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Jimmy found himself at spawn, looking down at the symbol at his feet. One he became familiar with years ago as a young Canary, not even an adult. Once, the symbol had represented fun and family, back when his brother had made his first server.
Evolution.
The Symbol quickly changed to meaning ‘danger’.
He heard footsteps behind him and Jimmy jumped, turning quick. It was just Tango.
“Sorry, did I scare you?” Tango asked.
Jimmy shook his head. “No, I was just in my own head.”
Tango nodded once and stood beside him. He inspected the logo too. “Where have I seen this before?”
“Oh, it’s been scattered around the universe for a while.” Jimmy shrugged, not taking his eyes off the sign. “You’ve probably seen it in the other life games.”
The Blaze thought for a moment, playing with the bottom of his jacket. “I can’t recall.”
“It’s normal memory blocking stuff.” Jimmy said. “You know, only the winners and losers remember properly, until we’re back home.”
Tango considered his words carefully. “I’ve heard that, but didn’t we lose a game together?”
“I died first so…” Jimmy shrugged. “But I think everyone is getting their memories of the games back slowly. A few years ago, you wouldn’t even have remembers that information. Maybe next time we’ll all remember.”
Tango cleared his throat and reached into his inside pocket. He pulled something out. “I still have this.”
Jimmy turned to face him, curious. His eyes widened when he saw what it was. One of his feathers. “You kept that?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to throw it away, was I.” Tango held the yellow feather between his thumb and finger. “From what I remember of home, Pearl came to visit just before we left for here. She gave it to me… I don’t know why she was in my room.”
Jimmy laughed sweetly. “Stealing a shirt?”
“Most likely.” Tango answered amused.
“It’s an A…”
“An Avian thing, I know.” Tango put the feather neatly back into his pocket. “I also know that shirt you’re wearing isn’t yours.”
Jimmy blinked. “Yes, it is.” A blush rose on his cheeks.”
“Mm, is it?” Tango grinned.
Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s mine now. You gave it me when I came around to play Hungry Hermits?”
“Hungry what now?” Tango asked amused.
“Your game back home.” Jimmy held his jacket closed to hide the obviously stolen t-shirt he wore. “I came over to play it… we had the best time.” He whispered, sniffing softly.
Tango smiled a little, but his smile fell. “Jimmy?”
“I’m alright.” Jimmy looked back at the Evo sign. “Just glad that Lizzie and Joel get to remember each other.”
“Hey, I remember you.” Tango stepped closer.
Jimmy smiled sadly. “Not all of it. Last time, Grian made a Trivia bot… to help us remember. You came up to me, because you remembered everything. I hoped… “
Tango took his hand. “It’s ok.”
He shook his head. “We were fighting back. Thought we were winning… now this is happening.” Jimmy pointed at the sign. “The last time we did this… the last time this was at spawn… “He closed his eyes so he could remember. “We were back in the early updates… it was just for fun. Grian’s first server. It was all a set up. The Watchers… they took Grian.”
The Blaze’s face turned serious. “But…”
“And…” Jimmy took a breath. “We moved to the updates… up until we got the End Dimension. Everyone jumped into the portal… and they took him.”
Tango didn’t really know what to say.
“But what if they’re doing it again Tango… what if they take one of us?” He sniffed again.
Tango pulled him into a hug. “I won’t let that happen.”
Jimmy buried his face in his hair.
Tango held him. “We’ll play the game like normal. If it comes to it, we will fight back, because none of us are going to let anything happen to one of our own.”
“Yeah ok.” Jimmy pulled away. “Thank you, Tango.”
Tango wiped Jimmy’s tears away with his thumb. “I’ll walk you back to your base.”
Jimmy nodded. “Yeah ok.” He leant into his touch a little. “You should go back to attempting to make bread anyway.”
He laughed a little. “I’ll get better at these farming mechanics.”
“Will you though?” Jimmy laughed too.
Tango walked Jimmy back. They laughed and talked on the way. When they got there, Jimmy hesitated, not wanting to go. Tango leant forward and kissed his softly on the lips. “You know where I am if you need me.”
Jimmy nodded. “Thanks Tango.” He said quietly. Jimmy watched Tango go and didn’t go inside until he was out of sight.