13 - All's Well That Ends Well
(Did I just repurpose an old one-shot to be half of this chapter... maybe-)
~~~
June 11th, 2022
Calvin Lee Vail was dead. The trending highlight on Twitter took the whole internet by storm. To most, Leafy was an asshole, a vile scum of the Earth no one should look up to. But his sacrifice was seen to many as honorable. A seemingly less problematic content creator was still alive thanks to Leafy.
Daniel Keem couldn't stop himself from breaking down even with that in mind. The distraught man was a depressed mess in the hospital. He couldn't bring himself to believe it, lashing out at the staff. He wished he gave him a little more support; he wished he showed him the fatherly affection the young man lacked so much; he wished he could say he was proud of him one more time. But hey! Calvin proved he was a good person by saving someone else's life! All's well that ends well... right?
Ian Carter was confused, if anything. He always believed Leafy made low-effort content to simply bully children. He's gotten better, but he never understood his appeal. Just some edgelord who caused chaos everywhere he went. Of course, he never believed he deserved death despite how much he joked about it in private group chats in the dead of night, but his conscience felt so guilty. He never apologized for the Content Cop, even with Calvin insisting he didn't care. And he said some downright nasty shit behind his back he should've come clean about. But hey! Ian could now shove those things into the depths of his mind and never confront them again! All's well that ends well... right?
Ethan Klein was angry, however. He shouldn't be so emotionally affected by Calvin's passing. The man created a ripple effect that led to his downfall. H3H3Productions is now a shell of its former self, all thanks to Leafy and his spite. He laughed when his channel got taken down, and somewhere deep in his brain; he wanted the man dead. And he got his wish. He should be happy, but here he is, lying in his bed hoping it was all some sort of sick joke. But hey! At least now he doesn't have to worry about Calvin coming after his reputation again! All's well that ends well... right?
And Alexis...? Well, Alexis was still in shock. His life flashed before his eyes, he should've been a dead man walking, and yet... His YouTube hero, the man who acted as a huge inspiration and teacher for his editing and creative endeavors who he assumed only respected him but never liked him all that much actually took the bullet for him. Alex couldn't help but wonder if anyone else would do that for him. Jimmy would, but Jimmy would do that for just about anyone. Even his closest friends like Schlatt probably wouldn't. Why Calvin though...? Why Calvin fucking Vail of all people? The question would most likely haunt him forever. But hey! At least he'd be able to look after Jimmy now and keep him from doing something... self-destructive...
"Alex...?" Speak of the devil.
"Hey, how'd it go with the cops?"
"Ok... they said we can go now."
"That's great! ...Still, what's the somber look for?"
"I- ...I still feel so guilty. Sure he wasn't a great man but Harshita's father is dead because of me-"
"Jimmy I'm gonna stop you right there. It's ok to feel guilty. But I need you to try to remember that what you did was self-defense. Those men would've hurt so many more people if you didn't intervene. You don't have to see yourself as a hero as some do but... I don't want you thinking you're a villain either. Can you try keeping that in mind for me?"
"Ya... I'll try..."
"Good! Well, do you wanna stop by the hospital? I know Dave is awake and I heard Tommy's surgery went successfully."
"Mhm!"
"Alright. But we are stopping for some food first we've been here for like 6 hours." Alex's voice fell a tad quieter. "I suppose all's well that ends well right?"
"...I suppose." Jimmy was lying through his teeth... "Ya know... they told me something interesting."
"Mhm?"
"Vinoth, the guy I told you is Harshita's dad right... my bullet didn't kill him."
"Oh?"
"Someone came after the yachts left... whoever they are brutally tortured him. Slowly breaking his limbs and tearing him apart piece by piece until he died of blood loss. And then they kept going. The pictures almost made me throw up."
"They showed you pictures?"
"I know right, graphic as hell. Another reason to not trust the cops."
"...The fuck are you, ACAB?"
"Huh no? Dude for the longest time I thought that meant like an actual cab. Like a taxi ya? It only took Reed seeing a tweet about that in my drafts to tell me if I tweet that to consider my career dead for two weeks. Good times...! No, I just... I dunno man they've never been able to help that much. They barely did jackshit when it came to the kidnapping and... today's been too heavy I don't really wanna talk about it I'm sorry-"
"Hey your fine, let's just get going..." Jimmy didn't decide to mention it until they got to a car. Staff on the mainland got Jimmy's car to the police station for them before they even arrived. But... he could tell something was wrong.
"How about I drive... you look like you're on the verge of tears Alex."
