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Chapter Text

Gem bandaged up Jimmy's wings, as Fwhip paced the living room. Their nerves practically buzzing through the whole house.

“He's been missing for six months! Then suddenly he falls out of the sky into my yard!” Fwhip stressed twisting his gloves caked in Redstone and gunpowder.

Gem sighed, finishing the last wrap around Jimmy’s injured wing.

She glanced at the mess on the floors, but didn't mention it. She'd sweep it afterwards. “I know, Fwhip, I know. But yelling about it isn’t going to change anything.”

Jimmy stirred slightly, his brows furrowing as if caught in a bad dream.

His wings twitched under the bandages, and Gem gently pressed a hand against his shoulder to keep him from moving too much.

She gently placed a wet rag to his forehead. “His wings are broken. I don't know how much I can heal them.”

Carefully she spread out his wings checking for more breaks. “Everything else is just bruised thankfully.” Gem murmured.

“Things could have been worse.” Fwhip sighed, finally sitting down once more. “I guess I should be thankful that we know his sister.”

He glanced at the clock. “Speaking of, when's Pearl arriving?”

“She said she'd get her as soon as possible. I'm sure she's on her way. You know it's not the easiest traveling through the servers and the hub world.”

Fwhip nodded, glancing out the window as though he could see beyond the walls to the distant horizon. "I just, I can't believe he’s back. And now this? What happened to him out there?"

Gem took a deep breath, adjusting the bandage on Jimmy’s wing before speaking softly, as if to avoid startling him. "We don’t know yet. But I think he’s been through more than we can even begin to understand. He’s must have been through something traumatic."

"You're right. No normal player falls through the sky into a random private world." Fwhip murmured pulling up the admin panel once more.

Jimmy's eyes fluttered open, groggy and disoriented, and he blinked as if trying to focus on his surroundings. "Jimmy?" Gem called gently, hoping he wouldn’t panic.

The sharp pain from his wings made him wince, and he instinctively tried to pull away from the pressure on his shoulder.

"Hey, easy there," Fwhip said, stepping forward quickly.

"You’ve been through a lot. You’re safe here." Jimmy’s breathing hitched, his gaze darting between Gem and Fwhip.

“Wh- where am I?” He croaked out nervously.

Gem offered a soft smile. “You’re in my brother's house. I'm Gem and this is Fwhip, my twin brother.”

Jimmy's brows knitted together as he tried to process her words. His head was pounding, and his wings ached with every slight movement.

He felt trapped, not by the room itself, but by the weight of everything he couldn’t remember.

"Fwhip and Gem" He murmured, testing the names on his tongue.

Gem nodded reassuringly. "That's right. You're safe here. Do you remember anything? What happened to you?"

He closed his eyes, Netty's body flashed in his mind along with the torturous pain that went though his body when strung up in a cage for the watchers amusement.

He could still feel the chill of the void enveloping him in the darkness of nothing.

Jimmy's breath hitched as the memories clawed at him, dragging him back into that suffocating abyss.

The weight of the cage still lingered on his limbs, the phantom pain of restraints biting into his wrists.

The Watchers' laughter echoed in his skull, hollow and cruel, as if they had never truly left him.

His eyes snapped open, he slapped his hand over his mouth muffling the scream that nearly left him.

"I don't want to talk about it, I want my sister." Jimmy muttered, blinking away the terror filled tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.

Fwhip threw his hands down onto the table. The few items clicked under the vibrations. "She's not here! Just tell us-"

Gem cut off Fwhip by gently grasping his wrist. "Fwhip, he's terrified. We're strangers, we can't pressure him."

Fwhip's eyes widened realizing how intense he was. "Shit, sorry. Look we're all stressed and worried. You showed up in front of my house injured beyond belief."

Gem checked her communicator. "Pearl's on her way." She reassured him quietly. "Please no sudden movements. Your wings are fragile."

As soon as Jimmy heard his older sister's name, his heart settled down. "Pearl's coming?"

Fwhip nodded. "Yeah, she's coming to see you."

Fwhip still looked tense, his fingers twitching against the table as if he wanted to press for answers, but Gem’s firm grip on his wrist kept him in check.

Jimmy appreciated it. He wasn’t sure he could handle an interrogation right now.

Instead, he focused on the warmth in his chest at the thought of Pearl. She was coming. He wasn’t alone in this strange, terrifying place.

"How long?" His voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper.

"Not long," Gem assured him. "Just hang in there."

Jimmy nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. He could do that. Just a little longer.

Gem's communicator buzzed on the coffee table, she reached for it. Her eyes softening. "That's Pearl! I better grab her, the spawn isn't here."

Jimmy's breath hitched as Gem stood up, her words barely registering.

Pearl was here, his sister was just outside.

The door slammed open and before Jimmy could even fully process it, two arms and brown wings enveloped him.

"Jimmy." Pearl's voice cracked with emotion a she nuzzled into her little brother's chest. "I thought I'd never see you again."

jimmy was barely aware of Fwhip and Gem leaving the two of them alone.

He winced lightly when he put a little stress on his wings. Within seconds he was sobbing hugging his sister tightly. "I never thought I'd escape."

Pearl’s grip tightened as she felt Jimmy tremble in her arms, his sobs muffled against her shoulder. She pressed her chin against his hair, her own tears slipping down her cheeks.

“You’re safe now,” she whispered, voice thick with emotion. “I’ve got you, Jimmy. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

"You're here." His voice broke, snuggling into her protective grip.

The reality of her words slowly settled over him.

He was here, in her arms, and he was no longer trapped in the void. Still, the echo of the Watchers’ presence clung to him, like a shadow he couldn’t quite shake.

Pearl pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “You don’t have to be strong right now. Just let it out. I’m here.”

Pearl’s wings wrapped tighter around him, the soft rustle of feathers offering a sense of comfort that only she could give.

Her warmth filled the space between them, and her steady heartbeat against his chest grounded him in a way nothing else could.

The feeling of her wings, so familiar and strong, grounding him in the moment was the only thing keeping him from breaking entirely.

“I thought- I thought I was going to die in that place,” he murmured between sobs.

“Th-they tortured me, Pearl. They ruined my wings. they're too big for my body. The pain was unbearable, my only escape was the nightmares that made me relive Netty's deaths. Everyone's deaths over and over."

Pearl's body stiffened as her heart shattered hearing the depth of Jimmy’s pain.

She could feel the heaviness in his words, the weight of his suffering. She stroked his back gently, trying to steady him, but even her touch couldn’t erase the nightmares that haunted him.

"Shh, Jimmy," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly, as she tried to calm him. "You’re free now. You’re safe."

She pulled back just enough to look him in the eye, her hands cradling his face, her gaze soft but filled with strength.

"Your wings, they’re not ruined. You’re not broken. You’re just you, Jimmy. And I swear, I’m going to help you heal. We’re going to fix this. We’ll take it one step at a time. Together." Pearl whispered holding her brother close.

Her heart ached seeing him so fragile, so shattered by the horrors he had endured. But she wouldn’t let him drown in his pain.

Not anymore.

"Netty, Tom and Salem," Jimmy whimpered, his voice raw. "I keep seeing them. I keep hearing their screams. I can’t escape them, Pearl."

Pearl’s own tears welled up, but she held them back. She couldn’t break now, not when he needed her most.

She pressed a kiss to his forehead, the touch gentle and warm. "I know. I know, Jimmy. I’ll help you. We’ll find a way through this. You're not alone in this, not anymore."

Her wings fluttered slightly, the brown feathers brushing against his back as she held him close, her warmth enveloping him.

“I couldn’t stop them,” he whispered, voice thick with shame. “I couldn’t save them. I couldn't save anyone.”

Pearl’s grip tightened, her wings gently folding around him, trying to protect him from the weight of that guilt.

“You don’t need to carry it, Jimmy. They didn’t want you to suffer like this. None of it was your fault. You survived for a reason.”

Jimmy sniffled. "Why me? Martyn lost his fiance. I should have died instead of Netty."

She cupped his face gently, her hands trembling as she looked into his tear-streaked eyes.

“You are not meant to die, Jimmy. You have a purpose. You’re here for a reason, and I’m so glad you’re here."

She squeezed his hands. "Don’t you dare think that you’re not worth saving. Because you are. To me, to everyone who loves you, you’re everything.”

Jimmy’s breath hitched as he looked at his sister, the weight of her words sinking in.

He wanted to argue, wanted to cling to the belief that somehow, if he had just been stronger, Netty would still be alive.

But Pearl’s unwavering certainty, her fierce love for him, made it harder to hold on to the darkness.

“I’m sorry, Pearl,” he whispered, his voice breaking again. “I just I don’t know how to live with it.”

Pearl kissed the top of his head, holding him closer, laying with him on the couch holding him in a cacoon of feather and warmth.

"Netty wouldn’t want you to give up. If she could see you now, she’d want you to live, to honor her memory, not by dying, but by living the life she didn’t get to." Pearl whispered.

Jimmy's hands clenched tighter around her, as if her words were trying to pierce through the pain, but it wasn’t enough yet.

He still felt the weight of what he had lost the unfairness, the anger, the ache in his chest that wouldn’t go away.

"I don’t know if I can live with it," he whispered. "I don’t know how to move on."

Pearl’s eyes softened, and she gently cupped his face, her thumbs brushing away the tears that stained his cheeks.

"You don’t have to do it alone. I’ll be here. We’ll face the grief together. One step at a time, okay? But you don’t have to carry it all by yourself anymore."

She promised, pulling him even closer. "You're my brother, and I'm never letting you take on the burden by yourself Jimmy."

"Pearl, I'm almost afraid to ask, but how long have I been gone?" Jimmy whimpered quietly into her arms.

She took a shuddering breath. "It's been a little over six months Jimmy."

Jimmy’s breath caught in his chest, his heart hammering painfully in his ribs as the weight of her words sank in.

Six months. A part of him had felt like he’d only been gone for days, the time slipping away in the void of the Watchers’ torment.

But six months?

So much had happened while he was trapped.

“Six months?” he repeated, his voice hollow. He pulled back slightly, his wide eyes searching Pearl’s face for any sign of what that meant. “Where where’s Martyn? Has he been okay?”

Pearl’s expression softened, her wings trembling slightly as she glanced down. She didn’t have to say anything for Jimmy to know the answer.

“He’s been lost without you and Netty,” she murmured, her voice thick with sorrow. “He tried to hold on, tried to stay happy” Her voice faltered for a moment, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

“He’s been grieving, Jimmy. Like the rest of us. But he’s strong. He’s been trying to keep the others together.”

Jimmy’s heart twisted, guilt and helplessness flooding him.

He whispered, his hands shaking. “I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t stop the Watchers.”

Pearl gently cupped his face again, forcing him to look at her. “You didn’t do this, Jimmy. This isn’t your fault.” She swallowed hard, her voice thick with emotion.

"I know that." he sighed. "I know it's not my fault that the watchers ruined everything, that they tore our lives apart. But- But."

"Survivors guilt." Pearl whispered quietly.

Jimmy nodded, his chest tightening as he let her words hang in the air. "Yeah, that, Survivors guilt."

His voice cracked slightly, a sob rising in his throat. "I didn’t want to be the one who survived. I didn’t want to leave them behind. Netty. She should still be here. She had so much life left to live."

Pearl's grip on him tightened, as if trying to keep him from falling into that dark pit of guilt that was pulling at him.

"I know," she whispered, her voice soft and understanding.

"It’s not fair. None of it is. But you didn’t choose this, Jimmy. The Watchers they’re the ones who did this. Not you. You’re allowed to grieve." She cupped his cheeks brushing away his tears.

"You’re allowed to hurt. But you don’t have to carry all of it. You’re allowed to live, even if it feels wrong right now."

Jimmy closed his eyes, the weight of the guilt still heavy on his heart. The thought of living when so many were gone felt like a betrayal. But Pearl’s words, her steady presence, made it a little easier to breathe.

"How do I even begin to move forward?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "How do I stop feeling like I’m betraying them by still being here?"

