~~~

January 17th, 2022

Tommy's interest was peaked upon seeing the tweet in his feed. "Any Minecraft YouTubers or Youtuber that have made an impact in the Minecraft community hit me up, I'm planning something you guys might be interested in o_O" Leaving a quick reply to Techno's original tweet about the blood god, he smiled, it sounded like him.

"NOT MY JIMMY, SUPPORTING VIOLENCE!!!" Seeing a notification that Beast had replied with "child :)" he sighed and dm'ed the organizer.

"Hey Big J! Got room for me in this challenge of yours?"

"Of course I do ^-^ let me add you to the Discord group chat. A reminder that for legal reasons you gotta keep this a secret from the public."

Tommy could hear a ping from his phone; TommyInnit has been added to FUCK YAA!

MrBeast: Hey who changed the GC name??

Wilbur: not me <3

MrBeast: Meh I'm too lazy to change it

Tommy: Eyyy Will

Wilbur: Goddamnit the child is here :(

Tommy: fuck you man >:(

Fitz: wow such a vulgar child

Wilbur: I know he needs to chill the hell out sometimes

Fitz: Wonder where he gets it from

Wilbur: -_-

Ranboo has been added to FUCK YAA!

JeromeASF has been added to FUCK YAA!

Keemstar has been added to FUCK YAA!

Keemstar: Eloquent name choice as always Jimmy

MrBeast: Ya ya lay off big guy

MrBeast: Anyway the competition has a max of 40 slots so we're gonna begin making teams. Basically, the plan is we're gonna rent out an island and recreate Minecraft game modes on it. If y'all have any suggestions let me know :D

Keemstar: I'm just here for research purposes don't mind me, thanks for picking me over Scarce

MrBeast: still think you and Scarce would make a good couple ^-^

Keemstar: stfu fanboy

MrBeast: D:

Tommy: PUT ME IN WITH THE BLADE BIG MAN

MrBeast: Techno you ok with that?

Technoblade: Sure, wait can I add someone who I think would wanna team with us?

MrBeast: Who you thinkin'

Technoblade: Philza

Tommy: PHILZA MINECRAFT POG!!!

Ph1lza has been added to FUCK YAA!

Phil: da hell I just woke up?

Tommy: Check the Twitter big man.

Technoblade: bouta bring the old bang back together

Technoblade: *band

Wilbur: Woah why would you say that so disrespectful 

Fitz: Can I get some of the Misfits for my team?

MrBeast: That was the plan, Swagger, Tobi, and Mason I'm assuming

Fitz: ye

Swaggersouls was added to FUCK YAA!

TobyOnTheTele was added to FUCK YAA!

Zuckles was added to FUCK YAA!

Zuckles: oi the fresh hell all these here cunts doin' what's da plan??

Fitz: good morning to you to Mason -_-

Phil: ooh that sounds cool can the sleepy boys be a team?

MrBeast: maybe who's those people?

Phil: Myself, Techno, Tommy and Wilbur :)

MrBeast: if they are ok with it!

Tommy: YAAAAS LETS GO

Wilbur: if he takes back the 'yas' I'll join

Tommy: fine, yes

Wilbur: ok

Technoblade: ye

JeromeASF: Can I team with Mitch, Brandon, and Vikk?

MrBeast: Who's Brandon?

JeromeASF: PeteZahHutt

Tommy muted the group chat, his mom calling him from downstairs. Brushing his messy blond hair aside, there was a bit of spring in his step when he made his way for dinner.

"Mum you won't believe what I got invited to!"

***

January 20th, 2022

As promised, Alex returned three days later. Despite the potential threat of Bhushan, Jimmy spoke excitedly about a competition idea. Some of his friends such as Wilbur and Tommy were invited. Anytime he tried to bring up the note however, he told him it needn't matter.

"Life is so short. I'd rather not dwell on the bitter things."

"But you could be in danger..."

"Sure I might be, but I have been for about two years now. I don't think it's all that much of a change of pace." The brave persona he put up was very weak, yet stubborn enough to block out Alex's concern.

And who was Alex to argue? Emotions were never his thing.

On the evening of his return to North Carolina, a spark in Jimmy's eyes lit up. Grabbing his hand, Alex was guided into the outdoors.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere special. You've gotta promise you won't tell anyone. Even Chandler and Karl don't know where this place is."

