“Welcome to Bulgaria!” Martin said. The plane ride had gone without a hitch, and Martin had met up with us at the airport, laughing as always. His car was parked a short distance away, and he would then drive us to our final destination – or so he told us.

“Why do I have to be the one carrying all the bags?” moaned Ty, trailing behind us.

 “You’re too slow,” Darren laughed. “Hurry up.”

Martin laughed with them, but I didn’t even smile. All I felt was a burning envy. That should be me exchanging funny comments with my friend. That would all change in a few hours, though. Everything would go back to normal, and it would be fine.

Or would it? I still wasn’t sure. Under the surface, I was incredibly nervous. What if this didn’t work? After all, it was all just a convenient theory Darren had come up with. There was no guarantee it would work.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll go fine,” Darren whispered to me, as if reading my mind. “Stay positive.”

I looked up at him and fake-smiled. “…Okay.”

Suddenly we stopped, and Martin ran out in front of us. He looked at our little group with a serious face. “Guys, I have something to say.”

“What?” I said worriedly. “Did something happen?”

“No,” Martin said, and I saw him smile. “There was nothing from the beginning. There is no animium. You’ve… been… trolled!”

“What?” I tried to say in disbelief, but the words wouldn’t come. My heart fell into my stomach. There was no way this was happening. This couldn’t be real. I fell to my knees just as I heard a thump. Darren was on his hands and knees, staring at the floor. I could see his lips moving, but just like me, he didn’t make a sound.

Had this whole journey been for naught? We had been through so much. I had thought that after all this hell, we had finally found a lead, but it turned out to be yet another disappointment. Despair flooded my entire being. There really was no way out. I was stuck like this forever, and to top it off, we had wasted so much time and money on a pointless wild goose chase.

The world started spinning around me. I shut my eyes tight, but all I could see were visions of a dark future. A future where I was just another person on this huge earth, living a mundane life and having no reason to exist. This time, there was really no way out. It was all over. 

I heard a voice filter through the darkness. “I’m joking, I’m joking,” Martin said. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was laughing like a madman, like he’d just made the funniest joke in the world. “Not far to go now. We will reach my car soon, and then we will go to the animium.”

I tried to say “What?” again, but I was too confused to speak. I felt sick. Was this all just a joke? Couldn’t Martin read the atmosphere? This was a potentially life-threatening situation, and Martin was just making cruel jokes.

Ty grabbed Martin’s collar and pulled him close. “This really isn’t the time,” Ty snapped. “Do you even understand the gravity of the situation we’re in right now? Look what you’ve done to Adam and Darren!”

Martin simply replied by laughing even harder. “But… their reaction was just so funny! I couldn’t resist!”

“You’re a sick man, Martin,” Ty said in a low voice.

And at that moment, I had another look at the situation and saw the funny side of it all. Half laughing, half crying, I realised how stupid everything was. Ty looked at me in astonishment.

“It’s… it’s nothing,” I said between laughs. “It’s just that… I’m trapped inside the body of a fourteen-year-old boy, and my whole life is on the line here, and I’m almost about to have a major breakdown, and we’ve just been trolled by a mad Bulgarian who just can’t stop laughing.”

And then everyone started laughing with me. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. It was just such a weird situation. This whole mess was just completely ridiculous. We were in the middle of the street in a foreign country in bodies that didn’t even belong to us and we were laughing our heads off. I felt exhilarated as I laughed off all the pains and troubles that had been pestering me for the whole of the last few days. We were going to do it. We were going to switch back without any trouble, and go back without a hitch.

A couple minutes later, we were catching our breath and shaking off the last of the laughter. My body felt lighter somehow, happier. Although the laughter had ended, I still had a wide smile on my face. “Thanks, Martin,” I said. Darren nodded his thanks as well.

Martin simply smiled back. “No problem,” he said. “It was just a little joke.” However, I could see kindness and relief hidden in his smile. I could tell that Martin had never intended to hurt us. He was simply trying to lighten the mood, and he had done his job well.

“Let’s go,” Martin said gently. He started walking, and we followed behind, feeling more hopeful with every step.

~o~O~o~

“Woah,” Darren breathed.

“Yeah. Woah,” Ty said.

Martin had parked his car nearby, and we all clambered in. We asked Martin where we were going many times, but he remained oddly silent. All he told us was that it was his workplace. I wondered many times what sort of place Martin would work in. A museum, perhaps? Or a science lab? Somehow I couldn’t imagine Martin working as a scientist. I tried to picture him in a lab coat, and chuckled to myself. I couldn’t dismiss the idea entirely, though. We could only wait and see.

About two hours later, we arrived at a dome-shaped building. I quickly realised it was an observatory, but it was somewhat underwhelming. It wasn’t particularly large, and didn’t look very impressive either. But once we had entered the building, our expectations were blown away.