Pearl let out a shaky breath and gently wiped away a tear from his cheek. "You don’t have to have all the answers right now. You just take it one day at a time. You grieve. You feel what you need to feel. And when you’re ready, we’ll figure out the rest together."

Jimmy fell silent for a long moment. "Where are you staying now?'

Fwhip cleared his throat, letting them know he had entered the room again.

"We're starting a multiplayer server in a week. You're welcome to join us." Fwhip offered, Gem nodded eagerly. "If you're up for it of course Jimmy."

Pearl turned to him and smiled. "Do you think, you'd be okay being on a sever with a group again?"

First the idea seemed terrifying after everything.

But their conversation lingered in his mind.

Netty died to save me, it would be a waste of her memory if I didn't live my life." Jimmy spoke up. His wings ached as he sat up to face both Fwhip and Gem. "So what's it called?"

"Legacy." Gem spoke up with a grin. "Cool name huh?"

His wings still ached, a constant reminder of his ordeal, but the pain seemed a little more bearable now.

With Pearl by his side, and the offer of a fresh start with Fwhip and Gem, maybe there was a chance to rebuild to be part of something good again.

He looked at Pearl, then at Fwhip and Gem, and slowly, a small but genuine smile tugged at his lips. "Legacy, huh? I like the sound of that."

Pearl raised an eyebrow, her expression softening. "If you're ready for it, Jimmy, this could be a good start. It might not fix everything, but it's a step forward."

Jimmy nodded, his wings giving a soft, almost painful flutter as he adjusted himself.

His body was still recovering, but the idea of something bigger, something to focus on, felt like it could help him heal in ways he hadn’t imagined before.

"I think I need this. I want to be part of something again." He looked back at Fwhip and Gem. "What do I need to do?"

Gem smiled warmly. "Just show up when the server goes live. It's a fresh start for everyone."

"I-I think I can do it," Jimmy said, the uncertainty still lingering in his voice but tempered with a newfound resolve. "I want to be part of Legacy. If you’ll have me."

Fwhip grinned. "Congratulations Jimmy as of today, you're officially apart of Legacy."

Chapter Text

A week had past and Pearl had spent the entire time taking care of his wings, they had healed halfway. He still couldn't fly, but the pain was subdued.

Fwhip was busy preparing the final touches of their server. All the players all stood in the hub surrounding the newly formed portal.

Pearl's wings fluttered nervously, she squeezed Jimmy's hand tightly. "you okay?" She whispered breathlessly.

"You're more panicked then I am." Jimmy replied softly.

Her expression changed. "You're right. It's just last time you went through a portal, I lost you for six months."

Jimmy swallowed hard, squeezing Pearl’s hand in return. He could see the raw emotion in her eyes her fear, worry, but also her determination. She wasn’t going to let him slip away again.

“This is different,” he assured her, though his own voice wavered slightly. “Fwhip and Gem checked everything. It’s stable. No weird glitches, and most importantly no Watchers.”

Pearl exhaled sharply, like she didn’t quite believe him. “You thought the last one was safe too.”

Jimmy couldn’t argue with that. The last time, he had stepped through a portal with excitement, only to be dragged into a nightmare.

He wouldn't forget being trapped in illusions, tormented, nearly lost to something far beyond his understanding. And when he finally returned, he wasn’t the same.

He glanced around at the others, all chatting excitedly about the new world waiting beyond.

To them, this was just another adventure.

For him? It was a test.

Could he do this without losing himself again?

Jimmy glanced at the crowd that had gathered just for this world. Pearl, Gem, Fwhip and a few others he didn't recognize.

"I'm ready." He flashed her a confident smile.

"Alright everyone, as you know we're staring a whole new world." Fwhip began, gathering everyone's attention. "As always if you have anything that needs to be addressed just come and see me."

Fwhip reached out, pressing his hand on the portal.

A low crack rang out and the portal split open. Energy spilled through the opening.

One by one everyone took the plunge into the portal.

Jimmy hesitated at the threshold, his heart hammering against his ribs. The hum of the portal vibrated through his bones.

For a brief moment, he was back in that other place trapped, helpless, drowning in illusions.

A hand brushed against his arm, grounding him back into reality.

Gem smiled reassuringly at him. "We can jump together if it makes you feel safer." She offered as if she instantly knew that he was nervous.

The offer, quelled the nerves that soared through him. "Right, that would be great Gem." Jimmy chuckled gratefully. Gem took his hand in her and they jumped into the portal.

The familiar rush of energy skipped through his body.

His eyes instinctively closed as soon as his body disapered into the portal.

Another string of numbers came to him, but as he tried to focus on it the fuzzier the numbers got.

Like something was forgotten or muddled in foggy water.

The numbers pulsed behind his closed eyes, twisting and shifting, but the harder he tried to hold onto them, the more distorted they became.

What was that?

It wasn’t like before this wasn’t the overwhelming, suffocating grip of the Watchers. This felt different. Familiar, yet distant, like a memory that refused to surface.

Then, suddenly, solid ground met his feet.

Jimmy stumbled slightly as he landed, Gem’s grip steadying him.

He blinked rapidly, clearing the haze from his vision. The fresh scent of grass filled his lungs, the sky stretched wide and open above him, and the distant chatter of the others drifted on the breeze.

Surrounding them was a small village, that everyone was quick to pick clean.

Jimmy strolled around the mostly empty village. He nodded politely to the villagers before noticing a shiny bell sitting in the villiage.

Then, something shiny caught his eye.

A bell. A perfectly good, shiny bell sitting on a wooden frame in the center of the village.

Jimmy’s lips curled into a smirk. “Well, can’t let this go to waste.”

With a quick glance around to make sure no one would challenge his claim, he grabbed the bell and hoisted it up.

It gave a satisfying clang as he walked off with it, completely ignoring the annoyed glare from a nearby villager.

Finding an abandoned house near the village’s edge, he set the bell up in the center of the room. Then, with careful precision, he placed a sign just beneath it:

“Pay one diamond to see it. Don’t touch.” The sign read.

He leaned back, admiring his work.

Pearl strolled in a moment later, raising an eyebrow. “Really?”

Jimmy crossed his arms. “What? It’s a business opportunity.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I can’t believe I’m related to you.”

Pearl peeked into the doorway, reading the sign before letting out a snort. “You know no one’s actually gonna pay for this, right?”

Jimmy shrugged. “You never know. Someone might appreciate fine craftsmanship.”

Pearl rolled her eyes but grinned nonetheless. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yep,” Jimmy said proudly, giving the bell a triumphant tap. It rang out loudly, echoing through the village.

Somewhere in the distance, a villager let out an irritated grunt.

Jimmy turned back to sign on the building. "I'm proud of myself, I'll be rich by tomorrow afternoon." He exclaimed with a proud grin.

Pearl sighed. "Alright, since you're so sure, shouldn't you go and make your house?"

Jimmy's eyes widened. "Oh! Right, i had this plan. I'll see you in a bit Pearl!"

After traveling around he found a clearing ear a pond that just needed a bit of shaping up. "This, this is it." He murmured to himself.

He had been here for a while, gathering dirt block by dirt block, piling them high and wide in the center of his makeshift plot.

Now, the foundation was set, and it was time to start shaping the walls.

With a grunt, Jimmy dug his hands into the earth, lifting up more blocks and stacking them on top of each other, slowly building up what would be a small home.

The house was going to be simplejust a giant block of dirt, really. No fancy corners, no intricate designs.

He had stolen the idea from dirt cheep. Something Bigb, Mini and Zee had made.

The reminder of Evo sent a pang through his heart. He glanced down at the giant block of dirt sitting on the banks of a pond.

Just raw, solid earth stacked in neat rows. He didn’t need anything more, not for now.

The dirt was sturdy and reliable, and he could always add windows or a roof later if he felt like it.

As the walls grew taller, Jimmy took a step back, dusting his hands off and looking at the structure. It was definitely just a giant block of dirt, but it was his giant block of dirt.

There was something comforting about it, even if it didn’t look like much yet.

“I’ll fix it up later,” he muttered to himself, pushing his messy hair back. But for now, it was exactly what he envisioned.

He may have started the project as a joke. Jimmy figured out very quickly how skilled of builders were in this world.

Fwhip, Sausage, Gem, his sister. It was a low blow to his self esteem, but he was shoving it off.

Was his house ugly?

Yes, but that was the point.

Still, there was a part of him that refused to admit defeat.

Sure, he couldn’t create grand structures like Fwhip or Gem, but that didn’t mean he had to follow their path.

Maybe he'd never be a building genius, but this was his creation, ugly or not.

It wasn’t much, but he had done it. And for now, that was enough.

He stood up and dusted off his pants, giving the block one last glance. “Yeah,” he muttered to himself. “I’ll make it work.”

He was very aware of how horrible of a build it was.

That wasn't going to deter him from trying.

After all, he wasn't planning to keep it as a dirt block forever.

The sun began setting over the west side of the server, as Jimmy's body began to ache from all the work.

He fluttered his wings just lightly to fix a cramp and turned back to the bamboo that Gem had randomly planted an hour before.

He asked her why and she didn't reply, she just had a playful glimmer in her eyes before heading off to her base.

"Well, I can tie a hammock to it, so that works."

He wiped the dirt from his hands and began pulling together some materials to make the hammock.

It wasn’t the grandest plan, but it was something. A small bit of comfort in a world that sometimes felt like it was constantly pushing against him.

It seemed like too much effort to tie it up, so he simply let himself rest, drifting off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The bamboo, though, didn’t stop growing. Over the course of the next fourty-eight hours, the thin stalks stretched tall and proud, reaching higher and higher, towering above the rest of the landscape.

By the time Jimmy finally stirred from his slumber, the bamboo had formed a towering grove. The stalks now loomed over him like sentinels.

He groggily blinked his eyes open, squinting up at the sky. Something didn’t feel right. He pushed himself up from the ground, and as he did, he found himself stumbling slightly—his vision still blurry from the sleep that had claimed him for so long. He rubbed his eyes and stood to his feet, glancing around, trying to make sense of what had changed.

And then he saw it.

The bamboo, which had barely reached his knees before, was now a fifteen blocks taller than he was.

He blinked again, eyes wide in disbelief. The stalks swayed gently in the wind, their tops swishing almost mockingly in his direction.

"Well, that’s new," he muttered, wiping the sleep from his face.

Without thinking, he took a few steps backward to get a better view of the wall of bamboo. He hadn't expected it to grow this fast or this high.

And then it happened. As he backed up further, his feet slipped.

His body lurched backward, and before he could even catch himself, he tumbled down, crashing toward the ground.

His wings flared out, but the sudden drop was too much to stop. He hit the ground with a thud, the fall damage taking its toll, and everything went
dark.

When Jimmy respawned, he groaned in annoyance, his body aching and his wings twitching in frustration.

The familiar sensation of the world snapping back into place didn’t ease the irritation building in his chest.

“Gem!” he muttered angrily, getting to his feet.

His face twisted in annoyance as he surveyed the bamboo, now towering above him like some prankish monument.

It had been her idea to plant it. And now, he had to deal with the consequences of it.

She probably knew this would happen, he thought bitterly.

He glared at the bamboo, muttering to himself, "I'm never letting her live this down."

Gem was at his base the moment he messaged her.

She rushed down the path with a bag full of items and apologies leaving her lips. "Jimmy, I didn't know you'd sleep for two days. Much less had I expected the bamboo to actually grow that fast."

She placed the bag in his hands. "Here, I'm really sorry Jimmy. Plenty of iron to make new tools."

Jimmy stared at her for a moment and took the bag. A small smile appeared on his lips. "I died because you put bamboo up my butt." He teased.

She stammered on more apologies, the realization of his teasing fully hitting her, and then, she broke into a laugh. It was the kind of laughter that was infectious, making Jimmy’s grin widen.

"A very Jimmy death if you ask me." She teased. Suddenly after a moment her eyes widened. "Oh! There's a new person joining today."

Jimmy's expression turned curious. "Oh Who?"

Gem grabbed his hand. "He's at Fwhip's getting everything set. In fact he chose a plot near your...." She trailed off looking back at the giant dirt block. "Your home."

Jimmy narrowed his eyes. “You hesitated.”

“I did not!”

