jimmy smiled and carefully joined Tango on the scorched battleground. The blazeborn had to perk up his head to look up at his friend. There was already some height difference between them, but after Jimmy's growth spurt, he was towering over him.

There was no music, no grand stage and no audience - aside from a group of ever present deities, watching their every move. But there were the two of them, and that was enough for them both. Tango wrapped his arms around Jimmy's neck, while the phoenix carefully put his against his last friend's sides. For the first few moments, they just stood still, embracing each other's fleeting presence.

"Did that creeper hurt you bad?" Jimmy asked quietly.

"No... Just some internal bleeding, I think. But that's where blood is supposed to be, right? So I'll be fine!"

"I- Uhh... You're so dumb" Jim put his forehead against Tango's, their noses just a few inches from touching. 

"Hey! You love that, don'tchu?"

"...I guess I do..."

Tango pulled him into a slow movement, circling around the empty battlefield. Even the flames seemed to lessen and go out, whenever they got too close - as if they did not want to interrupt them. The roaring of fire quieted, or they just stopped picking up on it. They just looked at each other, heard each other's breathing, felt each other's heartbeat.

"I'm sorry..." Jimmy whispered, letting the blazeborn lead their dance.

"For what?"

"For... Everything" he huffed, coughing up a bit of blood. The warm feeling in his chest soothed his wounded pharynx, but only ever so slightly. "I never should've agreed to the Watchers' terms... They tricked me, didn't they?"

Foolish Phoenix.

Jimmy felt his own claws tighten on Tango's skin, without his will. The blazeborn winced, but did not back away from their embrace.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Hey, hey, it's all good... I know you didn't mean it. I can take it" Tango reassured him with a pained, but confident smile. "I've been through worse..."

"Have you?"

"Do you have any idea how many times I got explodificated? I'm sure my allies had a blast scraping my guts off walls" he said. The man's face lit up with a silly, mischievous smirk. Jimmy couldn't stop himself from chuckling, his grip slowly relaxing. "Besides, you're already doing so much better than you did for the last few days... I'm sorry I didn't step in, and didn't stop you."

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault... You had no reason to care..."

"Yes I do! You're my soulmate, my rancher!"

"I am...?" he asked quietly. The moment Tango's hand reached for his cheek, he put it against his warm palm. Another quiet chirp escaped his dry, bloodied lips.

"Yeah! Even if you want to hang out with other people... I'll always look out for you, y'know? We don't have to be exclusive, but... We can still care."

"Yeah... We can" Jimmy whispered. Their joined steps sped up ever so slightly. He rested his chin on top of Tango's head. "I kinda had a... Thing, with Scar. So you don't mind...?"

"Naaah, why? He was good to you, right?"

"...yeah. Very good..."

"Awesome! So I don't have to murder his guts the next time I see him!" 

"No, you don't" the man chuckled, his nose squishing against Tango's hair. "But when will we see each other again...? You'll go back on Hermitcraft, and I... I..."

A pit opened in his stomach upon realization. Where would he go? If he doesn't kill Tango, the Watchers will never let it go. He would never be safe again. And if he does, after all that he did for him, trying to get him to calm down and relax for even a moment... He wouldn't let it go himself. 

Just because we let you out of your cage, doesn't mean you're free. You gave us your freedom willingly.

Yet again, the phoenix's grip tensed, digging into Tango's skin once again. He forcefully pulled his hand back, to avoid hurting his soulmate further. His whole arm was shaking in a struggle against his own instincts, enhanced by the Watchers. Seeing that, the blazeborn gently grabbed his hand and pulled it closer, then left a soft kiss on the inside of Jimmy's palm. It immediately made the taller man squeal with badly hidden excitement.

"Tango!" he chirped. His hand relaxed ever so slightly, no longer tingling for bloodlust. In reply, Tango just giggled playfully and shielded the injury on his side with his hand.

"What? I'm helping!"

"I... I guess you are..."

Their shared dance got a bit faster, despite both of them being injured and tired. Jimmy moved his hand from Tango's side to his shoulder. Reassured by his soulmate's confidence in him, in them both, made him relax just a little.

There was no fire roaring around them. No cracks on the sky, making it look like the world was falling apart. No Watchers, watching their every step, every move, every step. No dust of the fallen players circling in the air around them. For that moment, they only saw each other - and that was just enough.

"How was living with Etho and Bdubs...?" Jimmy asked in return. "Were they treating you well?"

"So, uh... Etho kinda ditched us after a while. I swear, this guy changes his alliances twice a day, or more" Tango admitted with a stupid grin. "And Bdubs... Well, I killed him. By accident."

"I've seen!- Wait, by accident? I..." he chuckled nervously, quite embarrassed about the realization "I thought it was you showing that you wanna join my flock... But, uh, to be honest, at that point my flock was dead..."

"Oh yeah, what happened?"

"Scar got murdered by his snail... That he asked me to take out, and I didn't" he admitted. A blush creeped up his cheeks. "And Lizzie died in an explosion that Grian caused in the bunker... And so did I. But I came back. I don't know how."

"You're a phoenix, right? Aren't they immortal? Or like, not immortal, but can be reborn?"

Jimmy's eyes widened a bit. That would explain quite a lot.

"Maybe...? I dunno... Would the Watchers go so far with changing me...?" he whispered. "I... I don't even know if I like what they've done to me..." he put his forehead against Tango's yet again. The blazeborn pulled him a bit closer, into his embrace. They almost stopped picking up on the scent of the blood, coming from both of them. "I mean, I like the big wings, I like being strong, but... But they did it to me. They turned me into a monster..."

"They tried turning you into a monster. You did some bad things, sure, but you didn't mean it, right?"

He was answered with silence.

"Well, it's not like you're gonna do it again, right?"

"No... No, I don't ever wanna do this again" he whispered, until his body tensed again.

You really think this is your choice?

Tango barely stopped his talons from hitting him right in the face. He caught Jimmy's wrist, making a startled and frankly quite funny sound. The phoenix opened his mouth to apologize again, but ended up starting to laugh.

"S-sorry..."

"Hey, it's good! I have awesome reflexes" the shorter man chuckled. "So, you're not gonna do it again, right? And I'm sure the other players will forgive you. We all go a little crazy during these games, huh?"

"But to this level...?"

"Yeah! You've seen me get angry before, right? Scar told me how Grian was at the end of 3rd Life, and Impulse still holds a grudge against Martyn for Limited Life... We all do stupid stuff all the time! But we work on it and get better, right?"

"Well..." Jimmy briefly chuckled. His body acted on his own again - he almost kicked Tango, but the blazeborn gracefully avoided the hit, a big smile on his face. "You've been better with your temper, that's for sure..."

"See? And we'll work on you, too! If you-" he stopped for a moment, avoiding another swing of Jimmy's claws with a squeaky meep. "If you want to, of course!"

"O-of course I do! I-" the phoenix gasped as his talons connected the hit this time, griping on Tango's jaw. He loosened his grip as soon as he could. "I'm so sorry!"

Your time is running out. Finish. Your. Deed.

"It's good, it's good!" Tango chuckled, although blood started streaking down his neck. He pulled Jimmy even closer. He needed him at that moment, no matter what. 

"I swear, these stupid Watchers are nagging me to kill you..." he bitterly chuckled, his eyes starting to tear up from the anguish and embarrassment. Tango also started laughing.

"I ain't goin' anywhere as long as you're here, too!"

