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It was just the two of them. Inside a tight mine, away from prying eyes, sharing in inside jokes that only they could laugh at. After a whole day of pretending to be someone he's not, confined to a body that wasn't his, Mumbo was finally able to let loose and be himself for a while. The moment Mumbo first spoke near Grian, he could tell that the latter knew something was off. Most people pointed out a change in behavior, however, so it didn't strike him as odd at the time.
But then, Grian asked Mumbo where he'd left his diamonds. That key phrase cued him in that Grian knew exactly who he was. And now, he'd brought Mumbo down to the mine, waiting for the answer. Playing along, Mumbo dug a small tunnel to the side and blocked it off before grabbing Grian's attention.
"You know what, old buddy? I think I left them right… here." Mumbo mined open the wall to reveal four diamonds dropped on the ground inside.
A silent pause. Grian stared at the diamonds, then at him. His expression wasn't fond or amused like Mumbo would have hoped. The air was awkward, with a hint of sadness lingering through.
"...It's not the same." Grian sighed and stepped forward to pick up the diamonds.
"What?!" Mumbo shouted. "I thought this would be really heartwarming! I thought we were gonna lock eyes… and maybe cuddle a bit?"
Grian held back a grunt as he looked at Mumbo again. "It's not you. It- it's not you!"
"I'm sorry." Mumbo stepped away. "You're right, it doesn't feel right, does it? Maybe it would've been best if I didn't come to you today."
"That's… that's not what I meant." Grian averted his glance. "I do wanna spend time with you, it's just…"
"Then how about this?" Mumbo interrupted. "Just close your eyes! Imagine that it's me. And that… it's just like old times again."
Grian took a deep breath and paused to think. "Alright. …I can try."
Though the start was awkward, it didn't take long for the two to become comfortable with each other, like they always used to in the past. The rest of the night went by like a blur, as though time itself seemed to disappear. The memories blended together into a single incoherent mess… until it all seemed to fade away into nothingness entirely.
The next day, Tango woke up in his bed inside the top floor of the pyramid. At least, he assumed it was his bed, though he wasn't aware that he'd ever made one. As he tried to get up, he banged his head straight onto the inclination above him. The following scream of pain was clearly enough to alert his teammates, as Impulse and Ren quickly climbed up into the room and crowded around him.
"Tango!" Ren called out. "Are you alright, my dude?"
Tango rubbed the sore spot. "Ugh, yeah… I just hit my stupid head on this…" He tapped the stone behind him. "Jerkface diagonal wall! Great idea it was, putting a bed right under this hurt-ificator!"
Impulse turned to Ren, and the two stared at each other for a few moments. "...He's normal again."
"Sorry… 'normal again'?" Tango questioned. "Was I… not normal before?"
They looked at Tango again, and Impulse began explaining. "So, yesterday… You were acting a little off? I don't really know how to put this…"
"It was like you were a whole 'nother person." Ren cut in. "You know what I mean?"
"...Oh." As the ringing in Tango's head faded, he was able to think more clearly.
It was all clicking into place. He was no stranger to time losses or people telling him that he wasn't acting like himself. The last time this had happened, apparently he'd missed a Wither and a Warden being on the surface, along with three whole final deaths. He could swear for a while afterwards that this was just everyone making a pact together to mess with him.
But regardless, it was clear that it had happened again. When this realization sunk in, Tango simply let out a long sigh.
"Please just tell me I didn't do anything too embarrassing." He spoke with the acclimated tone of someone who'd just had a completely regular blackout drunkenness instance.
"Uh, well…" Impulse hesitated for a moment before patting him on the shoulder. "Yeah. Sure. Let's just say that."
Feeling grateful for the confidence given by his fellow Gluten Guy, Tango got up from bed and followed the two as they made their way back towards the staircase.
"You were sleeping longer than usual, dude!" Ren continued the conversation. "You missed the announcement!"
"Ohh, right…!" Impulse remembered. "We have soulmates this time around!"
"Uhh… say what now?" Tango did a double take.
Ren climbed down the stairs. "You know, there was the boogeyman yesterday, and now we've all been assigned a soulmate. That's how it works, I suppose!"