“Yes, you did.”

Gem pressed her lips together, stifling a laugh. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Jimmy sighed, rubbing his face. “Great. My new neighbor’s gonna take one look at my dirt cube and think I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Gem patted his shoulder, not at all reassuringly. “I mean, technically, they wouldn’t be wrong.”

Jimmy groaned. “You’re the worst.”

She grinned. “And yet, here you are following me to meet your new neighbor.”

“Only so I can warn him not to trust you around bamboo,” Jimmy shot back.

Gem just laughed, dragging him forward as the two made their way to Fwhip’s base, Jimmy already wondering just what kind of person would willingly choose to live next to his dirt monstrosity.

Inside of the Fwhip's home was a cyan haired male, in a black hoodie excitedly talking about builds.

Jimmy froze, as the male turned to him.

"Hiya, I'm-" The male began, a soft smile on his lips.

"Scott." Jimmy murmured breathlessly.

The stranger that was in his dreams.

Scott blinked, tilting his head slightly, his soft smile faltering just a bit. "Uh… yeah? Have we met before?"

Jimmy couldn't answer. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

Because this was him.

The cyan-haired man who had haunted his dreams, who had been there in flickers and glimpses, in feelings Jimmy could never quite explain.

The stranger that wasn’t a stranger at all.

He defiantly had to get rid of his ugly dirt block now.

There was no way he was having Scott live next to his eyesore of a build.

Chapter Text

Jimmy glanced up at the large dirt block that sat on the edge of the pawn. At the time, it was fine, meant to be a joke since he was surrounded by amazing builders.

Now though, he glanced at the cute house Scott was in the middle of building and his heart sunk.

Great, the cute guy he seen in his dreams had to gaze on the monstrosity of his dirt block.

The bamboo grew to be taller than the dirt house, a tiny reminder of his first death earlier in the server.

It was a little bit humiliating.

Especially as he turned and saw Scott wondering up towards the build.

He grimaced at the sight. "Jimmy, please don't tell me this is staying." Scott pleaded, his gaze glancing at the giant block of dirt that Jimmy called a home.

"What? No, um it's a diversion, so everyone has low expectations. that way I'll wow them with my actual build." He babbled nervously, his wings fluttering anxiously.

"That's good, because Jimmy, it's an eyesore." Scott replied bluntly. "I was very tempted to blow it up with some TNT and rebuild you an actual house."

Rebuild?

The idea hit Jimmy almost instantly. "Yeah! Don't worry, it'll be gone in a few days, I'm very busy with mining and collecting items."

"Well, I hope you don't mind that i came and took up some of your time. i wanted a little break and figured a little chat with you would be fun."

Jimmy's eyes widened and a light blush took over his cheeks. "Oh! Um thank you."

Scott sat down gracefully on the chairs that sat outside of the dirt block. "So, what server are you from?" Scott asked curiously, wanting to have an conversation with Jimmy.

Jimmy flinched. "Um, uh-" He scrambled to come up with some type of answer. He didn't want to talk about Evo.

"Mineplex, uh, met Fwhip there because he and Gem are friends with my sister Pearl." Jimmy managed to scrounge up some sort of story.

Just have to stick to it. he reminded himself silently.

Scott's expression softened. "ah, so world hopping." He chuckled softly. "I'm a bit of a world hopper, but my favorite server was a modded one called Crazy Craft." His eyes sparkled with mischief. "Actually, I had a dragon named Jimmy on that server."

Jimmy's eyes widened and he snorted at Scott's revelatiom. "You named a pet dragon Jimmy?"

"What? it seemed like a cute name at the time." Scott retorted, a small laugh leaving him.

"At the time? So you don't think the name Jimmy is cute anymore?" The question left his lips without a thought.

Scott chuckled. "Fishing for compliments Jimothy?" He asked with a wink.

His cheeks flushed even more at Scott's playful words. "No! No. It's just you said at the time." He stumbled over his words in an attempt to soothe any problems he may have caused.

"I'm messing with you, and yes, Jimmy's still a cute name, but I think i perfer Jimiothy."

Jimmy's expression changed as he took in the words. "You're going to call me that now aren't you?" He questioned tilting his head to the side. The head wings wiggled with confusion.

Scott brushed a strand of his cyan hair behind his ear as he hummed in thought. "Mhm, I'll probably save the cute nickname for when I really want your attention."

Jimmy's face burned bright red, his head wings flickered down hiding his burning have in a cascade of golden feathers. A flustered chirp escaped his lips.

Jimmy hand slapped over his mouth, desperate not to chirp again, mortification running through him.

Scott laughed at the sound, clearly amused by Jimmy's reaction. "Oh, that was adorable," he teased, leaning forward with a smirk. "Did you just chirp at me?"

Jimmy groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "No, you imagined that," he mumbled, wings fluffing up as he tried to regain composure.

Scott tilted his head, clearly unconvinced. "Mm, sure I did." His smirk softened into something gentler as he glanced back at the dirt block. "Well, regardless of your diversion of a house, I'm glad I came over. You're fun to talk to, Jimiothy."

Jimmy peeked through his fingers, trying not to melt at the way Scott said his name, his dumb, teasing nickname, but still. He took a deep breath, willing the warmth on his face to fade. "Yeah, uh same. It's nice, y'know? Talking."

Scott beamed at him, resting his chin on his hand. "It is, isn't it?"

Jimmy nodded, and met his gaze once more. "So what was crazy craft like?" He asked wanting to change the topic.

Scott's eyes lit up at the question, he leaned back into the seat relaxed. "Crazy just like in the name, we had these stupid mobs called boyfriends and girlfriends."

Scott snorted at the memory. "It was way before I came out as gay so I was trying way to hard to seem straight. I had three girlfriends. All they did was they ate my food and flirted with one another. Pretty sure they were polyamorous lesbians." Scott chuckled.

Jimmy grinned. "That's hilarious. I can just picture you, trying so hard to play the 'straight' guy, while your girlfriends are busy living their own best lives."

Scott laughed harder. "I was such a mess. But hey, it was a learning experience. Eventually, I figured out who I really was. And those girlfriends? They were just part of the journey, I guess."

Jimmy tilted his head, intrigued. "So, when did you figure it out? That you were, you know, um gay?"

Scott’s expression softened slightly, his gaze turning thoughtful. "It was a gradual thing, really. I think I always knew, but I was scared to admit it to myself for a long time. Then one day, I realized I was tired of pretending, and it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders."

Jimmy smiled, nodding in understanding. "That's....really brave, Scott. I'm glad you figured it out."

Scott gave him a warm look, his smile genuine. "Thanks, Jimmy. I think everyone has their own journey. But it's nice to be comfortable with who you are."

There was a brief pause, and Jimmy could feel the shift in the air between them, the weight of their conversation making things feel a little more intimate.

"I fell in love with my best friend." Jimmy blurted out.

He blushed lightly at his outburst. "He was engaged of course so nothing came of it. He was my awakening."

Scott's expression softened in understanding. "Falling for a taken guy, happens to all of us."

Jimmy glanced down, fidgeting with the edges of his shirt, feeling a little embarrassed by the sudden vulnerability. "Yeah, it was tough. But I don't regret it. I learned a lot about myself from it. I just wish it had been different, y'know?"

Scott nodded, his tone gentle. "I get it. It’s one of those things that just sucks at the time, but eventually you realize it’s part of growing up. It shapes who you are."

Jimmy let out a quiet sigh, his wings flickering behind him. "Yeah, I think you're right. But it still stings sometimes. Especially when I think about how much I cared, even though it was never gonna happen."

Scott leaned forward, his expression serious but warm. "You’ll find someone, Jimmy. Someone who sees you the way you deserve to be seen. It’s just a matter of time."

The sincerity in Scott’s voice made Jimmy’s heart flutter in a way he couldn’t quite explain. "Thanks, Scott," he said softly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "That means a lot."

Scott returned the smile, his eyes soft. "Anytime. You deserve someone who’s all in for you, not someone who's already tied up in other things."

Jimmy nodded, his thoughts briefly drifting to Scott himself. He couldn’t help the way his heart raced when they talked like this, when they shared these moments. He quickly shook the thoughts away, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.

"So," he said, trying to change the subject again, "Tell me more about Crazy Craft. Any other crazy things happen?"

Scott’s eyes sparkled with excitement again as he launched into another story.

"The one thing I'll always miss are lucky blocks. I wish they were on this server." Scott giggled.

"I can't help myself, they make perfect gifts. It's either a prank or a gift. Perhaps you'll get diamonds or die in a pit trap! You never know what you're going to get." Scott's eyes gleaned with excitement.

A chill went up Jimmy's back.

Tom's mangled body came to mind.

Lying broken and bent at the bottom of a pit trap, from a lucky block given to them by Scott.

Jimmy's face went pale, the more he thought about the dream. Tom's body refused to leave his sight of vision.

A hand gently grasped his shoulder. "Jimmy, are you alright? You look-"

He hunched forward hurling the little he ate that morning. His throat burned from the acid the more he heaved into the grass

Jimmy squeezed his eyes shut, his wings twitching as he tried to push away the image burned into his mind. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real.

Tom was dead, but Jimmy never saw his real body.
But it felt real.

Tom’s broken form, the pool of red, his stomach twisted again, but there was nothing left to throw up.

Scott crouched beside him, rubbing slow circles on his back. "Jimmy, talk to me," he urged, softer now. "Are you alright? Do I need to call Fwhip or Pearl?"

Jimmy swallowed hard, his breath shaky as he forced himself to sit back.

His head still spun, but the warmth of Scott’s hand on his back grounded him just enough. "It’s nothing," he muttered. "Must have eaten something bad."

"Here, I'll make some tea." Scott offered.

"No you have a build to work on." Jimmy interrupted, he stood up, ignoring the wave of dizziness that washed over him.

"But-"

"You're new to the server, you've got to finish building your house." Jimmy sternly reminded him. "Now if you excuse me, I have to get the materials for my own build."

Scott's expression turned baffled and little hurt at the sudden walls being shoved between the two of them. "You are right, I do have a build to finish." He replied, taking the cue to leave Jimmy's house.

Jimmy glanced at the dirt building that sat in the middle of all the pretty bases. "He's right you know, you better take that down." Pearl's voice called out.

Her brown wings were folded neatly once she landed a few feet away.

Jimmy's tattered wings fluffed with the urge to fly. He winced lightly. "Why are you here Pearl?"

"Can't I go visit my little brother?" She asked ruffling his hair. "I've been worried, you got kidnapped by gods for six months. I'm always going to checking on you."

"I'm fine."

Pearl glared at him. "You have an awful pokerface you know? You look disturbed."

"Just a bad dream, I don't want to talk about this. Did you notice that the bell was stolen?" He switched the conversation.

"Jimmy."

His wings on his head straightened out and opened a bit more in a more threatening stance. "Someone stole my bell Pearl, and I'm going to find out who."

Pearl's on wings turned a bit hostile as well."You're deflecting from the conversation." She accused.

"I'm upset about my bell." He doubled down on keeping the conversation away from his kidnapping.

Pearl snapped up, her wings fluttering in annoyance. "Fine, someone stole the bell, that's not important."

Pearl was known for being patient, kind and gentle, but even Jimmy knew not to piss his sister off. "I'm going to see Gem. She'll have information on the bell." He declared, completely shutting off their entire conversation.

Pearl didn't push him further, though Jimmy could feel her eyes on him, tracking his every movement. She knew how to pick her battles, but this was one she wouldn’t let go so easily. Jimmy had seen it before—she’d circle back when he least expected it.

He quickly turned to leave, his wings twitching uncomfortably as he adjusted the awkwardness that hung between them. "I'll be back later, Pearl," he called over his shoulder, trying to sound casual.

She didn’t respond immediately, but as he walked away, he heard her soft voice reach him from behind. "Jimmy, you don’t have to do everything alone. You know that, right?"

Jimmy clenched his jaw and swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn’t want to deal with it right now. Not when the dream was still lingering, not when his own past felt like a shadow he couldn’t outrun.

"I’ll be fine," he muttered, though his voice lacked the usual conviction.