The two players pulled each other closer, connecting in this strange dance-fight hybrid. Tango had to stay vigilant to not let Jimmy slay him - but his friend was clearly trying to control himself and quell the voices in his head. Both of them were trembling from exhaustion, loss of blood or both. But even with that, they didn't even think about stopping their familiar trance. Their steps were getting faster and faster. Jimmy picked up his smaller friend and twirled around with him in his arms, his wings shielding them both. He barely resisted the overwhelming urge to plunge his claws right into his eye. The blazeborn's laughter was a bit raspy from how drained he was - but it was still sweeter and more alluring than any music. His long, thin tail musked Jimmy's hot, almost burning wings. It then wrapped around one of his tail-like feathers - the rectrices, despite Jim not having too much control over them, wrapped around Tango's tail ever so slightly. Their fingers intertwined, their stares directed right at each other, blood from their wounds pooling around them. They may have been surrounded by a burning carnage, but at least for these few minutes, it was their own little heaven, where everything was normal, at least for a moment.

At some point, Jimmy almost dropped into Tango's arms. The shorter man held him, despite barely keeping himself up.

"My chest... It feels too hot" Jimmy chuckled nervously.

"Awww... I love you too, man" the blazeborn said in a half-teasing, half-affectionate tone. 

"No, no, I... I really mean it..."

The phoenix looked down at himself. Not only did his clothes start to scorch from the intense heat - there was actual fire coming from his chest. He gasped, smoke coming out of his mouth. He came close to panicking, but Tango calmed him down by cupping his cheek with one of his shaking hands.

"Hey, hey, Jim... It's all good..." he whispered. "I'm here... You're gonna be okay, rancher..."

Both of them dropped on the ground, too tired and too exhausted to continue their little dance. Instead, they both interlocked in a tight embrace, with the flames consuming Jimmy's body faster and faster. But he remained calm. As long as Tango was next, and he believed in him, that was all he needed.

"Tango?" Jimmy asked, noticing that his friend was becoming less and less conscious from his blood loss and injuries. He shook him gently, the flames consuming his arms up to his elbows. "Tango...?"

"Yeah...?" Tango looked up at him, his vision getting blurry. Everything mixed in his eyes - the fire that was overtaking Jimmy, as well as the one burning in the background. But he could still see his sweet face, his bright eyes, his loving, tired smile. Even if he still had these stupid Watchers in the back of his head, at that moment, he was genuine.

"Thank you."

Before Tango could reply, he dropped on the ground with a blank, slowly dying stare. Jimmy wanted to pick him up and hug him one last time, but his burning body was too weak to lift him. The man dropped his head, letting the flames claim him and slowly burn him into nothing but dust. In just a few moments, he crumbled into cinder and covered the dead blazeborn. 

The ash stuck to him like a kiss. Their heartbeats silenced, seemingly at the same moment. Their blood on the scorched grass, mixing into one.

The server hitched when recording the winner.

<server> S̴͚̥̈͝o̵͇͂̍̔͝T̶̗̎̀͝͝a̴̲̾̓̅̚n̵̹͙͛̋̆̊l̷̡̩̺̪̐͑͑̂̏i̵̟̪͖͖̭̿d̵̛̥̓̏ğ̵̰̂͊̈͂d̵̛̹̩̤̩͛̐̆ä̴̛͎̩̠̭̒̚͝r̵͍̺̈́͂̐̒̚i̵̞͂͊̚ò̵̤͖̊t̶̩̻̗̔͌̋̓ͅy̸̛͍̘̻̒̃̀͊ burned to death.

Notes:

So uhhh don't judge me, I had this idea for a long time and it sounded good in my head... I hope I translated it well into words ^^"

Chapter 18: One becomes two, becomes none

Summary:

The Watchers intend to face the winner to ask for their wish. They're instead faced with two.

 <server> CRITICAL_SERVER_ERROR ALERT

 <server> CRITICAL_SERVER_ERROR ALERT

 <server> CRITICAL_SERVER_ERROR ALERT

 <server> UNAUTHORIZED CHANGE IN THE CODE DETECTED

 <server> DATA OVERFLOW IN <life_winners> DATABASE

 <server> ADMIN AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED

 <server> COMMENCING SERVER_SHUTDOWN IN 3 SECONDS

 <server> COMMENCING SERVER_SHUTDOWN IN 2 SECONDS

 <server> COMMENCING SERVER_SHUTDOWN IN 1 SECOND

 <server> SERVER_SHUTDOWN COMPLETE

The Midway was shaken by a strong thunderstrike crossing the empty nothingness. It was brighter and more powerful than anything the empty pocket dimension had ever witnessed. At the same moment, two souls were thrown into the abyss - alone, yet tangled with each other in a tight embrace. Unable to separate. Both their breathing stabilized after a few seconds, as their lungs slowly adapted to the void energy replacing oxygen in their organisms. The bigger human tightly squeezed his companion, using his trembling wings to shield him from any further harm. He was not sure where he was and what happened, he only remembered one thing - he would never, ever, ever let anyone hurt his friend again.

"Tango..." he whispered, hiding his nose in the blazeborn's hair. It smelled of gunpowder, fire and hope. "It's over...?"

Tango opened his eyes groggily, as if waking up after a long, deep nap. It took him a moment to take in their surroundings - or rather its absence. The nothingness of The Midway immediately made him remember of his final death during Double Life, and how he and Jimmy conversed about what happened around and between them. Despite the crippling fear of being completely alone in the endless abyss, that one memory made him feel ever so slightly better. 

"I think so... How are you feeling?"

"Awful..." Jimmy let out a quiet, bitter chuckle. "Everything hurts as heck..."

"Same here" Tango wrapped his arms around his soulmate's chest, attempting to warm them both. He then perked up his head, looking straight up at Jimmy's face.

It changed again, after experiencing another death. Previously hardened by their experiences of the game, now it was a little softer and calmer. The tiny feathers under his shadowed eyes got a bit more orange. His hair was messy and dirty from the ash and dust they just danced in. The man reached out and stroked his cold, sunken cheek.

"You look different... Again" he admitted with a sheepish smile. A soft blush appeared across the man's face, his brown eyes shining in both embarrassment and intrigue.

"Better...?"

"Different. I need some time to judge" Tango answered with a big, teasing grin. Jimmy snorted and started giggling, his grip around Tango tightening.

"Okay, okay, Mr Judgement Tek... I guess we have a lot of time for that, don't we?" he added in a more hollow, hopeless tone. He looked down at their hands, as if expecting there to be something connecting them. "We're not gonna just stay here forever, right...?"

"Dunno... Maybe? I don't know..."

"It's my fault, isn't it...?" Jimmy whispered, hiding his face in Tango's warm hair again. The scent provided him with a bit of comfort, but the returning shame stuck to him like tar. 

"No, it's not... It's these stupid Watchers guys! Maybe you killed me, but they threw us here, right?"

"Me? I didn't kill you... I died before you did!"

"You did? I was sure I saw you alive before I died!"

In an instant, the deafening rustle of feathers roared around them. Jimmy hid Tango in his arms, shielding him from the suddenly appearing Watchers. Their expressions were, as always, emotionless - but this time, the aura they emitted was different. Their usual calmness was gone, replaced with fury and just a little bit of crippling doubt. He's never seen Watchers doubtful before. For some reason, it felt good to experience like them. The six of the winged creatures surrounded them, their wings shielding them from the rest of The Midway.