"I won't, I swear."

"Very well, try to keep up!" Jimmy began sprinting through the forestry and Alex followed suit. With the cricket song as white noise, his friend's feet seemed to have memorized the path, dancing among the branches and the plants as if one and the same. The latter however kept stumbling. They came up to a fast-moving stream which with ease, Jimmy leaped across. Alex did the same but came short of the shoreline. Expecting to feel cold water consume him, something solid and warm engulfed him. "Relax, I've got you." His feet touched mud rather than water and Jimmy pulled him back up. He chuckled lightly. "I should've warned you that jump required a bit more momentum. Sorry about that! We're almost there anyway." Pushing aside some overgrowth, Alex's eyes widened.

"This is so..."

"Welcome to Greenville!" Atop a tall hill, the astral sight shone down brightly. Lights from the skies reflecting off of the surface of a lake. Celestial welkin drifting him away to somewhere calm and peaceful, his gaze turned to the center of that galaxy. Jimmy's smile lit up the milky way more than a million dim stars ever could. And something in Alex's head told him to make sure that beacon of joy never slipped away into sorrows. He stood idly by when depressing calls nipped at Jack's feet and blamed it on the distance. But Jimmy was right next to him. This time things would be different... "Do you like it?" Alex snapped out of his trance.

"Yes, it's beautiful..." Jimmy began pointing out the constellations until the moon rose to its peak and his eyes fell heavy.

"I typically just sleep out here. But if you want we can head back to the house..."

"Nah the air is cool here, therapeutic for the lungs." Leaning back down on the hill, Alex did so as well and let his head rest on his friend's chest. The constant up and down motion of life gently lulled his tired body to rest...

***

La Campanella... that's what he pinned the song to be that echoed in his dreams. The forest he once stargazed in was now adorned in blue decorations that lit up the hill. Fairies sat atop mushrooms playing small instruments. He noticed how his entire attire changed, a black suit on with a small Beast logo pin on his right side.

"May I have this dance?" Jimmy turned around to see who asked. The man in a white suit wore a light-hearted grin that made him agree.

"Of course Al." Now Jimmy never had really done social dancing before but he found himself able to sway and move to the harmony almost unnaturally. The turns becoming slightly more intense as the music sped up, he found himself giggling the entire time like the whole affair was an inside joke no one else could understand. All of a sudden it fell quiet, a single note of a piano being played.

"Gotta pass you onto someone else now, isn't that how it works?"

"I think so?" The song's tone began to shift. Spinning around as silhouettes of friends passed by, he could only see a singular outline of whoever caught him, picking up from where he and Alex left off. And when his vision unblurred he could feel his entire being tense.

"You're not gonna let it end here now, are you? Would you be so kind as to humor me with this dance?"

"Bhushan please..." But as the notes became all the more frayed, so did his movements he couldn't break free of. Begs to let him go only became lost in the charmingly abusive solar waltz. As he dug his nails into Jimmy's wrists and haunting whispers passed through his ears, he found himself to his own horror relaxing.

"That's it, dearie, a little more steady now." He found the pet names Bhushan would give him during his capture to be one of the most unsettling parts about him and now having to hear it again when he SHOULD be safe made him feel physically ill. In the faint distance, he could hear someone calling his name. So he did his best to focus on that but he kept taking notice of the smallest things he did to keep him here in his arms. The blood now dripping down his arm from where his fingers kept pushing, the other finger that drew soft circles into his shoulders and trail closer to his collarbone and exposed neck...

"Jimmy wake up you're hurting yourself!"

"Stay with me, sweetheart." He didn't laugh when he called him that.

"Please just open your eyes."

"Shh... relax... I've got you right where-"

"JIMMY!" 

"H-huh I'm up!"

"Jesus christ man you're making yourself bleed!" Finally realizing Alex had his other arm hostage in the air, he could see tiny red stains on his nails.

"Damn I didn't even know I was doing that I'm sorry-"

"Don't... don't apologize just please don't scare me like that... I think we should head back and make sure to bandage those cuts. They aren't big but they could get infected." 

"Right..."

"...Do you... remember what happened... in that nightmare of yours I mean!" And Jimmy tried as best as he could to grab onto the memory before it slipped it away but...

"No, I don't."

~~~