As he moved toward Gem’s place, he kept his mind focused on the bell. It was a distraction, sure, but it was better than letting himself fall apart.

Gem was in the middle of sweeping the floor of her cottage when Jimmy arrived.

She picked up on his anger. "You know, typically when I need to get off steam, I spar, or I have a cup of tea and a slice of cake."

Jimmy's snorted. "I'm not going to spar you, I've heard all about you being GeminiSlay."

She giggled. "So cake and tea then?'

Jimmy’s mood lightened just a little at Gem’s teasing. He couldn’t help but smile, even if it was just a small one. "I suppose I could go for some cake," he said, stepping inside the cozy cottage.

Gem’s kitchen smelled of something sweet, and the sight of a fresh loaf of cake on the counter made his stomach growl in response. She gestured to the table, offering him a seat. "Have a seat then, and I’ll get you something to calm your nerves."

He sat down but didn’t feel like relaxing just yet. "Actually, it’s not the cake I’m here for," he said, his tone still sharp despite his attempt to distract himself.

Gem raised an eyebrow as she set a cup of tea in front of him, her usual playful smile slipping into something more serious. "What’s going on, Jimmy? What’s really bothering you?"

Jimmy took a deep breath, his wings twitching restlessly. "Someone stole my bell," he said, the words coming out sharper than he intended. "And I’m not just going to sit around and let it go. It was important to me, and whoever took it. I’m going to find them."

Gem nodded slowly, her eyes softening. "I get it. That bell meant a lot to you."

She sat down across from him, her voice quieter now. "But you know, there’s something else going on, isn’t there? You’re not just angry about the bell."

Jimmy tensed, his gaze dropping to his cup. "It’s not just the bell," he muttered. "It’s everything. I’m not handling things well, Gem. I’m not sure what’s going on with me."

Gem studied him for a moment, her expression soft and knowing. "You’re deflecting, aren’t you? You’ve been running from something ever since you got back. But you don’t have to do it alone, Jimmy. You can talk to me, you know."

He looked up at her then, his breath shaky. For a moment, the walls he had built around himself cracked, just enough for the weight of everything to sink in. "I don’t want to talk about it," he whispered.

Gem gave him a knowing look, but didn’t push any further. "Alright. But just remember, you don’t have to carry it all by yourself."

Jimmy swallowed hard, trying to shake off the feeling that something was slowly unraveling inside him. But for now, the cake and tea were enough to offer a small comfort, even if it was just for a little while.

"Pearl keeps pushing me to tell her about what happened to me. I just recently escaped. Everything is so fresh. I don't want to relive it. Talking about it, makes me feel like I'm back there again." Jimmy explained quietly.

"Have you told her that?" Gem took a sip of her tea. "You're her little brother. You went missing for six months Jimmy. She's been a mess about the whole thing."

His eyes flickered down to the table. "I should tell her. I just don't want her to freak out."

"I know that, but talking about what happened to you isn't healthy for you right now. You need to explain that to her." Gem coaxed sweetly.

"You won’t lose her," Gem reassured him. "She’s your sister. She’s been through a lot, too. But she needs to know that you’re not ready yet. It’s better to be honest about your limits than to shut her out completely."

He took another deep breath, feeling the weight of her words settle inside him. "Okay," he said quietly. "I’ll talk to her."

"That's good, now is there anything else you need from me?" Gem coaxed with another slice of strawberry shortcake on his plate.

Jimmy blushed and messed with his hair nervously. "Could I pay you to build me an actual house? I feel so bad that Scott has to stare at that thing daily." He chuckled nervously.

She laughed. "Gladly, 20 diamonds and we've got a deal."

"Really? Thank you so much Gem!" He reached into his inventory and pulled out 20 diamonds along with multiple chests of materials. Here, that way you won't have to gather as many."

"Perfect, you can stay here until it's done." She clapped her hands excitedly. "I already have an idea!" With a quick a hug she headed off to Jimmy's old home.

He watched as the door shut, leaving him alone in the cozy cottage that smelled like honey and fresh baked cake.

Her advice from earlier rang through his head. With a shuddering breath. He picked up his communicator and sent Pearl a message

Solidarity: I know you're worried about me and you mean well. I'm just not ready to talk about it. Talking about what happens makes me relive it

Chapter Text

Jimmy took a breath as he stepped out of Gem’s spare room, a plate of fresh fruits covered in sugar laid out on the sunflower patterned tablecloth.

Gem smiled fondly at him as she dropped a pancake on his plate. “So good news, I figured out exactly what I want to change your house into.” A bottle of syrup was placed right next to his plate while Gem rambled excitedly about her build plans “It’s going to be cute of course, I promise you’ll love it Jimmy.”

He chuckled, pouring a generous helping of syrup on top of the pancakes placed on his plate. “No doubt. You didn’t have to make me breakfast. I mean you’re already rebuilding my house.”

She giggled, and tilted her head to the side cutely, making her braid land on her shoulder. Something she did whenever she was giddy. “Oh please, Jimmy we’re friends of course I’m happy to help out.”

A light blush appeared on his cheeks as he tried to figure out how to phrase his thoughts. “I know that it’s just. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything.”

Her expression turned to one of understanding. She dropped her head into her hand as she stared at him. “Yeah of course, I get that.” She paused and looked back up at him once more. “Have you spoken to Pearl about our discussion last night?”

“I texted her, I figured I’d tell her later after I-” He cut himself off, and sat up straight. “Gem! Have you seen my bell? You know the one at spawn?”

Gem laughed, and rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. She picked up a glass of water off the table. “You mean the bell that was definitely a scam? No one was going to pay you diamonds to look at it, Jimmy.”

A pout appeared on his lips as he fluttered his head wings to look cute. “It was a brilliant plan. But someone stole it, because they knew how genius it was.”

 

“Pretty sure someone stole it, because they knew it was a scam.” She giggled between sips of her water.

“Rude.” He huffed again, but took a bite of the pancake. His eyes widened in delight and took another large bite. “Oh my void, Gem! These are amazing!”

“Aww! Thank you! Speaking of amazing things, I may have fibbed. You may have slept for another three days.” Gem confessed with a chuckle.

Jimmy’s face turned pale. “What?” He snapped, unable to believe what she just said.

How did he fall asleep for multiple days again?

“Yep! The build is complete too! So I can show you your house.” Gem continued on as if her last sentence hadn’t been slightly terrifying

“Hold on! You’re glossing over the fact that I slept for another three days?” He squealed.

Gem sighed exasperatedly. “Jimmy, you needed it. In those three days of sleep, your wings have gotten increasingly healthier. With you sleeping, your wings haven’t been under any stress. In fact sleeping for days seems extremely healthy for you. Fwhip took a look at your coding and you desperately needed all that rest.”

Jimmy’s arguments died on his tongue. He glanced back at his bound wings and wiggled them the slightest bit.

Instinctively he winced bracing for the jolt of pain. Instead most of the pain was infinitely duller than normal. That thought weighed on him for a few seconds.

Has sleeping really been what he needed?

Gem picked up on his unease. “Jimmy, nothing happened to you in your sleep. I would have known if something did. You spent the whole time snuggled in those blankets in the spare room.” She reassured with a gentle touch on his shoulder.

Jimmy melted a little bit into the kind touch. “Yeah, I know, it's just a bit jarring to find out I've slept for multiple days.” He explained, his head wings fluttering a bit with his words.

“You’re right, that would be very jarring, wouldn’t it?” Gem hummed softly to herself.

She turned back to him, as she remembered. “Speaking of which. I will need you to take off your shirt so I can check the roots of your wings.”

Jimmy’s hands fell to his lap. “Do you have to?” He questioned, looking away from her.

Jimmy's voice was full of quiet anxiety, as if waiting to be grilled about himself and everything about him.

He didn't hate his top surgery scars, it just wasn't something he wanted to discuss.

“If you're self conscious about your scars, I already know that you're trans.” Gem approached the subject as lightly as she could. “I had to go through your medical records when Fwhip found you in his private world.”

There was silence for a moment and Jimmy sighed, his hands scrunching up and squeezing his jeans. “I guess, I should have known that someone would have checked the medical records.”

Gem reached out, pulling his hand from the anxiety filled grip. She carefully squeezed his hand. “If it makes you feel better, Fwhip and I are both trans.”

Jimmy's head shot up, his head wings fluttering in surprise. “You are?” He asked, tone full of disbelief.

That's not even something he had considered about the twins.

“Mhm, we both came out as trans when we were 14.” She smiled fondly, and handed him a strawberry from his mostly cleared breakfast plate. “So trust me, neither of us are going to judge you.” Her tone was soothing as she spoke. Each word was delicate and sincere.

“Thank you. I just don't like talking about it. I rather someone just think I'm a cis man and keep it at that.” Jimmy babbled nervously.

“I get it, I don't like having to explain my identity either. I just want to be seen as me.” Gem nodded at his words. “No need to explain being trans. As long as they see me as a girl, it shouldn't matter.”

Jimmy blinked at her, his wings slowly fluttering as he absorbed her words.

For the first time in a while, he felt a little less alone, a little less like the outsider he had always feared himself to be.

“Yeah,” he said quietly, a small smile beginning to tug at the corners of his lips. “That sounds nice.”

Gem clapped her hands together. “Don't think this means that I forgot. Come on, shirt off so I can check the wounds on your back.” She commanded lightly.

“Couldn't you forget just this once?” Jimmy huffed with a roll of his eyes. He reached down and pulled the shirt over his head.

His wings ached from the sudden jostle of movement. “Ow.” He winced, feeling the pain in the roots of his wings.

“Sorry.” Gem mumbled lightly as she traced over the skin.

He winced again. “Still sore.”

Gem pulled her hands away from the root’s of Jimmy’s wings. “I know you’re going to hate it, but please don’t fly for the next couple days.”

An aggravated huff left Jimmy at Gem’s advice. “I figured you were gonna say that.” He pulled his shirt back on over his head, and turned back to the door leading outside. “You said you were going to show me my finished house?”

Gem's eyes lit up. “Right, I almost forgot about that.” She exclaimed. She grabbed her sword from the mantle, and grabbed his hand dragging him out with her. Come on Jimmy. You're going to love it I promise.”

Jimmy followed behind her trying to stop his wings from fluttering. Gem was almost in a rush, practically skipping down the path the entire time.

A gasp that left Jimmy's mouth as he took in the sight of the cute cabin sitting on the hill.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he got closer. Right around the doorway was a very cute porch, but the porch was covered in bamboo.

There was no way.
He should have figured.

The only rules that he had given her was that she couldn't build it out of dirt and that it had to be an actual house.

He never said that she couldn't reference the way she killed him.

And Gem laughed immediately, noticing his reaction. “The bamboo's pretty.” She giggled.

“You did that because you killed me with bamboo, right?” He asked, flabbergasted but also laughing along.

“Okay so maybe I did put it there cuz I put bamboo up your butt.” She smiled knowingly. “Yet you can't complain because even you know it looks good."

A disappointed sigh left Jimmy. “Unfortunately I do have to agree. I can't complain because you did as I asked you. And oh Void Gem it looks amazing.”

He reached out, tracing the wooden beams of the building. The smile grew on his face as he headed upstairs. “Wait until Scott sees this! No more ugly dirt blocks.”

Gem laughed. “Oh I see. So you just wanted me to build you a house so you could impress a cute guy.”

Jimmy flushed deeply at the comment. “ No, I mean well. Okay. Yes, he's cute but also I couldn't let everyone just stare at a giant dirt block." Jimmy stammered.

“I know, I'm just teasing Jimmy.” Gem hugged him, her arms wrapping around his waist mindful of his wings. “I better get going. Got lots of plans and more builds to do.”

He pulled away from the hug. “Good luck with that and no more bamboo at my base!” he added with fake exasperation.

Gem's laughter could be heard as she strolled back down the path towards her own base.

Jimmy headed up the stairs of the cottage. He chuckled lightly looking at the plants growing all around it. “It's a Gem base for sure.” He murmured to himself while checking the communicator.

Nothing just a few get betters from a couple of their friends.

Jimmy's eyes went wide at a simple message from Scott inviting him for breakfast sometime.