"This was not meant to happen" one of the Watchers spoke up. They usually spoke in unison, all at once, like a hivemind - but something had shaken them so much that they diverged from their usual way of dealing with the players. "This was never meant to happen!"

"Isn't that our whole purpose?" the second Watcher spoke up in a more calm, reserved tone. They managed to somewhat keep their anger and confusion under wraps - but they were also not pleased with the outcome of the game. "To observe and gather rare and impossible events..."

"What are they talking about...?" Tango whispered in a muffled voice, still keeping his face close to Jimmy's chest. The smell of coal, burning wood and licorice made him feel a bit more at ease.

"But not something like that! They have overridden the code, somehow!" the first of the Watchers answered. Their big, dark wings, resembling those of a corvus, shook in emotions that their still face could not display. "There was not meant to be more than one winner!"

"What about Double life?" the third Watcher spoke up. Their voice was a little softer, as if the person was younger - despite most, if not all of the Watchers being ageless. "There were two winners there!"

"That was different, that was accounted for! Besides, The Lover revoked his win! What a fool..."

"Thanks" a forth Watcher spoke up, in a voice that Jimmy finally recognized. He turned around, looking up at one of the creatures. Despite their face being shielded with lesser wings, he immediately recognized the blue, wavy hair - and their smaller, more puffy wings immediately clicked with the personality of the man he knew. "That made things less complicated. At least we didn't have to bow to two wishes of two winners."

"Scott...?" Jimmy soundlessly asked, not expecting an answer.

"If we did not let him revoke it, maybe we would know what to do now?" the first Watcher, which will be given the name Corvus for simplicity's sake, fired right back. "But hey, maybe that's just me throwing out ideas that next time, we don't listen to the players!"

"Calm down, brother. We have the time to resolve the situation" the second Watcher stopped him from getting deeper and deeper in his anger. His big, rectangular-shaped wings somewhat resembled that of an Eostrix owl. Not to mention, the cold, calm demeanor also brought to mind the image of a stereotypically perceived owl. "This might turn out to be a good thing. We can ask them both for input, and change whatever will make the next game more... Fruitful."

"That wouldn't be fair though, would it?" the third Watcher pointed out. By far the smallest, her wings not only adorned with purple, but also faint cornflower blue marks. If she was an actual bird, she would probably resemble a Kestrel. "If they both won, we should grant their wishes, right?"

"Did they indeed both win?" Eostrix questioned. "I assume that the Admin would know, since they have access to the logs..."

"Don't call them that. We should strip them off this privilege" Corvus groaned with frustration. "I would even suggest throwing them down from the sanctum, for their insubordination..."

"Try me" another Watcher, who remained silent for most of the conversation, finally spoke up. Jimmy and Tango both looked back at him, seeing the colorful, though purple-tinted wings and the mischievous, playful grin under the lesser wings. "You guys may not like me, fine, but I'm only trying to help."

"We'd be so much better without your pathetic excuse of help..."

"What do the server logs say, Xelqua?" Eostrix asked, quelling the dispute at once. 

Xelqua pulled up their hands, enveloping the Watchers and the dead players in tight strings of code. Tango's eyes lit up immediately as he saw it, immediately curious to read it all. He dipped in the code, he helped Xisuma with it many times before... But he's never seen it before in such raw form. And it looked amazing. If they really were to spend an eternity in The Midway, he would be more than happy to use the rest of his existence to analyze every string, every command, every letter.

"The logs point to the same moment in time. They died at the exact same moment" Xelqua answered right away. The line of code that he was referring to lit up, changing its color from Watcher purple to white. 

<server> [L/6/8/17:17:19.567] S̴͚̥̈͝o̵͇͂̍̔͝T̶̗̎̀͝͝a̴̲̾̓̅̚n̵̹͙͛̋̆̊l̷̡̩̺̪̐͑͑̂̏i̵̟̪͖͖̭̿d̵̛̥̓̏ğ̵̰̂͊̈͂d̵̛̹̩̤̩͛̐̆ä̴̛͎̩̠̭̒̚͝r̵͍̺̈́͂̐̒̚i̵̞͂͊̚ò̵̤͖̊t̶̩̻̗̔͌̋̓ͅy̸̛͍̘̻̒̃̀͊ burned to death.

"Can you untangle the code?" the owl-like Watcher asked. "Maybe this will help with our dilemma."

"I can try..." Xelqua nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"What if we just say that the Phoenix won?" Kestrel pondered. "He's already on our side, so it wouldn't be much of a stretch... And that'd make for an awesome story! An underdog, one that always died first, suddenly triumphing over everyone with our help!"

"You wish" Jimmy hissed at the Watcher, his whole body tensing in an instant. All of the Watchers, aside from Xelqua who was too busy, looked down at them. 

"Oh, you're finally here!" Kestrel actually sounded quite excited. Immediately, her tone dropped a bit. "Wait, what do you mean? We helped you! Aren't you happy?"

"You turned me into a monster! You made me hurt my friends- You took control over my body!" he started yelling at the Watchers. "How could I ever be happy about that?"

"Awww..." the Watcher playfully tilted their head, a faint smile finally crossing their face. "Look at him! So ungrateful! What if we just leave him here?"

"Not a bad idea, actually... That ought to teach the other Listeners a lesson" Corvus agreed. His shielded stare crossed Jimmy's face, only finding wrath and hate as an answer. "We could even pile him up with the other one, y'know? The Fool?"

"Martyn...? What have you done to him?!" Jimmy immediately started yelling again. Tango hugged him even more tightly.

"Jim...?" he whispered. "What have they done...?"

"He's where he should be. Left to perish, alone, where his dangerous ideology can no longer hurt anyone" the Eostrix spoke up. For most of the time, he seemed rather objective and calm - but this time, there was a hint of ire, maybe even betrayal in his tone. "And for your insubordination, Phoenix, you should join him... Or rather what's left of him."

"Got it, I untangled them!" Xelqua quickly interrupted him, stopping the Watchers from expanding on the idea further. Indeed, he managed to separate the tangled mess of the code into two separate lines.

<server> [L/6/8/17:17:19.567] Solidarity burned to death.

<server> [L/6/8/17:17:19.567] Tango burned to death.

"The Ember won?" Kestrel immediately picked up. "He is the second..."

"It's just the alphabetical order" the last Watcher, who up to this point was only watching, spoke up. Her wings resembled those of a moth, rather than a bird. "We have no way to know who truly won. We have to either consider them both winners, or none of them."

"There has to be a way to solve this..." Corvus groaned with frustration. "The log counts down to milliseconds, right? Can't you go down to nanoseconds?"

"No, I can't. I'd have to rewrite the code to include, but that wouldn't work in hindsight. Besides, that would strain the server too much."

"This can't be happening..." Corvus rubbed his face under the lesser wings. "Okay, fine, what if we claim that the Ember is the winner?"

"The who the what?" Tango scrunched his nose in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure they mean you" Jimmy admitted with a silly smile.

"Oh!" the man chuckled. "But I didn't win, right? You did!"

"No, I didn't!" Jimmy chuckled and squeezed Tango ever so slightly tighter. "There's no way I did... I'm the guy who always dies first, remember?"

"And I'm the guy who dies in stupid ways! Maybe that's why we work so well together?" the blazeborn teased, cupping Jimmy's cheek gently. The phoenix smiled and leaned down to him.