Tango stopped with Impulse above. "Boogeyman? Okay, people are messing with me again, right? Surely."
Impulse laughed. "You know we weren't joking last time, either."
Tango waited for Impulse to go down before following him. Upon arriving on the bottom floor, he noticed that Ren was looking out through the door, and he appeared to be talking to someone.
"Hello, Jim-Jims!" Ren greeted. "What brings you here?"
Hearing that name, Tango perked up right away. He stepped right past Impulse and rushed over to the door of the pyramid to confirm that it was, in fact, Jimmy who was standing outside.
"Tango! Oh, there you are!" Jimmy exclaimed with worry. "What happened?! I heard that you died!"
"So I did, apparently?" Tango narrowed his eyes at Ren and Impulse.
"You really don't remember, huh?" Impulse scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, we ended up finding out that Grian killed you? No idea how it happened, though."
"If I had any memory of it, I'd love to tell you." Tango said.
"Dude, what happened to your head?" Jimmy pointed to it. "There's a, uh… a mark there."
"Oh, it's that obvious, huh?" Tango sighed. "Would this be a good day for me to break the 'no helmet' rule?"
"Here, we just made some more food." Impulse gave Tango a piece of bread. "That should help heal it a little bit."
Tango accepted the offer and took the bread from Impulse. As he munched on it, the healing effect began to settle in. However, it wasn't as instantaneous as the previous times he'd remembered it. First, he felt satiated. Then, the pain started fading away, slowly and gradually.
"It's still a little visible…" Jimmy said before catching himself. "I mean— it doesn't look too bad! It's alright! So, um… could I talk to you for a second?"
"We'll leave you to it," Ren spoke up. "Impulse and I shall depart in search of our soulmates!"
With the two gone, Tango and Jimmy were left all by themselves. He invited the latter to come in and the two found a spot at the back of the pyramid, sitting by the staircase.
"Speaking of soulmates…" Jimmy started. "The reason I came by here right after the announcement was to see if it was… y'know, us again."
"Did you feel it when I hit my head earlier? That's one easy way to tell."
"Was that after the announcement? Guess we're not, then…" Jimmy looked down. "But hey, it's you again today, right?"
"Um, what do you mean?" Tango backed away, confused. "I thought we just established that we're not soulmates."
"No, what I mean is, you weren't… you yesterday. Do you know what I mean?"
"Ohh, that." Tango stretched to think. "So, those two said the same thing. I have no recollection of yesterday. Like, at all."
"Right…" Jimmy paused for a second. "I've just been worried about you, you know? You don't even remember how you died?"
"Nope. Zilch. Nada."
"Well, no matter the case I'm here for you." He gave him a caring pat on the shoulder. "Just let me know if you start feeling strange again, alright?"
"Of course!" Tango nodded.
"Yes, I got you smiling!" Jimmy's face lit up. "The whole time today, you've had this face on like you're done with everything.
"Oh, I did?" Tango scratched his neck. "Well, I guess I've just been tired with everything goin' on…"
"We should go out and meet some people, I think." Jimmy slapped his knees and got up. "Do you wanna come back to my base with me?"
"Yeah, sure!"
Tango's mood rapidly improved as he walked with Jimmy to the pyramid's exit. No matter what the world may throw at him, or how many times Tango could complain about things never going his way, Jimmy's presence was like a beacon of light that always had a way to shine away those concerns.
When the two came outside however, Tango stopped as he looked to the other end of the desert, seeing the Villys standing just outside their base. All three were looking directly at him, and seemed to be talking about something which he couldn't hear. After a few moments, Grian stepped away from the group and ran back inside as the others watched.
Realizing that Jimmy had gone on ahead, Tango rushed to catch up. Arriving at the Rejects' base, he learned that Skizz and BigB were paired, which they'd discovered almost immediately after the announcement. Martyn and Cleo then approached from their base, and did a quick test where they slapped each other at the same time on opposite sides of the face. From this, both Jimmy and Joel ended up sharing the sensation.
"Ohh, so we got two in one go!" Martyn exclaimed in delighted surprise. "Which cheek did you each feel that? Was that left or right?"
"I think it was on the right one?" Jimmy said, not entirely sure.