Jimmy's fingers dashed across the screen sending back a reply, letting him know that anyway would be perfect.

He glanced out the window towards the spawn. That bell.

He still didn't know who stole his bell.

Pearl's light annoyance about the bell came back to him, but he chuckled softly.

This is what he wanted, just a normal life again. He didn't want to think about the Watchers, or Evo
Nothing like that, here it felt like a brand new start.

He dropped the communicator back into his pocket and settled on the soft plush bed.

He closed his eyes ready to just think, but tiredness overcame him once again.

They stayed shut as his head hit the pillow.

The cold claminess of the void seemed to come back to him in a rush.

He was floating blankly in the darkness, panic gripped him.

He had escaped. Why was he here?

Thousands of questions ran through him.
As well as fear that he would never escape again.

“No please. I can't be here again.” He screamed into the empty void. His heart was pounding hard in his chest. This time the words he shouted echoed through the void.

There was a flash of purple and then a string of code once again.

This time Jimmy managed to see what it was, despite seeing the code he wasn't able to understand what it was saying.

01001000 01100101 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101001 01110110 01100101

It felt important though, it felt familiar.
For a second, Jimmy thought he saw a parrot feather.

And then it was all gone again, stuck in the endless dark dream once more.

The familiar beeping broke through the silence, Jimmy's eyes fluttered open. Above him was the spruce ceiling and rafters that crisscrossed against it.

It was a dream.

The fear and panic that he had felt momentarily was gone. Instead relief flooded through his body. He dreamed it all. He was no longer in the void. He was okay.

He wasn't there with the Watchers, he wasn't being tortured.

He was home and he was safe.

But why did the dream feel so important?

And why did it make him think of Grian?

Chapter Text

Jimmy stared blankly at the wooden beams that criss crossed against the ceiling. His heart was still pounding from the dream.

His wings ached from the bound feathers.

He could vaguely hear the sounds of the birds outside his home.

The pain was shooting through his wings. He grunted, sitting up straight rattling his wings in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain.

The parrot feather seemingly dangled in front of him but as he reached for it he grasped at nothing but air.

Jimmy dropped his hand back down and stared blankly at the ceiling for a couple of minutes. A groan of annoyance left him.

“Great, I'm hallucinating as well.” He grumbled dramatically to no one.

His attention turned back to the clock sitting on the bedside table. Jimmy's expression shifted as he read the time.

8am.

He sat up quickly, he had an hour to get ready and then round up his suspects on who stole his bell.

He reached up, stretching once more. Jimmy could feel his wings shift and stretch with him from inside their binds.

A major improvement.

Grabbing his things he headed downstairs, placing toast into the toaster and starting up on a cup of coffee.

“Alright Jimmy, today you're an integrator. You're going to find out who stole the bell and that's all. You're not going to let anyone distract you.” He promised himself staring into the mirror.

He glanced at his wings that were still bound and tied up by Gem and the others.

They tensed and fluttered just a bit, the binding too tight to fully let them move.

He paused after a moment turning slightly as he spotted what seemed to be a mark on his back.

Confused, he stood facing his back to the mirror and using the communicator to take a picture.

He turned the camera back to him and clicked the picture.

Under the bindings, was a long straight scar that ran from the base of his neck to the middle of his back. A strangled noise left him.

That wasn't there before.

At least he didn't remember it when he was on Evo.

He glanced back at the wings, he hadn't really thought too much on the fact that his wings were bigger than normal. But now staring at the giant scar along his back. It was too even, too straight to be a scar from a normal wound.

Surgical.

He hadn't gone under any professional surgery if left only one thing.

Just another scar, another mark, another sign of those things the Watchers had done to him.

He placed his hand over his mouth and screamed into it.

They modified his body. They did more than whatever else they had done, they had modified his body.

Forget modified. They experimented on him, mutilated him.

Jimmy could taste the blood seeping into his mouth as he bit down hard on his hand screaming and cursing the watchers into his bleeding palm.

What else have they done to him? Shattered his mind, morphed his body, taunted him. He pulled into himself, watching the blood slowly drip from his hand to the floor.

It was only a small puddle, nothing compared to the pools of blood he had seen in Evo and in his dreams.

Nothing compared to the amount of blood that laid under Netty's deformed body.

Her scream still echoed faintly in the back of his mind as he stared at the small mess he had created.

His hand throbbed from the pain as he glanced at the very obvious bite mark etched into his skin. “Shit.” Jimmy hissed, spinning away from the mirror and grabbing the first aid kit he barely remembered was in the bathroom.

He ignored the mirror once more. Far too pissed to even look at himself. He wrapped gauze around his hand and hissing in pain. If anyone asked, he'd just say that he accidently cut his hand with a knife.

Was he even him anymore? So many things have changed because of them. The so-called gods that they believed in had ruined their lives. Torn up their homes and killed his friends as if they were nothing but puppets playing their game.

And Grian, Oh void, Grian.

Snatched up and gone in an instant. No one even remembered his name, except for Jimmy.

That made him sick.

Anger, guilt, sorrow. It was all this disgusting cocktail that welled up inside him ready to explode.

But, that's precisely why he was going to follow Gem's advice. He joined for a fresh start. Perhaps, that's what he truly needed right now.

He tightened the bandage once more around his hand and glanced back up at the mirror. A little sticky note was stuck to the side. A little message from Pearl wishing him a good day.

A sliver of a smile appeared on his face at the note.

He took a deep breath, and turned back to his room. He couldn't let himself have a breakdown. He promised himself that today would be the day that he found out where that bell was.

Jimmy was very aware of how stupid this whole bell thing was. But it got his mind off of everything else. Much easier to focus on a mystery that means nothing that could be solved, than the mystery that means everything that was unsolvable.

Swinging the closet doors open, he pulled out a blue suit and black pants, he slid sunglasses over his face and brushed back his hair.

He turned back to the mirror. With striking a pose with his hand on his hip.

Private investigator Jim. That had a nice ring to it.

Almost as nice as the Ring of the Bell.

The bell he was going to find.

Or so that was his inner monologue. Perhaps it wasn't as cool as he thought it was, at the same time it let his mind think about unimportant things for once.

Not that he'd admit that the bell wasn't important, he had to keep playing that up.

Jimmy struck one more pose looking at himself in the mirror. He looked good. For the first time in quite a few weeks he felt a bit more like himself.

Even if his wings were still bundled up unusable, and maybe his hand was bandaged from accidental self-harm.

Could he even call it that?

He supposed he could, it wasn't like he had meant to make himself bleed by biting down on his hand.

He pulled out as communicator once more, opening up a group chat and messaging his four main suspects.

Sausage, Pearl, Scott and Gem.

He put down the communicator after sending the message. If he knew the others as well as he thought he did. They would probably rule their eyes but they would have shown up anyway.

It gave him about 2 hours to get ready and build the interrogation room.

Something he probably should have thought about the day before but he was far too exhausted.

For a second he thought of parrot feather from his dream and the weird code that was past him.

He shook his head ignoring it.

This wasn't the time he had a bell to find.

That was a mystery. He knew he could actually solve the others? Well he was less likely to solve them.

Jimmy headed downstairs, his black dress shoes clicking against the stone floors as he rifled through his chests, stuffing a blank folder full of blank paper inside.

The plan was simple: interrogate everyone and if they seemed suspicious he'd grab the papers and act he had evidence against them.

To make an insult to the injury of the bell being stolen. The actual diamond was stolen. The one piece of evidence that he had, was gone.

So clearly whoever had stolen the bell had stolen the diamond as well.

That was Jimmy's running theory anyway. It made the most sense considering everything that had happened.

He took a deep breath collecting himself. He needed to calm down and be ready for anything.

After all, who knew what Sausage or Scott was planning.

Not that he wanted to think that Scott would be planning something.

It's kind of hard not to but all his brain can associate Scott with the chaoticness of Lucky blocks.

Even if it was only a dream, he never even saw Scott before this.

He was just the guy that he had hallucinated because of the Watchers.

But he wasn't that anymore was he? They'd spoken for hours before Jimmy got sick from too many memories.

Scott was interesting, flirty, attractive, and a mystery that Jimmy wanted to unwrap but was too scared to.

But that was the main mystery, wasn't it?

That he had seen Scott in a dream that the Watchers had created.

So clearly this man was more than what Jimmy had thought. As much as he hated the Watchers. Surely Scott must have meant something.

That was just another mystery that Jimmy would have to unravel.

Jimmy's thoughts came to a halt. He turned to the door of his house. Taking a deep breath he straightened out his suit and stepped outside.

Glancing at the group. He smiled evenly. “Alright take off your clothes.” Jimmy stumbled over his words, not entirely sure what he had said at first until Scott's voice piped up, tone clearly amused

“You could buy me dinner first, before you tell me to take my clothes off.” Scott teased, laughing softly into his hand.

A flush covered Jimmy's cheeks. “You know what I meant.” He stuttered.

Scott smiled, pulling his hand from his mouth. With a perky step forward he patted Jimmy's cheek. “I do in fact know what you meant. It's just fun to make you blush.” He added with a wink.

Pearl stared at the two of them, as Sausage loudly asked. “Oh? Is something going on between you two?”

Jimmy turned bright red, and swung open the door leading to the integration room. “Absolutely not, now come inside Sausage. This is important.”

Sausage followed him down the stairs babbling frantically about not knowing why Jimmy had even summoned him.

“Right, well take a seat, Sausage.” Jimmy began, taking a seat opposite from him.

As Sausage took his seat, Jimmy leaned back into his chair crossing his arms over his chest. “You know why you're here. You did something. Something really bad.”

Sausage paused and tapped his chin in thought. “I did something bad? You're gonna have to be specific.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes and took a sip of his water that was sitting on his desk. “You stole the spawn bell.”

“I saw the bell, I looked at it, laughed and left. Last time I saw the spawn bell it was untouched.” Sausage explained calmly while he placed his hands down on the table.

His brow furrowed, standing up Jimmy went to the files that were completely empty. He browsed him hoping it would shake Sausage and make him say something.

“So you claim that the last time you saw the bell was where?” Jimmy asked, pretending to skim a document.

“Exactly where you had it. The spawn.” He repeated. “I didn't touch the bell. I saw it in its original spot.”

“Are you sure? Did you see any shady figures around?” Jimmy pressed, dripping the papers back into the files.

“Just someone in iron armor, but that's all I know.”

That wasn't as helpful as Jimmy had hoped. He sighed and gestured to the door. “Thank you Sausage, you may leave now. Tell Scott to come in.”

Scott strolled inside, his hands placed in the pockets of his hoodie. He grinned playfully at Jimmy. “You called for me?”

Instead of replying, Jimmy turned back to his folders and began to slip through them, completely engrossed with staring at the blank papers and mumbling to himself.

“Yep he took it, not saying anything.” Jimmy glanced up and froze.

Scott was no longer in his seat.

Something brushed against Jimmy's shoulder. He jumped backwards, grabbing at the wall. “Scott!”

He clutched his heart. ‘Oh my gosh you scared me.” Jimmy gasped in horror, feeling his heart pounding. “Oh my gosh.”

Scott tilted his head to the side cutely, his cyan hair poking out from under his hoodie. “What did I do?”

Struggling to breath between his laughter Jimmy managed to choke out. “I nearly had a heart attack. Oh my gosh.”

Scott's eyes widened before joining Jimmy’s laughter. “You're that on edge?” He asked between giggles.

With a light smack at Scott's arm, Jimmy stepped back. “Get to your seat, I was talking to Sausage and-” He trailed off, eyes narrowing as Scott dropped to his knees and crawled under the table. “Scott-”

“Down here is more intimate.” Was Scott's reply as if it was the most sensible thing to do when being interrogated about a crime.

With a sigh, Jimmy slipped down to the floor and laid next to him.

“As I was saying Sausage said he's sure that the suspect was in iron armor, but that's not helpful because everyone was in iron armor at the time of it being stolen.”

Scott's expression turned visibly confused. “Jimmy, I have a question. What is it? I've been here for a short amount of time. I don't know everything that's been happening on the server.”