"I guess we're both losers, right?" he smirked, his lips brushing against his friend's palm. "That's fine, I don't care about winning, as long as I get to be with you and the others..."

"Stop it, you two! Bleh..." Corvus groaned. His face was obscured, but he probably rolled his eyes. "We need to settle this, the sooner, the better."

"Then what do you suggest?" Eostrix turned to their brother.

"We can... We can vote! Nobody will know, right?" the Watcher, feeling more and more on edge, proposed right away. "Since the Phoenix was our implement... Who wants to vote for him to win the game?"

Eostrix, Kestrel and Corvus raised their hands. Xelqua, Scott and the last Watcher - who Jimmy assumed was Pearl, the last Watcher he knew - remained silent.

"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be" Corvus pointed out, his tone getting more and more frustrated.

"There's no way of telling who won, and if we choose, we'll influence an event that we ought not influence" Pearl immediately responded. "The only way to solve it is for one of them to revoke the win, just like Sco- I mean, the Lover did."

"As long as dealing with the winner won't be like dealing with the Crescent..." Corvus shuddered. 

"Wow, thanks."

"So, do any of you revoke your rights as a winner? Ember? Canary?"

Jimmy opened his mouth, until a realization suddenly struck me.

"What did you just call me?" he silently hissed. "You never truly saw me as a Phoenix, did you? You were only nice to me so you could use me."

"I will call you a Phoenix if that makes you feel better" Tango chuckled, the plumes on his head tickling Jimmy's nose. The sudden sensation caused the taller man to sneeze, then burst out into laughter. "Oops! Bless you!"

"Oh, you..." he whispered and squeezed Tango even tighter. The blazeborn rubbed his cheek against Jimmy's chin. "Watch out where you tickle me, ey?"

"Awww... Can't we just keep them?" Kestrel asked, quite amused by their bond.

Xelqua continued looking through the code, looking for anything more that got messed up during the sudden shutdown of the server. He needed to buy them more time... He was still waiting for a signal from Xisuma. He already messaged the admin that they were ready to switch, but they needed confirmation that they'd be safe.

"Well, we can't proceed with the next game without all of the players... But we also can't proceed without a clear winner and their wish..." Eostrix explained, quietly pondering their conundrum.

"Ugh, this is taking too long! Here, let's just settle it like this!"

All of a sudden, Corvus pounced at the two players, who were still tangled in a hug and giggling to each other. Jimmy's heightened instincts immediately fired. He slashed with his talons, aiming at his opponent's face. A few purple feathers were plucked out of the creature's lesser wings, exposing one eye ever so slightly. But it wasn't all of the damage that he received. Corvus growled like an angry animal, a bit of glistening golden blood pouring down his chin. Jimmy huffed in shock, realizing what he had just done. He hurt a deity... One that was supposed to be untouchable. Immediately, a flame of bravery and boldness lit up in his chest.

"That's it! Don't you dare touch me, Tango or any of my friends!" he let out an animalistic screech. "I'll destroy all of you, if I have to!"

"Foolish Listener..." Corvus growled, wiping the blood under his lesser wings. 

"Call me what you want, but I know what you are! If you wanna keep me here forever - fine, whatever! But I will kill you, one way or another." 

The phoenix's wings went ablaze, to protect his friend further. The Watcher reached out his hand, but got smacked by Jimmy again. In an instant after that, the blond man let out a painful groan as the usually harmless - to him - flames started burning through his feathers. His mind immediately went into a frenzy. Why? What happened? Why wasn't he fireproof anymore? 

"Jim! Calm down, you've got this..." Tango immediately put his hands on Jimmy's cheeks, trying to get him to put the fire down. The man winced in pain, unable to stop the flames.

"That's what you get for playing with fire, Canary" the Eostrix said in a serious, emotionless tone. He must've been the one to somehow make Jimmy vulnerable to fire again. "You burn, and this time, death won't save you."

Xelqua silently gasped, then pulled on Scott and Pearl's arms, showing them a new message that popped up between the lines of code.

 <Xisuma>The gate is opened, everyone is whitelisted

 <Xisuma> Hop on

"Finally..." Xelqua sighed with relief. Suddenly, he grabbed Jimmy by the shoulder and pulled him back away from Corvus. "Well, 'twas nice talking to you guys, but we gotta go!"

"Wait, what?" Kestrel asked, quite curious. "Where?"

"We're not finished, Xelqua" Eostrix pointed out in a stern tone.

"Who cares? I don't! Seeya, guys!"

The parrot pulled his friends back and hid them in his wings. Him, Pearl and Scott closed their eyes, the code making them up suddenly pulled into another server.

"Hold your breath" Grian whispered to his friends, who he kept shielding. Jimmy and Tango tightly hugged each other, bracing for whatever was coming their way. 

---

A moment later, five new server logs were recorded on Hermitcraft.

 <server> Grian joined the game.

 <server> Pearlescentmoon joined the game.

 <server> Tango joined the game.

The server stuttered for a moment, and then let two new players in.

 <server> Smajor1995 joined the game.

 <server> Solidarity joined the game.

Notes:

The real challenge - writing things that sound like code but while having no coding knowledge or experience xddd

I hope you liked this one! A lot of lore, and I love lore! If anything is unclear or confusing, feel free to ask, I can clear any doubts you may have!

Chapter 19: Whitelisted

Summary:

TW: mentions of wounds

The players are finally safe on the Hermitcraft server. The danger is finally gone, isn't it?

Notes:

I'll be honest, this chapter was more difficult to write than I expected it to be xd

Also, shouout to @goldenwitherphoenix13 on Tumblr! They made an awesome fanart of phoenix!Jimmy! If you ever make something relating to this or any other of my fanfics, don't hesitate to tag me!

The first few hours on the new server were a single big blur for Jimmy. He felt as if he was landing on something soft and slightly wet, making him think of grass. His eyes were attacked by the strong rays of sunshine, so he shut them close and covered them. It wasn't the same sun as on the previous server - these were warm, welcoming, like a soft hug that reminded him that he was finally safe and free. He felt someone's hands on him, then him being lifted and moved somewhere. He didn't have the energy to fight back - he could blindly trust that he had been captured by no enemy of his. Someone kept talking to him - maybe even a few people? - but his exhausted brain was too tired to register anything. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness, his big, burned wings too heavy to keep together. For a few brief moments, he wished he could just get rid of them and have a proper, comfy nap. Once he felt someone's small, warm hand stroking his cheek, he finally managed to fall into deep, peaceful slumber, not disturbed by any deities who wanted to use him for their own benefit. 

"Will he be okay?" Tango asked. He spent the whole afternoon sitting with Jimmy, stroking his face and hands and providing him with any comfort he needed. He was aware that his friend probably didn't even know where he was, let alone that the blazeborn was with him.

"He should be... He's just exhausted" Xisuma watched them both vigilantly, resting against the wall of Tango's room. He had his arms crossed on his chest, checking something on his control panel every few moments. "His body needs to adapt to how this server is, and then he will wake up... But I don't know about the other stuff that happened to him."