"It was left for me." Joel added.
"Okay, so…" Martyn stopped to think, pointing between each of the people present for a few moments before coming to a conclusion. "Looks like I'm with Joel, and Cleo's with Timmy. There we go, that was easy!"
The conversation continued on for a while, and Tango eventually decided that it was time to part ways with the group and do something else.
Finally getting some time alone for the first time that day, he was able to do some thinking about the strange occurrings lately. Several people during that conversation had pointed out his unusual behaviour, but Jimmy was the only one to be straight-forward about it: 'It wasn't you.'
But this was all old news to Tango. He'd heard the same things from everyone the last time it happened, and the repetitiveness of it all was starting to get exhausting.
What was different this time, however, was the death. He was now down to 5 lives, with no idea of how he'd lost his first one. The loss of control itself was a feeling that he'd tried to ignore both times, but the reality began to sink in about how vulnerable he was when things like these happened, and how little he could do about it.
The very least he wanted was an explanation. He thought he'd finally get one when he saw Grian chatting with the Cabin Crew, but as soon as Tango approached him, he looked away and ran off.
"Man, what is up with this guy lately?" Tango spoke to Etho.
"You're one to talk." Etho teased. "Yeah, I don't know what that was about. He said he knows who his soulmate is already, but didn't tell me more when I asked."
Tango narrowed his eyes, thinking about it for a few moments. "Well, nevermind that, have you found yours yet?
"I haven't, no. We know Scar's with Bdubs, I guess. But I haven't met anyone from your group yet. Let's try…" Etho proceeded to pinch himself in the arm.
"Nope." Tango shrugged.
"Aw, dang…" Etho looked down. "Oh, by the way, you still owe me some diamonds, like you promised."
"Uhhhh, yeah, sure! I'll come by to drop 'em off later." Tango lied.
"Hey guys," Scott walked into the conversation. "I just passed by Grian, does anyone know why he was in a rush?"
"I think he's just avoiding me today for some reason." Tango said. "Probably not wanting to face the repercussions of killing me or whatever."
"How did it go at the lighthouse, Scott?" Etho asked.
"Turns out me and Pearl are soulmates again. Yep. Also, Tango, your team was there, and we learned that Gem and Ren are paired as well."
Etho looked at Tango. "So, who's left at this point?"
"I think I might have a guess, maybe…" Tango stared in the direction of the desert. "Welp, see you guys! I have to go to the lighthouse, for… no reason at all!"
Tango ran with determination, kicking sand behind him as he entered the desert biome. Some things were finally starting to kick into place, and he wasn't about to let the opportunity for answers escape him this time. When he arrived, the lighthouse had grown taller, and Pearl and Gem were discussing something around a path of pressure plates.
"Grian, he's here!" Pearl shouted towards the door. "Come on out, mate!"
Gem walked up the steps. "You have to talk to him at some point! You can't hide forever!"
"Yes I can!" A muffled shout from Grian came from inside. "I just have to wait until the game ends!"
Gem sighed and made her way towards Tango. "Okay, you have to go in there. We can't have another emo shut-in on our team."
"Hey, I heard that!" Pearl shouted.
"Okay." Tango nodded. "I was gonna do that even if you didn't tell me to, so…"
Without another word, Tango stepped up and walked through the door into the lighthouse. Huddled against the back underneath the spiral stairs, there were three poorly-placed beds. On one of them, Grian was lying down face-first against a pillow, but quickly sat up when he noticed Tango's presence.
"I thought I made it pretty clear that I was trying to avoid you…" Grian hugged the pillow against him and puffed his cheeks. "Did you hit your head this morning?"
"Okay, first of all, rude."
Grian raised a hand to his bangs and pulled them up, revealing a round light-reddish mark smack center in his forehead, the same shape and size as Tango's injury.
"Yep, there it is!" Tango laughed before sighing.
"I figured it out almost as soon as I saw you leaving your base today."
"So is that why you didn't wanna see me? Being soulmates after having killed me yesterday would be too awkward, I see."
"Well… there's a bit more to it than that." Grian glanced away and scratched his neck. After a pause, he pulled out an enchanting table and placed it down in front of him. "We just made this today. Why don't you just, sit down and… use it for what you need?"