Huge telescopes filled the area like huge, silent beasts. They were unlike anything I had ever seen before, shaped like abstract paintings and covered in pure white. “Don’t touch,” Martin said. “If you break one you will have to pay a lot.”

I drew my hand back quickly from the side of the biggest telescope. I was completely in awe. “You work here?” I said incredulously. Martin simply shrugged.

“I gotta make a living,” he said. For the first time, I saw Martin as more than just a funny guy on YouTube. This guy was smart. He didn’t seem like the same guy I had known all this time. He was pretty damn impressive.

“The animium is down here,” Martin said, pointing to a trapdoor. I suddenly remembered what we had come here for. I walked towards him quickly.

“No, you are not allowed,” Martin said, and I stopped. “This place is secret. Only workers are allowed to go down here.”

I noticed Darren was standing next to me. “Got it,” he said, then looked at me. A smile formed on his face.

“W-what?” I said, slightly unsettled.

Darren’s grin grew even wider. “Oh, it’s nothing,” he said. “I was just thinking about how I should spend my last few minutes in this body. Might as well make the most of it, eh?”

“Meaning?” I said suspiciously.

“Meaning I should do this!” he said, and I felt myself being lifted up into the air.

“H-hey, what are you doing!?” I exclaimed, as Darren placed me on his back.

“I’ve always been a skinny kind of guy,” he said. “And I don’t have any brothers or sisters to carry around. So carrying myself is the next-best thing!”

“What sort of logic is that?” I protested. “Stop it! Put me down?”

“You seem to be pretty determined to stay on though,” Darren teased. “You’re almost strangling me with that tight grip of yours.” I realised that he was right, and quickly let go of his neck, only to almost fall backwards. I promptly grabbed onto his shoulders, and came to the glum realisation that I was completely at Darren’s mercy.

 “All right, I give up,” I sighed. “But you’ve had your fun now, so let me down.”

“Oh, this is just the beginning,” Darren said devilishly, and started to jog. I almost fell off again, and instinctively went back to clinging to Darren’s neck, wrapping my arms around him tightly. His body shook with laughter.

“This isn’t even my final form!” he yelled, and broke into a sprint. I let out a high-pitched scream as I jolted backwards, then quickly clapped my hand over my mouth. It was too late. Darren had heard the unthinkable, and was now reaching levels of laughter that Martin would be proud of.

“Can’t… breathe… gotta… rest…” Darren said between laughs, finally slowing down. This was my chance, and I didn’t hesitate to take action, putting my daring plan to the test.

“Ty!” I screamed. “Help! SOS! Mayday! Save me!”

“Superlox to the rescue!” Ty hollered, coming out of nowhere and plucking me off Darren’s back before he could react.

“Thanks,” I said gratefully. But instead of placing me safely back on solid ground again, Ty lifted me onto his own back.

“No! Don’t do dis!” I said desperately, dreading what was about to happen.

“That’s my line,” Ty said simply, and started running even faster than Darren had. I clung onto his neck like some sort of baby koala, more tightly than I had ever before. It took me all I had to hold back my screams.

“Why are you even doing this? It’s not like you have a weakling body to return to as well!” I wailed.

“I’m not a weakling, I’m just  muscularly challenged!” I heard Darren say.

“When am I ever going to get the chance to give my best friend a piggyback again?” Ty said.

“…Touché,” I said, then took back my own words. “Never mind about that, just put me down!”

“Okay,” Ty shrugged, and let go of my legs. My life flashed before my eyes as I fell to the hard ground. I thought back on my pathetic, miserable life. A single tear rolled down my cheek. This was the end.

Then Darren caught me safely in his arms, and gently sat me down on the floor. I got to my feet irritably, glaring at Ty and Darren accusingly. They just laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I said fiercely.

“You’re smiling,” said Darren. I reached up to my face. It was true. I chuckled, then laughed.

“All right, you got me. That was pretty fun,” I admitted. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been carried around like that.”

“My turn next?” said Ty jokingly, but before we could reply, there was a click and a creaking sound. Martin’s face peered at us as he lifted up the trapdoor. In his hands were two small packets of what could only be the infamous animium. The time had come.

“Well, I guess this is,” Darren said. Although he had a smile on his face, there was a hint of sadness to it. However, both emotions were drowned out by a thick fog of anxiousness. I could understand why. After all, we didn’t have any solid evidence that this would work. It was all just theory. We were both still quite apprehensive despite our hopefulness, and incredibly fearful. If this didn’t get us back to normal, then we might as well give up.

No. There was no point worrying about what might happen. If it worked, it worked. If it didn’t, it didn’t. It was all or nothing. What would happen, would happen, and we were powerless to change it. It would be meaningless to worry so much. We would only worry about an unwanted outcome when – if – it happened.