Tango nodded and squished Jimmy's hand again. Most of his injuries healed as he turned into ashes back during Wild Life. Only now, his friend could finally take in the full scope of how his new rebirth changed him. The darkened, tougher skin on his hands no longer reached up to his elbows - now it faded just past his wrists, and even on his hands it was much closer to how it used to be. Similarly, the marks on his face mostly faded. His talons got smaller, some of them still marked with a Watcher's blood. He kept his increased height, his whole transformation ended up making him taller by about half a foot. However, his increased muscle mass withered by quite a substantial amount, turning him back to a more skinny figure he used to have before he accepted the lethal deal. The worst damage however was done to his wings - after his fire resistance mysteriously turned off, most of his feathers burned, leaving him with expansive burn wounds on his back. It would probably take months for his wings to go back to their original state - and even then, it wasn't clear if Jimmy would ever take off again. The blazeborn sighed and leaned a bit closer to his friend.

"How about the others...?"

"They'll be staying here, for now. Scott said he'll be staying with Pearl, and the other two... Lizzie, and BigB, right? They're gonna stay with Joel and Grian, I think..."

"Good... How about Martyn?"

"I'm waiting for a good moment to open a gate and snatch him from The Midway... We don't know what state he's in, so we can't risk waiting for him to slip by himself. Ren is getting impatient, but-" Xisuma looked at his control panel yet again. It displayed many densely-packed lines of code. Usually Tango would get excited to take a look, but this time, he was too occupied with someone else. "I think we might have an opening soon... I have to go. Let me know if he wakes up and needs anything, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah" Tango nodded right away, but didn't even turn to face Xisuma. "Thanks, X..."

"No worries. We never leave Hermits behind, right?"

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right."

The admin moved towards the door, trying to leave as quietly as he could. He quietly gasped as he almost bumped into Grian, standing right outside of the room. Immediately, his expression changed from melancholic to quite confused.

"Grian? What are you doing here?"

"I- uh... Hi, X..." the parrot chuckled nervously. "Is Jim up yet...?"

"No, he's not. What's going on?"

"I need to- Uhhh... I need to apologize to him." Grian admitted with an embarrassed smile. "I kinda started this whole mess..."

"I think it's better if you wait. He needs to recover. Besides, he might not want to-" Xisuma looked down at his control panel again and sighed. "I gotta go. Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't... I promise."

The moment the admin left, Grian reached out towards the doorknob. He really wanted to get in, to see Jimmy again, to talk to him and apologize for everything... But X was right. For the first time, he actually wanted to honor Jimmy's feelings. He was ready to wait for forgiveness, even if it was never going to come. He sat under the door, patiently waiting for any kind of sign to get in.

On the opposite side of the door, Tango finally felt a twitch in Jimmy's hand, resulting in him slightly squishing the blazeborn's fingers. The man gasped and reciprocated the squish.

"Jimmy? How are you feelin', rancher...?"

"Tango...?" the phoenix whispered, turning from his side to his stomach in search of a comfortable position. He didn't open his eyes yet.

"Yes, it's me... You don't have to wake up just yet, but..." the man could barely stop his eyes from tearing up. "I'm so glad to see you, dude..."

A small smile crossed Jimmy's face.

"I feel... Awful, to be honest..."

"I can imagine... Your wings are burned- But, but don't worry! You're safe here, and we'll take care of you!"

"'We'...? You mean...?"

"Me, and the Hermits!"

Jimmy slowly opened one of his eyes and looked up at Tango. His pupils contracted at the sunlight that got in through the window. He groaned and covered his face, taking a moment to feel over his skin for any new changes. If his eyes weren't so sensitive, he would probably ask for a mirror.

"Do I look different again...?"

"You look perfect" Tango reassured him with a bright smile. "Do you need anything?"

"Well, uh..." he let out a small cough. His throat was slowly healing, making it easier for him to speak. Instead, he could feel a migraine that was getting worse and worse with each passing minute. Not to mention the annoying tingling in his whole body. "Maybe some water, please...?"

"I'll be right with it, birdie" the blazeborn left a little kiss on his hot forehead, then got up from his spot and approached the door.

The blazeborn let out a muffled squeal when he almost tripped over Grian, who was still sitting under the door. His brows furrowed, his tail flickering angrily.

"What are you doing?" he asked in an accusatory tone.

"Oh, hi, Tango!" Grian chuckled, looking up at the man. Jimmy shifted on the bed a little, hearing a familiar voice. "Is Jimmy up? Can I talk to him?"

"No, you can't" he growled "Leave him alone, you-"

"Grian...?" Jim asked quietly. He attempted to turn to the other side to face the door, but he hissed from pain as he accidentally landed on his burned back. Tango, and Grian right after him, approached him and helped him to turn back into a comfortable position. "You... What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Jim... I wanted to... Apologize" the Watcher nervously chuckled "I kinda... Sorta... Really messed up. And it's fine if you don't forgive me, you don't have to, I'll understand it..."

Jimmy finally opened his eyes, fighting the urge to shut them close again. Even looking up at his friends was straining and painful. Tango's gaze kept nervously shifting between the other two, not sure whether he should intervene or leave them alone. For a moment, he made eye contact with the phoenix. He was still exhausted, but clearly present enough to decide for himself. 

"Tango... Can you leave us for a moment?"

"Yes, yes, sure... I'll go grab you water" the blazeborn suggested. He gave Grian one last warning look, his short claws tensing ever so slightly, then left the room. The Watcher sighed with relief and sat down right next to Jim.

"How are you...?"

"Everything hurts" Jimmy chuckled bitterly. "Who actually won...?"

"I... I don't know. I wasn't lying" Grian admitted, scratching the side of his neck. "But this is good... It messed with the Watcher's programming. I won't be able to start the new game before they figure it out, but... It's fine. I'm done with them."

"You are?"

"Well, I did have a few more ideas, but... Okay, they probably won't let me be in charge anymore" the man chuckled. "But hey, at least you can stay here for however long you need, right?"

Jimmy nodded, then tilted his head back and closed his eyes. It hurt to just think, let alone reply to Grian... He was still confused by what happened. Just a while ago, he was stranded in the abyss with Tango... And all of a sudden, he found himself on Hermitcraft, the server that he heard about so much. It's not like he didn't have a home server, but it was probably the safest bet to transfer all of the players into one place, at least for the time being... And if the Watchers came for them, they could defend each other. Somehow. The man opened his mouth, silently weighing his words. Grian asked him for forgiveness... But he didn't feel just right with it. Not yet. He could tell that his friend was truly sorry. And it didn't feel right to not forgive him right away, for whatever reason... Yet, he needed to set his boundaries. Whatever happened in the past few weeks, he needed to learn a lesson from anything he could. Even if not of them were good lessons, they still made him realize a few things. Starting with: he could never let people walk over him again, no matter if they were his friends, enemies or literal gods. 

"I don't forgive you" he whispered. "Not yet. I need some time to... To process this. I don't hate you, I just... I'm tired" he ended with a seemingly unrelated sentence. Still, Grian clearly understood what he meant, and nodded his head.

"I get it... If I can make it up to you, lemme know. I'm really sorry..."

"I know."

Tango came back into the room a few moments later. He helped Jimmy sit up and handed him a bottle of water. The phoenix quietly groaned upon the smallest movement. His body, overexerted and stretched from the rapid transformation, did not react very well to him trying to move. His joints burned from pain, after Jimmy's sudden growth spurt put them through a ton of strain with no time to adjust to his taller, heavier frame. The man took a few small sips of water and put his head against Tango's chest.