Tango walked up silently and took a seat. Despite being on different beds, the tight space made it so that the two sat uncomfortably close to each other. Tango tried to ignore it and focus on the book and in grabbing each of his tools. Grian slid over some lapis across the obsidian altar and Tango picked it up.
Despite his best efforts, Tango's attempt at reading quickly became a struggle, as he couldn't help being distracted by Grian constantly shifting around and staring. After just barely managing to enchant his sword, Tango put everything down and huffed impatiently.
"Alright, that's it! This is killing me right now, just tell me what happened yesterday already!"
Grian sighed, and his nervous demeanor quickly shifted to a serious one. "You're right. It's better if I just get this over with…"
He explained everything. How he recognized Mumbo almost instantly, their attempts at bonding despite the awkwardness… the moment they both loosened up…
…and the kiss.
"Wait, you WHAT?!" Tango interrupted, jumping back and almost falling out of bed.
Grian inhaled sharply. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid to tell you."
"So, you… Mumbo.. as me…" Tango struggled to form coherent words. "A kiss, huh?!"
"It, um… wasn't just one?" Grian said in a cautious high-pitched voice. "We had like, a full make-out session."
Facing this new discovery, the mix of shock and confusion overwhelmed Tango, and caused him to break out in a long burst of laughter. It went on for uncomfortably long, him laughing weakly, covering his eyes with his hand, until it slowly began to trail off as he stopped to catch his breath.
"Um…" Grian fidgeted, sporting a forced side-smile. "...Glad to see you're taking it well?"
"Uh-huh, taking it well, that's what this is!" Tango responded sarcastically. "If it helps you sleep at night!"
"If you wanna hate me, that's fine, y'know?" Grian backed away defensively. "I did kill you as well, technically. Though, to be fair, Mumbo did that all by himself somehow."
Tango's shock began to transform into something like anger. "And you were planning on never telling me? Like, at all?!"
"Yeah…?" Grian whimpered. "My plan was to just pretend like it didn't happen. But then I realized we were soulmates, and… I don't know, my brain couldn't just let it go after that."
Tango held out a long sigh. Learning of what his own body had been involved in without his awareness or permission was already too much to take in. But the worst part of all was Grian's casual demeanor after the reveal, excusing away his actions like its repercussions couldn't possibly affect anyone else.
"Okay, I'm out!" Tango got up and prepared to leave. "I need time to process everything you just told me."
"We're not done yet!" Grian grabbed Tango's shirt as he went to turn around. His face had a blank, almost creepy smile plastered onto it. "Don't forget, I need to keep you alive today."
"Oh, great!" Tango pulled away from his grip, and the shift in balance made Grian fall forward onto the ground. "Can't even have some time to myself now?!"
Grian laughed as he got up and dusted himself off. "Not when I'm here! Don't forget, you ruined my alone time too."
Tango got the message loud and clear that he didn't have a choice in this. Leaving the lighthouse could not have gone without Grian dragging himself along, even as Tango returned to base and reunited with the Gluten Guys. The team had plans to go to the Nether now that Fortresses could be found there, and Etho joined them after learning that he and Impulse were paired.
After the portal was made on the outside of their base, the squad went through and stepped into the other dimension. It didn't take much walking before they found the new structure, though they were immediately attacked by a Blaze that was floating over the bridge.
It was taken care of swiftly, however, after which the team decided that they would split up to look for a spawner. Impulse offered to go with Ren while suggesting that Etho should be on Tango's group, which of course, Grian insisted on being part of as well.
It would have been easier for Tango to appreciate this visit to the Nether if it wasn't for everything else he'd been experiencing so far. This wasn't helped by them finding the spawner, because Grian wouldn't allow him to go near the action to help, even as Etho began struggling from Impulse also getting hurt simultaneously elsewhere.
And then, Etho went down.
Grian managed to escape, holding a few Blaze rods on hand. "Got what we needed, let's get out of here!"
"Wait, Ren's all alone now!" Tango argued. "We gotta go help him out!"
"Look, we don't know where in the fortress he's at, and we barely have any food as is!" Grian listed his reasons off his fingers. "He knows that he needs to get out, he'll be fine!"