"...It's just that... um... I didn't wanna tell you till later but-"
"Just spit it out, I don't really like people hiding things from me. It makes me feel worse in fact."
"...He's dead." Jimmy went pale.
"...Who's dead...?"
"Calvin... he died of blood loss before they got back to the hospital. Tommy did too but he was saveable. They were able to basically revive him."
"God I'm sorry man..." Alex didn't answer.
***
Upon arrival, Keem was being dragged out of the hospital by two rather buff men. "He punched one of the employees, knocked two teeth out. He'll be ok but he can't be inside until he calms down. I assume you know Daniel?"
"We do." Jimmy filled in, Alex keeping his eyes fixated on the ground.
"Very well, we can take you up to whoever you want to see."
"I'll just visit Tommy. Alex do you wanna... say goodbye?" All he could do was nod. "He'll go see Calvin." The pair followed the security to an elevator and he could hear a few stray sniffles. The hospital rooms were next to each other.
"You'll be the last visitors before we move them. Tommy's going to the recovery wing and Calvin to the morgue. Please, try to make it quick, we need these rooms very soon."
***
Alex found Calvin's room to be rather warm. Despite that, his skin was cold to the touch. He grabbed his hand, rubbing fingers slowly around the wrist desperate for a pulse. Then he went for the inside of the elbow, the sides of his neck, anything to prove himself and this entire fucking hospital wrong.
"...Calvin, you're a bastard... you can't do this to me. Is this the reason they call you the most toxic creator on the platform?" He joked with himself to distract from the tears trickling down his cheeks. Alex's hand recoiled from Calvin. He always had trouble feeling the dead. They were too cold like he'd get hypothermia if he kept with it.
"You filthy liar... you promised me we'd get coffee."
"We never could, you'd make fun of me wanting pumpkin spice." He looked over the bed again in panic. Did he hear that right-
"I'd never Cal... Ok maybe I would a little but maybe I'd get one too." Alex waited again. For some sort of response, staring Calvin down with pleading eyes. But he never answered.
"If you don't say anything I'll make it bitter and black."
...
"Say something goddamnit! I'll record myself saying slurs and post it to Twitter dot com if you don't respond! I know you don't wanna see my career go down the gutter!"
...
"I'm talking to a corpse I'm talking to a fucking corpse goddamn pull yourself together." He hit the ground. He buried his head in his knees. He could hear his voice ringing in his head yet he wasn't saying a single thing-
"Hey mate, we were told to come to check on you." Alex looked up, seeing Phil going down to his level.
"...I hear his voice, Phil... He's a corpse, Phil! Fuckin' retarded ain't it? I should be able to remember he's dead..."
"When my mum died Alex, I could still hear her voice clearly. For a little bit, it might even seem invasive but in the future, it should die down. But you'll never truly forget it, and that's something that means a lot. If you can still hear them, that means they still live on in your heart... Come on let's get something to eat ya? I'm sure all that waiting at the police station made you hungry."
***
Jimmy found Tommy's room to be rather cold. Despite that, the atmosphere Tommy brought with it was still warm and cheery. He was wide awake, Techno and Wilbur on either side of him and doing little braids in slightly greasy blond hair.
"Yooo big J! Glad to see you're doing alright!"
"Hey, Toms, are you feeling better?" The answer seemed kind of obvious due to his mannerisms but Tommy didn't seem to mind.
"Ya! I almost died, I think I saw something it was kinda hazy but it looked like... like some sorta big factory but I never reached it before being dragged back. Defo didn't make me believe in god or somethin' like it does for some people. But hey! Big man lived! Got they protag blood in they veins!" A factory in the afterlife... That sounded kind of familiar, in some distant, weirdly out of touch way.S̶̗̲̺̲̖͑͌͜o̸̢̡͓͉̓̾̎ḿ̶̞́̅͠e̵̮̺̭͛̔t̸̼̬͇̩̭͉̩͙͌h̶͔̞̗̻̪̔̈̔̒̾ͅi̵̧̢̺̫̫̰̝̻͛ǹ̷̡͈͍̝̯̫̙͌̉͑͌̀̔̓̒̚ͅg̸͚̩̝̎̾͋̍̃̄ ̶̢̢̢̞̪̖̮͕̤̌̿̾͆̕͝ḵ̷̢̘͎͍̹̞͇̌̾͊̍̈́͊̕̕͠i̶͓͎̮̼̜̥͆͆͗͛ń̷͕̬͚̖͙̦̩̭̣̂̐̚d̵̲̠̩̲͇̗͈̮̭͛͊̔̀̏́͘ ̸̨̧̫̭͊ǫ̵̤̦̫̜͚̻̘̈̋̀̋̏̊̈́͠f̴̢̡̨̡̠̣̦̬̝̥̈́̅̅̍̕ ̸̟̅̉̍͐͝l̶̼͖̦̝̳̫̜̩̮͉͌͒̿̾͊̓̇i̴͉͍̅̽̽̏̇͊̓͠͠ķ̸̧̛̮͍̟̘̮͉͆̂̃̈́̉̐̆̇ͅë̷̥͉̩͙̞͕͖͖͍̤̑̈́̾͂-̴̛̖̀̆̔̕͘
"We're just grateful he's alive." Techno filled in, giving Tommy a little nudge before returning to the braids.