Martin pressed a packet into my hand. It was fairly unremarkable – just a normal brown packet. However, I knew that hidden inside it was a dangerous substance that held powers beyond imagination. I gulped.

“Do not open it. Swallow it whole,” Martin told us in an assertive tone. The same man who had been joking about this situation mere hours earlier was now looking at us with serious eyes. “The bag is made of stuff you can eat, so do not worry. I will wait outside with Ty when you switch, for safety.”

We nodded. Ty and Martin slowly made their way towards the door. “Good luck,” Ty whispered to me as he left. I shivered.

“…Here’s hoping for the best,” said Darren eventually, breaking a heavy silence that I hadn’t even noticed appearing. He brought his hand up to his mouth.

“Wait,” I said, and he paused. “I have a request to make.”

“You?” he said, laughing a little bitterly. “You, the famous SkyDoesMinecraft, wants to make a request… from me? Me of all people? What on earth could you possibly want to ask from me?”

“Well…” I began, a little hesitant. “I… I saw your drawings. They’re… beautiful.”

Darren quickly looked downwards, his hair falling over his eyes, but I had seen his face redden. “What of it?” he mumbled.

I took a deep breath. “Can you... teach me how to draw?” I said tentatively.

There was a silence. When Darren finally spoke, his voice was trembling. “Why would you want that? I’m just a normal guy who likes to scribble on walls. My drawings aren’t anything special. A-and besides, couldn’t you ask DeceptiBonk? She’s far better than I will ever be. Why not her? Why me?”

The comment startled me a little. I had forgotten that I had a team to return to, a team featuring a certain artist who I admired and looked up to. It was a painful truth that Bonks was indeed a better artist than Darren, who was, in the end, just a teenager with a pen. Again, I had forgotten about my old life; my real life. It would be difficult adjusting back into the role of a YouTuber with fans and friends, fans and friends of every possible calibre.

But then I realised. I hadn’t forgotten – deep in my subconscious, I knew why I liked Darren so much. I knew why I found it so easy to ask these things of him. I had known all along, but had never thought about it. The answer was obvious.

“You remind me of the old me,” I said quietly. Darren just stared. “And… well, I guess it’s easier to learn from an amateur. No offense.”

“None taken,” Darren said, forcing a laugh. “…Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I said assertively. “And one more thing.” The words were tumbling out of my mouth now like a waterfall of sound, unstoppable, uncontainable.

“Don’t tell me you want to learn opera singing or something from me next,” Darren said, rolling his eyes.

“You know how I asked if you wanted to record with me?” I said. Darren nodded. “Well, how would you like to become a full-time member of Team Crafted?”

Another silence. Darren didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t breathe. Slowly, slowly, a smile crept across his face – a genuine smile. “Do you mean it?” he said shakily.

“Well, I’d have to confirm it with the other members first, but yeah,” I said.

Then Darren leapt over towards me and hugged me tightly. I felt his large arms embrace my slim back, his tall body against my small one. It was still strange, getting hugged when I was used to being the one doing the hugging. In a normal world, I would have been the taller one. I smiled, and reached my arms around his back. I felt like a child again – well, technically I was. I almost felt regretful of not taking more advantage of my second childhood.

“Thank you,” whispered Darren, and I heard him sniffle slightly. We let go of each other. “Is that everything you wanted to say?”

“Yup,” I said. “You?”

Darren shook his head. “I got nothing.”

I laughed. “Well then, I guess it’s time to say goodbye to these bodies.” I no longer had any doubts. This was going to work. Everything was going to work out, and although it was not going to be the same as it had been before, it was going to be even better.

“Goodbye, Sky’s body,” Darren said with a chuckle.

“Goodbye, Darren’s body.” I smiled also.

We raised our hands up to our lips, and closed our mouths firmly on the packets. There was no taste – just a strange tingly sensation.

“I wish we would go back to our normal bodies,” we said together. My final thought was that of all that had happened over the last few weeks, all the insanity we had been through, all the crazy, unbelievable struggles we had faced. I was almost sad to let them go.

Then I passed out.

A/N: HAHAHAHAHA NOW YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR YET ANOTHER CHAPTER HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

...Ahem. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, I am aware that there are most likely ten thousand continuity errors and OOC moments and all, but it has been a year since I wrote the last chapter, after all. Feel free to let me know of any errors you find. Also, please remember that this fanfiction was started in 2013 (I think) so Team Crafted was still a big thing at this time. I don't know much about the state of TC now, to be honest. Didn't Sky leave or something? I can't remember.

I hope I did everyone's style of speaking right. I've forgotten how these guys talk, so hopefully they're okay. I tried to do a Bulgarian accent for Bodil but it's pretty damn hard to put accents in writing.

Stay tuned for the REAL final chapter coming... sometime soon! (Don't worry, I won't make you wait another year)