"But… he's my teammate—"
Tango's protests were ignored as Grian grabbed his wrist and ran. He dragged them both out of the fortress at the earliest opportunity, then started heading towards a portal that wasn't the one they'd used initially. When they approached it, Tango came to a halt and pulled back the wrist Grian was holding onto. And with a jolt of the arm, he shook off his grip.
Grian paused, looking away and shrinking into himself. "Look at that, we're… we're safe! You can… go somewhere by yourself now, if you want."
"Yep, that's right!" Tango crossed his arms. "You're safe. That's what this is about, huh? Your only reason to protect me?"
"N… no! This is about both of us! I've been trying to stick together for a reason!"
"Ohhh, I see what's happening here, then!" Tango laughed with a challenging tone. "It's because of Mumbo, right? You still see me as him?"
"I… what?" Grian spoke weakly, backing away.
"That's why you're doing this! You're trying to latch to anything you can that reminds you of him!" Tango continued on talking, even as Grian grew quieter with a hesitant breath. "Well, here's the thing: I'm me again! And just because you kissed him or whatever in my body, doesn't mean it extends—"
"IT WASN'T HIM!" Grian's shout echoed into the distance. In the following moment of shocked silence, he took the time to catch his breath. "...When we were down in the mines, Mumbo asked me to close my eyes and just think about him, pretending that he was there. But I…"
"...You couldn't do it?" Tango tried to guess his next words.
"No, that's not— It's not that I couldn't, I just…" Grian took a deep breath. "...I didn't want to do it."
"What do you mean you didn't want to?!" Tango tried to shove away the conclusion that was forming in his mind.
"I tried so hard to stop my brain from doing it, but…" Grian finally locked eyes with Tango again. "...All I wanted to think about was you."
No coherent thoughts could form anymore. Tango could not believe that Grian just said what he said. But there was no time to accept reality now, as both of them turned their heads at the scream of a Ghast. They were able to dodge the fireball, but it came dangerously close to the nearby portals. Grian rushed out as fast as he could, but it took Tango several moments longer to be able to bring himself up again.
By the time he exited into the base of the Villys, he saw through a window that Grian had already gone down outside. Peeking in to have a better look at what was going on, Tango's stomach dropped when he saw that Jimmy was standing there talking to the three base owners. Despite being inside, Tango was still able to listen in to their conversation.
"I know that Tango was with you guys," Jimmy said. "Where is he right now?"
The last thing that Tango wanted right now was for Jimmy to be looking for him. He was in no state for that, not today. Before any response was given, Grian flashed a glance upwards to where Tango was. This brief moment of eye contact prompted Tango to instinctively hide.
"He's not here anymore," Grian told Jimmy. "I'm pretty sure he went back to his team at this point."
Tango sat with his back against the wall, trying to hold back his heavy breathing on the off-chance that it could be heard from down there. His eyes desperately darted around before settling on the portal. Despite having just come from there, this was his only possible exit at this moment in time.
Tango couldn't tell how long he ran for, or where he was even intending to go amidst the scenery of red that spread everywhere around him. But the one thing he was sure of was what he needed to be: away. Away from Grian, away from Jimmy…
…It wasn't enough. As long as he wasn't away from himself, Tango couldn't escape the knowledge of what had happened, nor the vivid imagery his brain had concocted about him and Grian. As that fact began to sink in, Tango stopped to catch his breath. He was good at escaping, but the only thing this meant right now was that he'd run farther than he kept track of and gotten himself exhausted.
But fate wouldn't allow him a break. A Ghast's fireball launched in his direction, and his last-second dodge was enough to survive, but not to avoid the major brunt of the explosion. Tango collapsed forward, his body sizzling with pain. It took a tremendous push to drag himself back up, and he was able to run just far enough to get to a hiding spot, even close to a lava river as it might've been.
Double-checking through his stuff, he confirmed that he hadn't, in fact, had any food on him that whole time, having already eaten the bread from that morning. His only hope right now was that Grian would be able to heal for the both of them, lest Tango be forced to run back out into danger again.