"That was awful..." he chuckled in a sour tone "My legs feel like they're gonna fall off... What if I won't be able to walk again? "

"We'll figure it out, I promise!" Tango squished his hand again. "We'll get you to walk again! And if not... I'll make you the coolest mobility aids in the world, I swear!"

Jimmy faintly smiled at the idea. The prospect of him ending up disabled after what the Watchers had done to him was not pleasing... But the idea of Tango and the other Hermits having his back was reassuring. He tightly hugged his partner and closed his eyes.

"So you won't mind if I stay here for a while...?"

"No, no, never!" Tango hugged him back. Hiding his nose in Jimmy's hair, he took a sniff of his messy hair, slightly damp from the sweat. "Stay for as long as you need! We'll never kick you out!"

The two tangled in a warm embrace, basking in each other's presence. Even when they heard a sudden knock on the window, neither of them moved. Grian had to be the one to get up from his spot and look out. He took a step back as he noticed a small pebble hitting the window, and then he opened it.

Lizzie and Scar were standing right under the window; the man was tossing a tiny rock up and down his hand, ready to throw it. He stopped at the last moment as he noticed Grian. Lizzie was still wearing the outfit she had on as a red life, complete with the burn marks from her death. Scar took the time to change into his usual outfit - a tight-fitting shirt, long brown pants, and a matching hat, together with a cane made of bamboo.

"We wanna talk to our Bamboozler!" Scar called out. "Get outta here, G!"

Jimmy's head perked up.

"My flock?" he asked quietly. Tango quietly giggled.

"It seems so... But you shouldn't get up just yet, y'know?"

"Lizzie! Scar" Jimmy straightened up, feeling a sudden surge of energy in his body. "Guys, I missed you so much! Come up here!"

"You sure? We don't want to tire you too much..." Lizzie asked loudly enough for the phoenix to hear her.

"I don't care! I wanna see you guys!"

In just a minute or two, Scar and Lizzie entered Tango's room and then the spare guest bedroom, where Jim was sitting. Without another word, the bamily hugged each other tightly, embracing each other's presence. Tango and Grian moved back a little bit, letting them focus on their reunion. The phoenix pulled them close and covered them with his trembling, burned wings. Even when injured, his instinct to protect his friends kicked in. Grian sighed as he looked at them, then quietly turned to Tango.

"He'll be okay, right?" he asked quietly.

"He will... As long as we don't leave him on his own again" the blazeborn nodded.

"Is everyone here?" Jimmy asked, putting his hands on Lizzie's cheeks. Seeing her on Hermitcraft together with him was quite surreal.

"Yeah! Even BigB and Scott, they asked about you!" she smiled brightly, gently ruffling Jimmy's hair.

"How about Martyn? I- I need to apologize to him, I was such a jerk..."

"Xisuma said something about needing to wait to get him here... I'm sure he'll figure it out" Scar reassured Jimmy, then took his hand and intertwined their fingers together. "But before you apologize, you need to rest, mister. You look like you just fought a war..."

"I might as well have" Jim chuckled and leaned back into their strong hug. "I love you, guys... All of you."

---

Xisuma landed in front of his base, immediately spotting Ren on the stairs. The dog was constantly fidgeting with the headband he kept tied around his wrist, his tail curled up in anticipation. The moment he spotted the admin, he got up from his place and approached him. He was more and more on edge, the longer he had to wait to see his partner again. Even Xisuma couldn't help but notice a few differently colored streaks in his hair. At first he thought the canine started going grey, but they were clearly more blond than white. 

"X, my dude, where were you?!" he tried to keep calm, but voice broke in a half-upset, half-worried tone. Not worried for Xisuma, that's for sure.

"I had to make sure Jimmy is doing alright... But it's fine, we're gonna have an opening in just a few minutes..."

"It's not fine, X! He's out there, all alone- What if he's injured? Or sick? Or dead? Or- Or he forgot about me?" the dog asked nervously. Xisuma put his hand on Ren's shoulder.

"He's gonna be fine, Ren, I swear... No matter the state we find him in. He's not beyond saving, that's for sure."

Ren took a shaky breath, his mind still in frenzy. He couldn't stop thinking about Martyn and where he was, and waiting for Xisuma to take action was driving him crazy. He knew that the admin was not acting out of malice, but out of caution. Still, he couldn't wait to see his closest friend again, no matter how much being stranded in the void changed him. He silently followed the man into his base and into the basement, where he prepared a space for Martyn to stay and recover, away from overbearing stimuli of the world outside of The Midway. 

"You care about him a lot, don't you...?" Xisuma asked quietly.

"More than anyone in the world..."

"You sure about it?"

"What? Of course, I-" Ren went quiet for a moment, as a realization hit him. In the past months, Martyn was all he could think about, no matter if they were apart or together... But despite confiding in his man time and time again, there were some things he had never told him. And now he was faced with the fact that he could be left with no choice but to tell him the truth. "Don't tell him."

"I won't. But you might have to. Just sayin'."

"I'll... I'll figure it out. First, I need to save him."

They both entered a room in the basement of Xisuma's base. It was rather cosy, despite having no windows - furbished with a big, comfy bed, a dresser, a table with two chairs and a comfortable armchair. The walls were painted dark, to not strain the injured man's eyesight too much at first. The table was stacked with boxes full of different medicines and devices that could be crucial in keeping him alive. They had no idea what to expect - timeflow in The Midway was strange, so Martyn's state was very hard to predict. They had to be ready for anything, from recovering a perfectly healthy, if a little tired man, to only retrieving a withered, decomposed body. 

Xisuma approached the far wall and with his glove, marked an invisible circle on it - it was small, maybe three of four feet in diameter. He then started typing a series of commands on his control panel.

"Don't look inside" he instructed Ren "And don't put anything aside from your hands there. The moment you feel him, pull him out and I'll close the gate. If you won't find him now, we'll have to find him again at a later date-"

"No. I will find him. I don't care what it takes, I'm not leaving him alone again."

Xisuma sighed. As foolish as Ren's stubbornness was, it was also quite commendable. Just what they needed.

The moment the admin opened the gate into The Midway, Ren pulled his arms inside and shut his eyes tight. He had to focus his brain on feeling anything around him, since looking into the abyss was clearly too dangerous. For a few moments, he couldn't feel anything - even the air resistance was completely absent. His breathing became faster and more rapid as he realized that he couldn't find his partner.

"Martyn...?" he whispered. "No, no, he has to be there, right...?"

"Ren, get away from the gate, I need to close it-"

"Wait! Wait, please, I need to find him..." the canine begged, tears collecting in his tightly shut eyes "Please..."

The admin bit his tongue and moved a step back. His common sense was yelling at him to close the gate, as Ren could get hurt if he kept his hands inside for too long. If he was thrown into the abyss, his body would adapt after some time. But since it was only there part way and didn't have the time to get used to resisting the strange, warped environment, it could result in permanent damage. Even from afar, X noticed the dark marks that started appearing along the veins on Ren's arms. But if he closed the portal now, he would not only have to deal with the furious dog, but also with waiting for another opportunity... And it could take a while. A long while.

Ren gasped as he finally felt something under his fingers. He expected to feel human skin, hair or at least fabric or clothes - but instead, he felt something slick and smooth, almost glossy in texture. His fingers flinched on their own, but with no better idea, he followed the apparent movement of what felt like scales. As far as he remembered, Martyn had no scales... Did The Midway change him somehow? Or was something in there with him?

"Marty... I'm coming, baby..." he whispered.