Jimmy was quiet for a second, his ears turned red. “Oh my gosh. I forgot you weren't even on the server at the time of the theft. You didn't join until a few days later.

“So I'm useless to you?” Scott asked.

Jimmy shook his head frantically. “Not useless, never useless. I just called you here because I hoped maybe you knew something about the spawn bell.”

Scott shook his head. “I'm afraid it's the first time I've ever heard of this bell. Such a shame. I would have loved to talk more.” He giggled, brushing his hand across Jimmy's. “It is rather intimate down here like this.”

Jimmy loved that Scott was so confident and flirty. Yet at the same time all the sweet words seemed to muddle and mix. He was far too flustered to even think straight for a few seconds as he struggled not to stammer in front of Scott.

He glanced away from Scott but didn't move his hand away. Instead he stared at the floor for a couple minutes. “You must think this case is really stupid.”

The other wrinkled his nose a bit. “I don't want to say that, but also this mystery seems sort of pointless right? It's just a bell.” Scott replied honestly.

“I-” Jimmy stopped, he looked back at Scott and sighed. “This is really hard to explain, but my last server ended badly and I just want to have a normal life on a server having stupid prank wars and dumb mysteries. That's why I'm doing this.”

Scott's fingers intertwined with Jimmy's. He soothingly rubbed Jimmy's knuckles. “You don't have to say anything else. If finding this bell is what you want to do, as a way to cope. Then I'm with you every step of the way.”

“You mean that?” Jimmy's voice wavered as he met Scott's eyes.

“I do.” Scott replied, his voice steady and smooth, not once breaking eye contact with Jimmy. ‘Now we better get off the floor and call Pearl in. She's your next suspect right?”

Jimmy nodded, his legs shaking a bit as he fully stood up.

There was a brief second of comfortable silence, before Scott reached out, took Jimmy's hand and kissed it. “I'll be outside if you need me.”

Jimmy's face burned as he watched Scott leave the room. He fell back into his seat and internally screamed. “He's too flirty for his own good.” He grumbled into his hands.

Pearl stepped into the room and smiled. “I'm getting nervous, Scott came out of here with a big grin on his face. What did you do?” She teased watching her younger brother squirm a bit.

“Nothing! We just talked about the bell. Which is why you've been called in here.”

A frustrated sigh left Pearl at the statement. She rolled her eyes but sat down on the chair without a verbal complaint.

“So from the information I've gathered the culprit had iron armor on, and they must have had a motive.” He began, watching Pearl's reactions carefully.

“I haven't seen your bell, not since it's been at spawn.” Pearl answered his questions looking thoroughly bored. “Jimmy, do you even have evidence for this?”

He stuttered and turned pink. “I did! A diamond that was inappropriately named.”

Pearl raised an eyebrow. “Where is that diamond?” She asked.

‘Someone stole it.” Jimmy mumbled, knowing his ears were burning in embarrassment. “I'll get it back, that's also a part of this investigation.”

“I left a diamond in your chest. Looked at the bell and left.” Pearl explained.

“Did you name it?” Jimmy pressured.

“Excuse you! I wouldn't use my precious levels on naming a diamond.” Pearl gasped, slapping her hand on her chest.

Jimmy raised his hands up. “I wasn't accusing you of that I just-” He took a deep breath. “Just asking questions Pearl.”

Pearl nodded her head in thought. “Well I'm assuming that's all you have to ask me. Have you gleaned any information Jimmy?”

The canary hybrid squirmed in place a little bit. “ I don't have enough information.” He managed to squeak out.

That's when Gem popped into the interrogation room. “ Jimmy, you got an ominous tip. Here's the picture of where the Bell should be.

Jimmy stared at the Bell for a couple minutes examining the picture. Oak and spruce Wood. He glanced up at the others. Scott and Sausage are both coming as well. “I swear if it's back at the spawn where it should be. I'm leaving this smp.” He declared before angrily walking out and back towards spawn.

He walked right up to the small humble shack tearing down the wall that said under investigation, and stepped inside.

Empty just like before he turned back to the others, and Gem smiled. “Hot and Cold?” She offered with a knowing grin. “It's here around spawn. You'll find it.”

Jimmy spent the next fifteen minutes frantically running around, opening random doors as the others called hot or cold at him.

At one point someone's villager had escaped a building because of Jimmy's frantic searching.

“So hot! Jimmy, you're so hot.” Scott cheered as Jimmy approached a very Pearl build.

He turned dark red and fucked under the pouch. and shook away the comment. The bell was more important.

He glanced up, ready to snap at them before freezing at the sight. “Pearl!” He screeched reaching up and grabbing his bell that had signs written next to it. “Jimmy's sacred spawn bell.”

“To be fair Jimmy, you deserve it for scamming people out of diamonds to look at a bell.” Gem claimed, punching his shoulder.

Pearl, Scott and Sausage followed suit, each of them yelling at him for scamming innocent players.

He collapsed into his house gasping for air, before Scott swung the sword.

Jimmy sat straight up in his bed, hearing the laughter of the other four from downstairs.

It wasn't mocking evil laughs like he heard from The Watchers. This was a joke. His friends were truly having fun.

A smile grew on his face and he stepped back downstairs before pulling all of them into a group hug. “Thank you. For treating me normally.” He gasped out through happy tears.

Pearl's voice softened. She cupped her little brother's hands.and gently squeezed them. “You're just like us. Never forget that and we love you for being you.”

Jimmy sniffled, wiping his tears once more.

He began to feel like perhaps he did belong on this wacky server like the rest of them.

That was all he wanted.

Chapter Text

“Did you hear? We’re talking about fighting the ender dragon.” Gem asked Jimmy casually as they sat in her garden repotting some plants.

Jimmy sat up at that. “Oh? Uh so soon?” He asked, blinking a bit shocked by the statement.

“Of course, Eltra’s are a necessity.” Gem replied with a smile. “Not all of us have large golden wings.” She teased lightly.

“I know that.” Jimmy huffed, rolling his eyes. “I just didn’t realize you guys were planning on fighting the dragon so soon.”

Gem grinned, she patted the ground once more making sure that the dandelions were planted evenly. “It makes building a lot easier if you can travel around quickly.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Jimmy hummed to himself quietly. He crossed his arms over his chest, before dropping his chin into his hand and looking at her curiously. “So when is it?”

“In a few days.” Gem hummed putting away her tools, as she leaned down and helped Jimmy back up. “Speaking of wings, how are you feeling?” She asked curiously.

He flexed his wings just slightly against their wraps. “Better, just waiting for you to give me the go ahead to try using them.”

Gem nodded. “I suppose it depends if you think that they'll be okay.” She mused softly. “Are you sure that they’ll be okay outside of the binds?”

Jimmy flexed his wings once more. “They don’t hurt when I move them, it would be a good idea to try to use them. They’ve been binded for over a month already Gem.” He huffed.

Her expression softened. “Alright, but don’t try to fly just yet.”

“I know that.” He grumbled looking back at his wings. “My wings aren’t strong enough to hold me, they haven't been used in so long.”

Gem patted the stool and began to unbind the wraps. Jimmy’s wings shifted and rustled under the touches and Gem paused for a moment raising an eyebrow at Jimmy to make sure that she had permission to continue.

“Sorry, go ahead.” Jimmy apologized, taking a breath and trying to keep his wings still. Gem was quiet as she dropped the bandages down on the floor. “Spread your wings.” She advised him.

Jimmy’s wings spread out, the slight tightness from being bound, sprung out like a coil. Relief rushed through his shoulders, a soft groan slipping from his throat.
“Oh my gosh. That feels much better.”

Gem gasped, and stared at his wings in shock.

He turned to Gem, and noticed her expression. “What?” He asked. He was aware of the shift in her expression and the way his wings felt a bit heavier than he remembered.

“Jimmy, how big are your wings?” Gem asked, watching the way his wings moved just slightly in fascination.

“My wingspan? Like six feet, why?” Jimmy asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

“When we found you the wingspan was eight feet, but Jimmy…” Gem moved some hair behind her ear. “Jimmy, your wings they’re so much bigger now.”

“What?” He turned back to his wings. His hands went straight to his face as he held back the scream that was pleading to get out.

The scars, the way his wings felt heavy. How his back ached when he finally escaped. They did this to him. It all made sense.

An experiment of cruel deities. He was nothing but their little lab rat. The way they called him Canary to taunt him and never by his actual name.

He fell to his knees, dryheaving onto the grass, his arms shaking so badly he could barely hold himself up.

Gem was at his side in an instance. “Jimmy, Jimmy.” She waited until he fell back and was no longer heaving into the grass. His heart was pounding and his chest felt so tight.

He couldn't breathe

“Jimmy.” Gem lowered her voice. “I need you to breathe for me. Breathe in for seven seconds, hold for seven, breathe out for eight. Do this with me.”

Gem repeated the motions of her instructions. Her hand gently placed on top of Jimmy’s as she monitored his movements, making sure he was following along.

He kept his eyes on Gem’s chest, doping as she said and repeating, after five times, his heart rate began to slow, and he could breathe normally again. “Thank you.” he mumbled quietly.

“It’s nothing, you would have done the same for me.” Gem hummed, standing up and helping up once again. “Do you want to come inside, I’ll make some chamomile tea and I’m sure I have some tarts left over in the fridge.”

Jimmy perked up, his head wings fluttering happily at the sound of a snack. He took another breath and folded his wings up once more against his back.

Gem dropped a random disk into the jukebox as she walked into the kitchen and began to make some tea.

Jimmy glanced at the mirror. His hand was lightly scarred from punching the mirror two weeks before. But now staring clearly he could see that even folded up his wings were visibly larger.

Admittedly he hadn’t realized because he spent a lot of his time avoiding mirrors.

“I hate them.” he whispered quietly in the mirror. “I hate that they changed me to the point that I hate looking at myself.” His throat welled up as he swallowed back the sob that was in the back of it.

The anger from before began to boil through him once more, he spun away, swallowing down the rage and impulsiveness that was threatening to bubble out.

This was Gem’s house. It was different if he damaged his things, but never Gem’s things, she’d be more upset about him hurting himself than the decor. He wouldn’t though.

The sound of the kettle screeching and being turned off filled the house, pulling him slightly from his second spiral of the day.

Still his wings being so large was annoying, they kept shifting and brushing against the ceiling. Feather bending in slightly awkward ways

“Why do they have to be big?” He huffed under his breath. “They were fine at their normal length.”

His body suddenly jolted with a bolt of energy he was dimly aware of feeling before.

Like being shocked by static, but how whole body buzzed with it.

Jimmy stared at himself in the mirror for a few minutes trying to decipher what was different or if anything had changed.

Wait

He didn’t feel so enclosed suddenly. Jimmy spun back to the mirror, he gasped loudly.

His wings were no longer brushing against the ceiling, instead they were folded up[ neatly on his back their normal length. “What the?” He yelled out in shock.

Gem rushed into the room concerned. “Jimmy what’s going- Oh my gosh!” They’re small again.”

Jimmy nodded vigorously as he flexed his wings, and spread them out again. Instantly the same bolt of energy ran through him and his wings grew again. He frowned, and stared in the mirror for a second.

He focused his thoughts on the wings being small. With the jolt of energy like the times before, they shrunk down to normal size. “I can control them.” Jimmy hummed softly to himself.

“You're an avian though. You don't have magic.” Gem mumbled to herself as she examined him. “From your own shock that's something that's never happened before.”

“It's not normal, but you know.” He laughed, running his hand through his hair anxiously. “Since when has anything been normal as of late?”

Gem’s expression softened. She reached out and squeezed his hand. “We’re going to get through this okay?” She asked seriously. “You have all of us right behind here to help you with whatever.”

Jimmy's expression softened at that. He sighed, folding his wings against his back once more and took a seat on the stool in the dining room. “You said the tea was done?” He asked curiously.

Gem's expression shifted at the sudden conversation switch but she could see that Jimmy needed a distraction. “It is, just let me grab it.”

Gem back into the room carrying in a small tray of lemon tarts and two cups of Chamoile tea. “Here” She gestured to it with a smile.

Jimmy took a cup from her and smiled nervously. “Thank you.” He mumbled taking a sip out of the cup. “It’s really sweet.”