But his hopes were soon dashed when he heard Grian's voice just behind him, screaming and grunting as the Ghast attacked. Tango pressed his eyes shut, unable to bring himself to look as he braced for certain death.
He heard the sound of a bowstring releasing, followed by a Ghast's scream.
Cautiously opening an eye back up again, it took a moment for Tango to come to terms with the fact that he was still alive. But with his injuries still there, maybe he would've been better off with the fresh reset of being on his next life.
Grian felt it too. That much was clear when he stumbled his way down the cliff towards where Tango was. A misstep was taken, and Grian nearly tripped directly into the lava nearby, only saved by Tango's quick reaction to grab him by the arm. He pulled Grian back to safety, and they both sighed in relief as they leaned and sat against the rocky surface.
"So, your plan was to risk yourself when I was dying, even though we share lives?" Tango snarked. "Great logic there, genius!"
"Okay— listen, alright?" Grian huffed. "There wasn't much of any kind of logic there! It was a spur of the moment thing!"
"And how did you find me so fast?!"
Grian leaned his head back. "You weren't as far from the portal as you probably thought you were."
Now in relative safety compared to a few moments before, the two sat in silence next to each other. It wasn't the comfortable kind, but it wasn't horrible either. In the time Tango took to figure out what to say, he was able to figure out why that was.
"Thank you… for earlier." He scratched his neck. "Y'know, not telling Jimmy I was there."
"Yeah, no problem." Grian's tone was strangely quiet and soft. "I know how you must've felt at that moment. This is… complicated for me as well."
"How so?" Tango's interest was piqued.
"I thought the whole time, that this was about Mumbo. But today, I made an excuse just to spend time with you. And… he didn't even cross my mind until you brought him up again!"
"So that's what that was about, huh?" Tango huffed and looked away. "I hope you realize my position as well, though. I didn't ask for any of this! And I couldn't even get a moment to breathe since you dropped that on me!"
"I know…" Grian's breath sounded strangled. He turned his body to fully face Tango, his expression turning into a serious one. "...I'm sorry. I should've been thinking more about you during all this. I can leave you alone now, if you want."
Tango sighed, and his expression softened. "Look… If I could just have some time, maybe we can talk this over again when I have a clear head later, okay?"
"That's fair." Grian relaxed his posture. "And if you're willing after that, maybe we can… I dunno, start over? As yourself this time. 'Cause before… it wasn't you."
Tango laughed. "Sure, whatever. I'll think about it."
Exchanging smiles, the two helped each other back up, still struggling to stand and especially walk thanks to their shared injuries. Despite this, they left their hiding spot and prepared to part ways as Tango looked for his team's portal.
"Oh, and by the way…" Grian said as he began to leave. "No one needs to know about this conversation, alright? I have an image to maintain, so if anyone asks you, villains don't apologize."
Tango watched him head into the distance, before limping his way towards his destination. Despite all of the parts that sucked about this whole situation, he felt a strange fondness at the absurdity of it all. The warm feeling lingering from that most recent conversation was the only thing that kept him going as he survived the trek back to the portal.
Not having any expectations for what he'd see on the other side besides his base, Tango was immediately surprised by a huddle crowding around him. Impulse and Ren were holding up a cake together, while Jimmy rushed up to hug Tango.
"Oh my gosh, you're here!" Jimmy pulled away and examined Tango. "What happened to you?! You look like you're hurt pretty badly…"
"Woah, woah, what is this?! A birthday party or somethin'?!" Tango looked around in confusion.
"Well…" Impulse spoke up. "So, Jimmy came by, and he was looking for you."
Ren joined in. "He said we should do something nice for you today, so Impulse and I got together and baked this lovely cake!"
"To be fair, guys…" Jimmy looked at the two of them. "...It was Grian's idea. When I went there, he told me that you weren't feeling well today… and that you deserved to have something nice."
"He said that directly to you?" Tango burst out laughing. "So much for keeping up his image, I guess…"
The conversation went on as everyone sat down to eat together. Against his will, fate had brought Tango closer to someone unexpected, both yesterday and today. His dignity had undeniably been disrespected throughout every part of this. And yet, even with all that going through his mind, he couldn't shut down the idea of that offer—the lingering possibility of accepting it, and building something new together.