The moment the soft, cotton fabric of a hoodie came in contact with Ren's hands, he immediately grabbed it and pulled on it. His mind jolted in shock and relief, as he felt someone falling from the void right into his arms - and he hugged the man tightly, his heart thumping wildly from the excitement.

 <server> Inthelittlewood joined the game.

"You got him?" Xisuma asked right away, closing the gate right after Ren moved away from the wall with Martyn in his arms.

Quickly enough, the optimistic warmth was replaced with the realism of the situation, which hit him like a gust of freezing cold wind.

The man was unconscious, his chest raising and falling very slowly - too slowly. The man's body already started to wither away, as it began consuming its own muscle mass and fat to keep itself sustained - making him appear almost skeletal. All over his pale, sickly skin, he had deep, reddish marks that looked a little bit like rust - what remained of the chains that the Watchers tied him up with. The cold, blue eyes were open, but glassy and not present. The injured half of his face managed to finally heal, the wounded skin around his right eye drying and losing a bit of its color. It surrounded a completely empty eye socket, previously filled with the biggest, more shameful mark of his past connection to the deities - the Watcher eye. All that remained of it was a bit of dark goop on the man's cheek and chin, as if the eyeball decomposed and melted out of his body. The canine could only hope that it meant that the awful visions that plagued his partner would finally stop.

Ren put his big, warm hand on Martyn's frail chest. He could feel the heartbeat - it was slow, as if the Listener was in hibernation... But it was present. He was alive, despite being dumped in the literal void for gods know how long. Immediately, the man's eyes teared up and he hugged his knight as tightly as he could.

"Martyn... I'm so happy to see you, baby..." he whispered. His tail started wagging so fast, it was close to flying away. He sat on the bed, keeping the man as close to him as possible. He then looked up at Xisuma "Is he gonna be fine...?"

The admin looked down at the newly whitelisted Hermit. A faint smile crossed his face - one that Ren couldn't see through the dark visor of his helmet.

"He's a real fighter, isn't he?"

"He is..." Ren agreed, putting Martyn's head against his chest and slowly, rhythmically squeezing his hand. His heart soared at what felt like the man squeezing him back - even if the gesture was so weak it was almost unnoticeable.

"He'll be fine. You're both gonna be fine."

Notes:

I'll try to post the next (last) chapter tomorrow! I can already tell you that the last one will be a bit shorter, most likely.

Also if you're interested, I might announce a few plans I have for future stories ^^

Lemme know if you liked this one, I love reading your comments and interpretations!

Chapter 20: EPILOGUE - The seeds of deceit

Summary:

The game must go on, right?

The middle chamber of the Watchers' sanctum was usually quiet. This time however, the silence was deafeningly dreadful. When a circle of winged, humanoid creatures gathered together, they conversed about any current matters. The soft, cold whispers tended to covered the walls of their sanctuary like frost, detering any eavesdroppers and unwanted guests. This time the aura of the Watchers was enough to keep the whole sanctum on their toes. They never liked claiming to be chatty, but the word about the fabled Life games breaking and releasing their players spread like wildfire. Now, they had to come up with a solution to the difficult matter they found themselves in.

"Gifting our blessing to one of the contestants, losing control over them, causing at least three of our siblings to desert and breaking the code..." one of the Watchers summed up everything that had already been talked over. A nervous whisper spread among the deities. "Any details we missed out on?"

"This contestant we're talking about is one of the Listeners" another one, with owl-like wings spoke up. Despite being seen as one of the guilty, he kept his head up. "Solidarity, codename: the Canary. He's not a danger to us."

"I think your brother will beg to differ" the Watcher gestured to another person, whose lesser wings were still in disarray after being slashed by the 'not a danger' player. The corvus-winged deity scoffed under his breath.

"He's a feisty one, but with time, he can easily break again. Remember how it all started? He begged us on his knees to fix him, and now... Disgraceful."

"Which does not change the matter of fact. The Listeners may be lazy, unfocused and unbothered, but they are still our equals."

"Are they?" Corvus immediately opposed the idea. He then let out a quiet hiss, as a newly formed scar on his face started stinging. Not being used to pain - or any kind of sensory experience, for that matter - made it hard for him to forget about the damage.

"Yes. Speaking of... How is Martyn doing?"

Another nervous murmur circled the chamber. Not every name tossed out during the discussion rang a bell, but two in particular did - Xelqua and Martyn. Codenames: the Admin (although they were already thinking of a new one) and the Fool. The runner of the games, and the fallen one. There was one difference between these two, however - the second one was to never be named again. Until that moment, apparently.

"We trapped him in The Midway. Sooner or later, he's going to-"

"Sorry to break it to you, but I don't think he's in there anymore" the kestrel-winged Watcher interrupted Corvus. The halo around their head was pulsating, indicating that they were lurking somewhere. 

"What? What do you mean, 'not in there?'" Corvus scoffed. "Where is he then? He didn't disintegrate already, did he?"

"No... Wait, let me check the code."

"So we have at least three deserters and two dangerous Listeners on the loose..." the first Watcher summed up. Their voice was calm and freezing cold, but there was a hint of anger and disappointment to it. "I should have known not to approve of these games."

"Let me remind you of all the wonderful data we managed to archive" Eostrix spoke up after a longer break of letting his siblings speak. "Not to mention, project Real Life -"

"Project Real Life was unstable and a mess. Not to mention, that name choice is... Particular" the Watcher cleared their throat. "We are still putting in more energy and resources than we are getting from it. I know Xelqua well, and I know what he wanted to achieve with this. But this is not working."

"Wait, why are we getting scolded for this project if it's his idea?" Corvus rolled his eyes, despite them not being visible under his tattered lesser wings.

"It is not scolding. It is merely a reevaluation. Maybe, indeed, Xelqua should come to answer for what his project achieved, or rather, failed-"

"Got it!" Kestrel suddenly cut into the sentence. A singular line of code materialized around their head, as if another halo. "He just... Left? Somehow..."

"But that's impossible! Someone else had to have aided him; but how, he had no way of letting anyone know where he is!" Corvus groaned and covered his face with his hands, as if it wasn't already hidden under the smaller wings. "This is a disaster..."

"What server is he currently residing on?"

"Hold on..."

"Looking all of this up is gonna take too long. We should call in Xelqua right now. He probably knows what happened." Eostrix suggested, his lesser wings bending ever so slightly upwards - not enough to uncover his eyes, but just enough to signal his conviction to the others. A few other Watchers, who remained as just silent witnesses, repeated the gesture. After just a few moments, the consensus was made.

A loud, whistling sound crossed the air, and was immediately followed by a flurry of feathers appearing in the middle of the circle. A short Watcher, adorned with big, colorful wings rose from the feather storm, his half-covered face failing to hide the surprise and a bit of worry. He turned around to take in his surroundings, then let out a quiet, befuddled hum.

"Huh... Hi, guys" he said right away. "You didn't have to pull me out, y'know, I was doing... Stuff..."

"Hello, Xelqua" the unnamed Watcher straightened up ever so slightly upon noticing the arrival of their brother. A smirk appeared on Grian's face.

"Oh, hey! Guess it's a big matter since they got you involved, dude? What's up?"

"You know exactly what. The games, the breaking of code, the Canary and the Fool... Explain yourself."

Grian nervously chuckled, his wings tucking themselves tightly on his back. As an elder, he usually did not have anything to worry about when he was being called over. This time however, seeing the familiar Watcher filled him with dread... Out of everyone, why him ? 