She smiled brightly. “The honey is from my bees. I’ve been trying different flower combinations.” She explained excitedly.

He chuckled, watching the way Gem’s eyes lit up as she quickly explained about the bees and her newest combination.

He watched the way her whole face lit up. For a brief moment, his chest felt lighter.

A slight flush appeared on Gem’s cheeks as she realized that she went into a rant. She smoothed out her sweater. “Anyways, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” She asked curiously.

“I don't really have any plans really.” He shrugged. “I might stop by Scott’s base and say hi.”

“Oh?” She asked with a knowing grin as she took a sip of her tea. “Going to go see your boyfriend?” She teased.

A flush took over Jimmy’s cheeks at Gem’s comment. The head wings fluttered and quickly covered his face, in a desperate attempt to hide his bright red blush. “He’s not my boyfriend.” He stuttered.

“Not yet.” Gem teased playfully, as she took his empty cup and headed back into the kitchen. Jimmy watched her walk away. He sighed, his head wings still covering his face.

He had to admit that Scott was very pretty, but the idea of even attempting a relationship made him feel ill. He knew he wasn’t ready for something like that.

Gem came back into the room, her expression softening once more. “Jimmy, I’m just teasing you. You know that right?” She double checked sitting down next to him and squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Jimmy nodded, peeking through his head wings. “I know you are, it’s just with everything that’s been happening. I haven’t even entertained the idea of dating.” He explained.

“I get it.” Gem nodded, and fiddled with her hair as she spoke. “After everything you’ve been through in the past two months, I’m not surprised to hear that dating is the last thing on your mind.”

They were quiet for a few moments, the breeze gently tapping against the shutters was all either of them could hear. Gem’s communicator chimed, making both of them jump slightly.

Gem picked it up and smiled. “Oh! It’s Pearl. We agreed to spar a bit this afternoon.” She dropped it back into her pocket. “You don’t mind if I cut this visit short?” She asked curiously.

“Of course not. I said that I was going to visit Scott after this. I don't mind leaving early.” Eh explained quickly. He stood up, grabbing his bag. “I’ll see you later then?”

Gem glanced up and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you later.” She gave his hand one last squeeze. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

He hesitated, then managed a small smile. “I’ll try.”

Jimmy walked along the path back to his base. His wings fluttered softly behind as he practiced using them.

The winding path led to his base and right across from the lake was Scott’s home. Jimmy smoothed out his wings, fluttering only a few feet off the ground, before landing clumsily. His wings really weren’t strong enough to carry him.

Scott knelt down in front of his base with a trowel and weeding out his flowers. He glanced up, the sun shining off his fluffy cyan hair. His eyes lit up excitedly as he dropped his trowel onto the ground. He stood up, wiping the dirt off on his blue apron. “Jimmy!” he called out waving him over and smiling brightly at the sight of the canary hybrid.

“Your wings! They’re out of the bind!” He patted the iron bench that was weaved into rose designs on the back. “When did you get them free?”

Jimmy smiled, taking the seat. He folded his wings against his back once more. “Earlier today. Gem untied them while telling me about the ender dragon fight that’s coming up.”

Scott hummed at that. He pulled out his communicator, typing something down. “Oh I forgot about that. Are you going to be there?”

“I don’t really have any plans, so I’m going. What about you?” Jimmy asked curiously, turning the conversation back to Scott.

“I’ve been busy working on a new server. You know how I was telling you about Crazy Craft?” Scott asked, eyes full of excitement. “Well Lizzie reached out to me about how she misses living on modded servers with me. So I’ve started on making a new server.”

Scott grinned. “It won’t be the first time I’ve been the admin of a server.” He explained, kicking his feet happily. “I miss Joel, Lizzie and the others.”

“I’ve rarely lived on modded servers.” Jimmy admitted in thought. “What’s it like living on them?”

Scott’s expression twisted into thoughtful, before turning back into a dazzling smile that made Jimmy’s heart skip a beat for a moment. “How about I put you on the white list, then you can experience it yourself?”

Jimmy blinked rapidly. He stared at him in shock. “You’d whitelist me to your server?” He asked, voice breaking with disbelief.

“Of course I would.” Scott squeezed his hand and smiled softly. “We’re friends aren’t we? Why wouldn’t I invite you?”

“It’s just I wasn’t expecting to be invited to another server while we are here.” He stumbled over his words.

Scott hummed and rubbed his knuckles. “I want you to meet them, my other friends. They’re practically family to me.”

Scott leaned against him. “Lizzie and Joel are together and practically my family. Joel and I have this dumb rivalry. He’s basically my older brother though.” He gigged.

Jimmy flushed lightly, at the gentle weight pressed against him. He glanced down at Scott’s blue eyes and looked away nervously. “If they’re that important. I’d be happy to meet them.”

“You mean that?” Scott asked shifting to meet Jimmy’s eyes once more. “Thank you. That makes me happy. You’ll love them I promise! We’re all chaotic and love to pull pranks.”

“I mean it.” Jimmy mumbled his face, heating up from how close Scott was to him. “I think a modded server would be a fun change of pace.”

“I’m glad.” Scott tucked his head into Jimmy’s shoulder. “I know you haven’t talked a lot about your previous server but I wanted to ask about it.”

Jimmy stiffened up at the question. He gripped his thighs and took a breath. “It ended abruptly. I have good memories though.” He managed to choke out.

“Like my friend Netty who made a giant library where she saved evidence of history on the server. My best friend Martyn and I were the property police. “

“Property Police?” Scott asked curiously, his full attention to him.

Jimmy laughed nervously. “Our whole goal was to have everyone’s cords, but I got a little head of myself and caused prank wars because I was making rules that people didn’t follow.”

“That sounds about right. Making rules on a server full of prankers? That’s never going to go well.” Scott giggled.

“Yeah, it was fun.” He trailed off for a moment thinking about the time that Grian had blown up the police station or pranked him with that giant explosion in the tunnels.

Scott was quiet for a moment. He lightly squeezed Jimmy’s hand. “Can I ask what happened to the server?”

Jimmy kept his eyes open. Knowing that if he closed them. He would see Netty’s body and the world deleting itself in front of him. “Some coding got messed up and no one could get on it again.” He lied.

Scott stared at him for a few more seconds. “I’m sorry. I’ve had my fair share of servers messing up due to coding errors.”

He nodded, closing his eyes for a second and opening them again. Soft blue eyes full of curiosity and understanding left staring at him.

Scott blushed a little and pulled away. “I better get back to working out here. So I can work on the server later.” Scott laughed, taking a step away from the bench.

“Right, I’ll see you soon, right?” Jimmy found himself asking, as he stared at the other.

Scott’s smile softened, the tiny blush still tinting his cheeks. “I’ll see you soon. I’ll give you an update on the server as soon as it’s done.” He promised, stepping backwards and back onto his home.

Jimmy watched as the wooden door shut softly. He stuck his hands back into his pockets and headed back to his own home.

As he walked, he tried to ignore the way his ears still burned from being so close to Smajor.

“He really is pretty, but I can’t let myself fall for him. I have my own issues to deal with. Maybe one day though, when I’m ready.” Jimmy whispered to himself as he entered his house and headed back to his room for the night.

Chapter Text

Purple hands creeped through the void reaching out for him. A strangled scream left Jimmy as he curled into a ball, his large golden wings wrapping around him like a shield. Their voices echoed through the darkness.

“Canary, We Have Him. The One You Lost.” Their voices taunted through the cold clammy void.

Jimmy covered his ears, his head wings folding in on themselves to muffle their echoing voices.

Ghostly touches traced over his wings, making them tremble and tingle as if cold water was dumped all along them.

His wings sprung open as a pained scream tore from his throat. His entire body tingled with energy like a bolt. His body felt like static as a bolt of green hit the purple transparent hands.

They fizzed out like cotton candy hitting water.

The last words that screeched through the watcher’s voices tainted him as his eyes shot wide open.

Jimmy sat right up, soft blue blankets falling to the floor as his wings shook violently. The bright sun was shining through the window. He could hear Gem and Pearl downstairs at his front door.

He paused for a moment, rubbing his eyes. That’s weird, he could never hear that clearly before.

His ears tingled with light pain. The sounds of the birds outside were louder than he ever remembered. Slowly he reached up tugging lightly at his ear and stopping as the touch seemed to thump through his ear drums.

The tingling stopped after a few seconds. The knock at the door seemingly rang through the house as he gathered himself and headed downstairs.

Jimmy opened the door. Pearl and Gem were waiting patiently at the door. “So we were just reminding you that the ender dragon fight is later this afternoon.” Gem explained, leaning a bit into Pearl.

Pearl nodded. “I'm not participating in the fight. I just wanted to make sure you're going to be okay. You haven't fought the ender dragon since the last time.” She explained softly.

Jimmy stiffened a bit at the comment. He sighed and nodded. “I'm aware that it's tonight. I'm ready.” Jimmy explained, doing his best not to get offended.

He knew that Pearl wasn't babying him. He shifted a bit and leaned against the door frame. His wings rattled just a little bit. “We're meeting at spawn for this right? I remember Sausage saying that they were turning it into a game.”

Gem's voice went a bit higher in her excitement as she clapped her hands together. “We're going to be split up into teams of two. We are only allowed to use wood tools and leather armor.” She reminded him with a grin.

“Right. I'll see you later at the spawn Gem.” Jimmy stepped back prepared to go back inside.

“Jimmy, could we talk?” Pearl asked her younger brother. Her wings shifted nervously as she waited for Jimmy's reply.

Jimmy wasn't surprised by the question. He opened the door and held it out for her. “I was about to make some waffles and have strawberries on the side. Do you want some?” He offered.

Pearl smiled, taking a seat on the stool in the kitchen. “I'll just have a few strawberries. Gem made us Eggs Benedict this morning.”

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. “Oh you guys stayed the night together?” He asked curiously.

Pearl flushed a little. “We just sparred and watched movies last night. Nothing like what you're hinting at.”

“I wasn't?” Jimmy stared at her for a second trying to decipher what Pearl meant. His eyes widened as he realized and he laughed. “Pearl! I wasn't even thinking of anything like that. Oh my gosh. Pearl, PG!”

Pearl blushed and laughed. “Sorry! It’s just that it sounded like you were implying that we- you know.” She giggled between laughter.

Jimmy shook his head frantically. “I wasn't trying to imply that!” He gasped laughing along with his older sister.

He placed his hand on his table catching his breath

His wings fluttered a bit as if trying to balance him.

“I can't believe you assumed I was talking about that! You two aren't even together.” Jimmy added on, still shocked.

At that, Pearl turned pink and her own head wings fluttered over her face for a few seconds. “Oh um about that.” Pearl mumbled, glancing up at him.

Jimmy's eyes went wide. “Wait- You're dating Gem?”

Pearl nodded. “It's a really new relationship! We weren't hiding anything from you. We talked about it last night and we are going to take things really slow.”

He stared at her for a few seconds. “I wasn't expecting that. I mean I figured that she might like you, but I wasn't expecting you two to get together so soon.”

Pearl hummed. “I know. That's why we haven't really told anyone. This is really new for the both of us.” She blushed. “But you're my brother so I had to tell you.”

Jimmy placed down his own breakfast on the table and smiled. “I'm really happy for you! Gem's really sweet and I know you need someone like her. You both understand each other and match each other's energy.” Jimmy explained excitedly.

“She does.” Pearl giggled softly behind her hand. “Gem makes me happy.”

Jimmy's eyes softened. “I'm glad. You deserve that.” He leaned back on his stool, shifting his wings as he watched the way his sister's expression shifted. “You look really happy.”

“I am.” Pearl glanced back at his wings and changed the conversation as calmly as she could. “Your wings. I heard that you can change their form?” Pearl asked softly.

Jimmy paused and nodded. “Yeah I’ve been trying it out. I can make them grow when I’m planning to fly and they shrink when I’m just walking around.” To demonstrate he spread open his wings, making them spread out and grow.

Pearl gasped, reaching up and running her fingers through his golden wings. “That’s incredible. You can control their size.”