"C'mon, dude, we go way back... You know that I meant well, right?"

"Explain yourself" the Watcher repeated, his voice somehow even sharper now. Grian let out a quiet, startled chirp and moved back.

"Okay, okay! So, uh... I admit, giving Jimmy our blessing was not the best idea. But! I meant it as a joke! You guys didn't have to follow through on it!"

Another round of whispers crossed the room.

"We trusted your judgement, as the admin. Let us not forget, Xelqua - you and I might understand this concept of a... 'Joke'. But not everyone here is as privileged."

"Yeah, yeah, of course..." the parrot nodded right away, biting himself in the tongue before he got the chance to snark back. "The code broke because Tango and Jimmy died at the same moment! I had no way to predict that!"

Before another worried murmur could be heard in the chamber, the Watcher replied:

"There were ways to prevent that. Changing the code in a way that allowed it to choose a winner. Settling the winner in a different way. What you have done is not gonna be easy to fix."

"You're mad at me because of something that had pretty much no chance of occuring, and I didn't prevent it?!"

"Continue."

"I have Jimmy and Martyn on one server right now. They're alive and- Okay, well is a stretch. But they're alive."

The Watchers looked at each other, their expressions vaguely worried. Not all of them even grasped the concepts of being alive and well - or not well - yet all of them could feel the dread behind the words. And the one who seemed to be the head of them did not seem pleased.

"Will you dispose of them?"

"Will not. I don't rule over the server."

"And who does?"

"You know who. C'mon, out of every server, where could they be? And everyone else?"

The head Watcher hummed softly, pondering the not exactly favorable answer.

"I see. The Void has claimed them, hasn't he?"

This time, it wasn't just a murmur that crossed the space. Watchers started asking between each other, quite startled by the realization. The name that their supposed leader used, that sounded almost like an ancient spell, not called in an eternity - it immediately caused concern among every present deity. Not all of them even knew the name, yet their wings started trembling in fear upon hearing it. Eostrix, Corvus and Kestrel looked upon each other, their faces becoming ever so slightly paler. Grian quietly smirked when he noticed the scared reactions of pretty much everyone around. It was a good thing they knew the name, and not the actual man.

"Yeah, he did. And you know I can't go against someone like him. Like them . So as long as they're on Hermitcraft, you can't really reach them. Or Scott, or Pearl, or-"

"That is fine. That means the games must go on, no matter the cost."

"Excuse me?" Corvus' wings furrowed immediately "We were just talking about shutting the whole operation down! About punishing the deserters, and the Admin above everyone! And now you're sayin' we need to continue ?"

"Indeed. Our problems are many, but we have an eternity to solve them. And if that means an eternity of using these vessels to provide us with enough data, then so be it."

The bold Watcher groaned quietly, especially upon noticing that Grian stuck out his tongue to him in a mocking sign. What a humiliation...

"Xelqua. You are to fix the code and continue the games. But this time, your reach will not be as free and unrestricted."

"Oh really?" Grian chuckled nervously. "Awesome, yeah..."

"Fear not. For our wisdom will guide the next game, until we get every possible event, every possible occurrence squeezed out of this project. You created something truly special. And with this, ours will be done ."

"I... I guess it will be."

"Wait, wait, hold on!" Corvus interrupted them again "And he's getting no punishment for all this?"

"He will... In his own time."

Grian opened his mouth to protest, but in an instant, a breezeful of feathers escaped his throat and surrounded him in a wild flurry. After just a second, the Watcher disappeared, not a trace left of his appearance. Then, the head Watcher continued.

"Perhaps trusting him with the title of an elder was foolish. This mistake will not be made again."

"So what now?" Eostrix asked. "Xelqua, Pearl and Scott are not to be trusted. Jimmy and-" he stopped himself for a moment, carefully weighing his words. "And the traitor will have to be dealt with. Do we have any influence left on these players?"

"Indeed, we do. There is one more that still has faith in us. And through him, we will be able to mend the game and clean our stained record. Let us not forget, siblings. Our will be done. "

---

"Aaaand there!" a shovel dropped on the ground, the moment another tall, golden sunflower was dug into the ground. It was but one of hundreds, if not thousands, growing on the northern-west side of Magic Mountain. All of them began turning their shining heads towards the sun, slowly travelling over the horizon. Each of them painstakingly planted into the ground, each of them carefully watered and weeded out each day. Most humans would have never had enough time in their lives to tend to these beautiful flowers so meticulously. This one, however, somehow found the time every day to tend to them, count them, name them - and somehow remember all the names. He looked up at the newly planted sunflower. "And you are gonna be called... Pizza! Welcome to the family! You're never gonna be lonely here, I promise!"

The sunflower did not, obviously, reply. That was fine, however - the man did not mind the lack of answers. He knew fully well that the flowers couldn't speak. That was good - they would never hurt him, turn on him, deny him. They would never abandon them. He grabbed his cane from the ground and started slowly walking through the field, talking to his supposed friends.

"Nice to see you again, Betty! Your petals have been getting more orange lately, or am I just seeing things? Oh, Torchy, hello there! You've been making friends with Tilly and Billy, haven't you? Good for you, guys! And you, Cookie? Made any new friends lately? It's okay! We're all a family here, aren't we?"

The man sat down in the middle of the field, turning his own face towards the sun. Here, he didn't have to worry about anything. No people ever came to bother him when he was with his golden friends. Nobody asked any unnecessary questions. Nobody betrayed him, backstabbed him, bothered him, nobody laughed or cursed at him. Here, he was truly free. There was only one thing missing...

 Upon the quiet rustle of feathers, Scar opened his eyes. His heart soared upon the sight of a few silhouettes descending from the sky. Shadow People, as he called them, reached out towards him, as if to embrace their human friend. The man immediately got up and opened his arms, ready to accept the hug.

"Well hello there, friends! I missed you!"

Before he could hug them, however, one of the Shadow people grabbed him by the wrist. Their touch was freezing cold and there was something to it that made it feel almost unreal. Then, it dropped a few small, hard things into Scar's hand. The player bit his tongue, upon looking at the gift.

A handful of sunflower seeds.

"Oh, thank you so much! I will put them with the rest in just a moment" he said with a big smile "Maybe you can stay, and watch me-!"

He didn't even have time to finish the sentence. Upon accepting the gift, the supposed Shadow People vanished before he could even look at them again. His sight dropped to the seeds. It wouldn't hurt to add a few more friends, would it...?

Notes:

Despite loving to write this story, you guys have NO IDEA how happy I am to finally finish it. This singular fanfic has claimed a month (exactly, wow) of my life I'm never getting back (/lh). I hope you guys are happy!

If you did like it, PLEASE please please let me know. I love reading your guys opinions and your interpretations! And if you liked it, you can also share it on social media or with your friends! No pressure though, of course! I just really hope that you enjoyed the whole thing! You can always tell me what your favorite moment or character or fact or theory was ^^

Also, as a quick note - this may be an end of a fic, but it's definitely not the end of the whole AU. I have plenty of ideas for the past (like finishing Six stages of grief, and a few other stories), for the future (like a few stories set AFTER Wild Life, with the Lifers moving in to Hermitcraft) as well as a couple other projects, including a secret one :> Hope you guys will look out for it!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 15 of The ones who watch, the ones who listen, the ones who kill (Preservers AU)