“Incredible is a word for it.” Jimmy huffed, stepping back and closing his wings once more. “Just another thing to add to the list of things the Watchers fucked up.”

“Jimmy- I didn’t mean-” Pearl quickly began to explain herself.

“Pearl, it’s fine. I get it. It’s interesting for everyone else. I’m getting used to it. I promise.” Jimmy gently shut her down. “You don’t need to apologize.”

He grabbed her plate and walked towards the kitchen. “On a lighter note. I can sorta fly. It’s more like I can glide for about five minutes but that's better than nothing.”

“Are you prepared for the ender dragon fight? It’s not like you can fly and destroy the end crystals.” Pearl asked, following him into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. I promise.” He turned back to her, slipping the dirty dishes into the sink, to clean later.

“I’m glad.” Pearl gave him a small smile, before wrapping her arms around his waist. She nuzzled into his hair affectionately. “I’m very proud of you. Despite everything you’re still standing tall.”

“Thank you.” Jimmy sighed, carefully taking a step away. “I just wish Grian was here with us.”

“Who?” Pearl asked, furrowing her brows.

His wings stiffened against his back, with a ragged breath he soothed them out once more. He waved his hand brushing his comment off. “Nothing, just a random thought I had.”

The reminder that his own sister didn’t remember their brother, made the blood boil under his skin once more. Feathers bristling with fear and anger at the same time.

With another deep breath in again. He smoothed out his wings. It wasn’t Pearl’s fault, he was the only one who even remembered who Grian was.

“Anyway, I better get ready for the fight. I have to meet with Sausage and everyone else tonight.” Jimmy excused himself.

“Alright, I suppose you’re right.” Pearl hummed, standing up and walking with Jimmy out the door. She hugged him once more. “Good luck tonight. I’ll be cheering you on.”

“Thank you.” He mumbled, squeezing her softly. “I’ll need it.” He added with a smile of his own. He pulled away, disappearing back into the house.

The door shut, and Jimmy's wings spread out, rattling with fear. The parrot feather from his dreams a few weeks before still haunting him.

It floated in front of him. He desperately reached out and let out another ragged sound. “Fuck you.” He hissed to no one. “Taunting me with him. Reminding me that no one even knows who he is anymore.”

As always no voice even responded to him.

He let out a bolt of green light at the floor again. A string of code suddenly flooded his version and disintegrated a few seconds later.

01001000 01100101 01110010 01101101 01101001 01110100 01110011 00100000 01010011 01100101 01110110 01100101 01101110.

Another bolt of energy shot from his hands patching the hole into the void. He fell to his knees breathing heavily, his wings spreading out with the burst of energy.

The code didn’t make sense to him, it all felt so familiar but he couldn’t translate their meanings at all.

He should know what it meant, but that didn't make sense at all. He was never able to see code before. It all started after escaping the watchers. Escaping that cage he was trapped in.

He closed his eyes once more. This was the second time he had done that since joining Legacy. Both times were about Grian.

He stared at his wooden floors still bunched up on his knees. “It means something. Those bastards took him, they took me and experimented on me” He hissed.

Slowly he got back up, wings spreading out once more this time growing to their full size. “You’ve kidnapped my brother and mutilated my body, but that doesn’t stop me from using your experiments on me to get my brother back.”

He spun on his heel, slamming the wooden door open. “The Ender Dragon fight is my first step.” He vowed to the sky, to the watchers, to whoever was listening. “You'll regret this.”

Hours later, Jimmy rushed down the path leading to spawn, his wings fluttering and lifting him off the ground for a few feet before he landed each time.

The dirt kicked up from the ground after every little landing. He could see the dust fly around him in little clouds as he fumbled his landings onto the ground.

At the spawn was Sausage and Logic standing on their podiums. Everyone was already waiting for him.

Gem spotted him and waved him over. “You’re almost late.” She hissed. “We’re about to roll for the teams.” She hissed quietly into his ear.

“Sorry, I was practicing using my wings.” He explained, taking his spot next to her as Fwhip began to explain the rules for everyone again.

“We all only use stone tools with no enchantments and wear nothing but leather armor.” Fwhip explained, gesturing to the chest that was in the middle of the podium. “Whoever’s team wins will become the king of Legacy.”

Sausage and Logic locked eyes, both sizing the other up.

Fwhip grinned, hitting the lever and calling out the first name. Jimmy zoned out until Gem was called for Sausage’s team. She laughed happily, skipping up to Sausage and taking her spot next to him.

A few names later and Fwhip chuckled before handing the paper over to Sausage who exasperatedly asked. “Can I have anyone else?”

Everyone turned to Jimmy at that. He smiled sheepishly, batting his wings to get rid of his nerves. “Is it me?”

“Of course it is.” Fwhip snickered. “He’s got to have his babysitter after all.”

“I can’t escape the child.” Gem laughed along with them.

Jimmy bit back whatever retort was on his lips. He knew it was a playful jab, but the idea of Gem being his babysitter rubbed him the wrong way.

He wasn’t a child. He could handle himself just fine.

Jimmy took a deep breath and took his spot next to Gem. He held out his hands as Fwhip handed him armor and tools for the fight.

The rest of the names we called. Jimmy zoned out once more, his attention turning to the strange purple dot. He turned to it, brows furrowing before it blinked right out of existence.

He barely had time to fully even think about it, when Gem grabbed his wrist. “Come on, we’re heading to the stronghold.” She snapped him from his thoughts, pulling him along.

“Ow, Gem!” he gasped, pulling his wrist from her hold.

She turned back to his exasperated. “You’ve been all floaty this past hour. Are you sure you can handle this?” She asked, voice softening. “We can get someone to take your place if it’s needed.”

“What? No, I'm fine.” He shook his head. “I just got distracted. I got this.” Once again the small voice in his head spoke up again.

Why did they all act like he couldn’t handle himself?

Sure he knew he was clumsy, and yeah Evo really fucked him up, but everyone acted like he was a baby.

Gem’s expression shifted once more before she sighed and looked away. “Fine if you say so, but you don’t need to push yourself.” She reminded him once more, hoping that he would open up to her.

Instead, he turned away from, dredging forwards to the stronghold. “Well come on? We can’t have them wait for us.” He called, glancing back at her.

“I’m coming.” She called back following behind him.

Jimmy entered the stronghold, the oppressive energy of the portal hung heavy in the air. He tightened his wings against himself the closer he got to the portal.

He stared down at the swirling back void. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped off, taking the plunge into the end.

The portal was cold as he fell through, code buzzing around him for a second.

“Jimmy.” Gem’s voice came from his side. He opened his eyes looking out at the end island that was around them.

The void was just as cold and unwelcoming as it always was. He shivered, teeth chattering quietly from the cold.

Sausage was already barking out orders as everyone rushed up to get onto the island and to fight the dragon.

 

Legs shaking Jimmy jogged up to the others.

The large dragon was already swirling through the air. Her obsidian like scales glittering from the light of the end.

Jimmy watched for a few seconds in fascination at the way she dived through the air, diving for the other.

After a few seconds, he shook his head, pulling out his bow and shooting for the end crystals on the enormous obelisks that towered hundreds of blocks above them.

A shocked scream left Fwhip as their communicators buzzed in his pockets.

Viggoman was slain by an enderman.

Jimmy glanced at the notification, and turned his attention back to shooting the last end crystal. It exploded into particles of purple colors and shattered glass.

“That’s the last crystal!” Sausage called out, catching Jimmy’s attention. He slung the bow back onto his back, rushing to the middle where the others were. He glanced up, barely skidding and dodging the range of dragon’s poison spat at them.
Purple eyes glared into his eyes. The enderman towering above him as he stopped suddenly.

He barely could scream as he glanced up and spotted two large purple hands reaching out towards the center.

The world turned fuzzy as he screamed a name.

His brother glitched through the sky, the large claws grabbing at him. Jimmy screamed once more, throwing himself into the air, flapping his wings frantically as he flew towards them.

Grian’s body glitched out once more. Macaw feathers disappearing, and light brown hair switching to a bright cyan.

Jimmy froze, wings still flapping with the effort of holding him, and the body turned fully into Scott.

“Canary.” The watcher’s voices came out of Scott’s mouth. His pretty blue eyes turned into soulless black holes.

“Let him go.” Jimmy spat, holding the sword even tighter into his hands.

The watcher’s voices laughed, taunting him by hanging Scott’s body by his neck like a rag doll.

A few seconds later, Scott's hair grew out into long dark brown hair, large moth wings growing on to his back.

“Perhaps we’ll take your sister as well. "The watchers taunted, their voices coming out of his sister’s mouth.

Jimmy shook violently. “Let her go, let them go!” He screamed, slashing his stone sword through the purple hands.

The hands disappeared and reappeared once more.

Jimmy glanced around, slowly lowering the sword down for a moment. Till he felt something latch to his right leg

Something crawled up his leg.

Jimmy looked back down, Five small purpled hands crawled up his leg. He kicked, and swung his sword desperate to get them off of him.

“Canary, You’re just a caged bird. Give up.” The voices taunted him loudly.

“I’m not!” He yelled, swinging the sword at the watcher’s hands once more, the stone blade grazing against his leg. He hissed at the pain, he reached down expecting blood.

Nothing.

“What?” He asked, confused, looking around.

His wings no longer ached, the end had changed to a black void.

“Jimmy!” Gem’s voice called out from somewhere far away.

The hands poofed, no longer grasping to his pants and tugging at him. He dropped the sword looking around as it fell into the inky black void.

“Jimmy!” Gem called out again. She sounded so close as if someone was above him. He looked up, soft light leaking through the void.

Its warmth and the smell of lemon tarts hit him, as he reached out for the light, its calmness calling for him.

Jimmy’s eyes opened as soft hands gently cupped his face. He blinked a few times, the sunlight shining brightly into his eyes.

 

Red hair was in his field of vision as he looked up into green eyes. Gem was shaking. “Oh thank the void. You’re awake.” She whispered. Jimmy groaned, turning slightly. Pearl was sitting next to Gem. The two girls holding hands. “Where am I?” He asked quietly.

“My house.” Pearl sighed. “You gave us a fright Jimmy.” She squeezed her little brother’s hand. “We found you at the spawn passed out, you were screaming for someone to let someone else go.”

Jimmy glanced up at his sister and squeezed her hand back, relief flooding though him seeing that Pearl was alright. “Why was I at spawn?”

Gem sighed. “You made eye contact with an enderman. We were expecting you to come running back and join the fight, but you never did.”

He cursed under his breath. “Who won?”

Gem smiled. “We did, trust me Sausage is going to be insufferable after this.”

Jimmy smiled softly, at that as they helped him sit up. He fluttered his wings just slightly making sure that they were okay. “I respawned normally.”

“Can you tell us what you were screaming about?” Gem asked quietly.

He looked away, folding his wings against himself again. “I saw them, the watchers were grabbing at me and trying to hurt-” He swallowed. “Trying to hurt Pearl.”

Both girls were quiet for a few moments. Jimmy sighed. “They know I’m here.”

“You can’t just flee to another server. Where would you go?” Pearl asked, already knowing what Jimmy was thinking about.

“Scott has a modded server he’s working on. The watchers wouldn’t bother. Modded servers are a mess of code and they hate messy code.” Jimmy replied confidently.

How he knew that, he wasn’t even sure how.

Pearl sighed, reaching out and kissing her younger brother’s forehead. “I can’t stop you. As your sister I want you to be safe, and if you think going to Scott’s server is the right choice. I can’t stop you.”

He reached out pulling his sister tightly into a hug. “Thank you. I’ll be safe. I promise.”

“Well, better tell Scott that you’re going onto his server earlier than you expected.” Gem added with a smile, as she hugged Jimmy just as tightly. “If I hear anything about you getting into trouble, I’ll kill you myself.” She teased.

“Wouldn’t expect anything else from GeminiSlay herself.” Jimmy chuckled, taking a step back from both of them.

Perhaps in another world, he would have stayed, became an investigator solving mysteries and having a dumb food truck war with Fwhip. He might have even started on a mega base.

But that wasn’t this universe

He opened his communicator and clicked on the newest server.

Xlife.