"So why is big man Innit letting them get away with braiding your hair anyways?"
"Dude these fuckin' pricks just came over here and started doin' it themselves! And I can't say no to Big Dubs or the Blade but trust me I never let em'."
"Right sure you didn't." The redhead teased.
"I really wouldn't! OH! Do you know who was behind the shooting? Gotta know who the Twitter dot com boys gotta get trending to cancel!"
"Tommy! That's a very sensitive question and he might not be able to answer that. Right, Jimmy?"
"Wil's right, I don't think I can, and even if I could it's... er... complicated..."
"...Jimmy are you ok? You seem a bit uncomfortable."
"I'm fine! It's just that... um... God, I'm sorry Tommy I shoulda been better-"
"Uh, Jimmy? Your chill man. Consider this whole thing a way to prove to my viewers the cinematic parallels between c!Tommy and me! Actually, wait no that's not a good idea. Just the dying and getting revived part nothing else-"
"No, it's not that! Though it's part of it... I have coulda been more vigilant and more proactive and maybe this could've been prevented-"
"Jimmy you've gotta get a grip." It was Wilbur this time taking the reigns, now standing up. He was once rather still, swaying side to side without changing much in position but now he was full outpacing.
"You don't understand Wilbur! I could've prevented this. It was hinted at to me I shouldn't have been so dense goddamnit!"
"Woah hey!" He was brought to a sudden halt with Jimmy grabbing him by the shoulders. "Come on breath with me. In for 7 out for 11." 26 seconds later and Jimmy was a bit less blurry in the head.
"Did Phil teach you that one?"
"Ya he did, but let's go back a second did you say you knew about the shooting?"
"...Well, I didn't really know but someone cryptically warned me. And it was several months ago and Keem told me not to worry about it until after MCI... Still, I should've been better-"
"Who told you?"
"Bhushan Kumar."
"Bhushan Kumar...? Like the Bhushan Kumar that was allegedly part of your kidnapping?"
"Not allegedly he really was! I remember he took off my noise-canceling headphones. When I was kidnapped, their main form of torture was a mix of sensory deprivation and uncertainty. We talked for a little bit, but by the time I got to asking about his motives, he put them back on and just started touching me. Ok not like that but he never hurt me. You'd think that'd be good but he scared me the most out of any of them. All the other captors I knew just went straight to violence but with him, I didn't know what he'd do... I'm sorry I'm ranting, aren't I? It's off-topic." Wilbur looked from Jimmy back to Techno and Tommy who were trying to keep their gazes away but both looked horrified.
"Why don't we take this outside?"
"I don't wanna fight!" He chuckled lightly.
"Not like that Jimmy."
***
Vinoth Chandar opened his eyes. Jimmy was gone. There was a gaping side wound, but unlike the other guys, he didn't get hit in a vital organ. Tearing off a large chunk of fabric off of one of the dead employee's shirts, he wrapped it around the impact spot and kept pressure on it. Hissing in pain at the thought of it, he knew standing up would be a difficult task but he had to. Before anyone else came to ship him to a hospital and by proxy a prison.
"Hello, Mr. Chandar." The voice was neutral, nearly gave him a heart attack, and instantly recognizable.
"Mr. Kumar... I see you escaped."
"Did you kill him?"
"No, Jimmy got away just like you did. I faked my death but I probably didn't need to. The bastard was broken up about it and nearly killed himself too. But the worst fucking part is that they took MY daughter! We'll get revenge together, get her back by any means-"
"Good."
"Huh?"
"Good, she deserves better than you."
"Excuse me?!?!"
"It's true. Maybe I don't care for her much but she's still just 9-years-old. Harshita will grow up much better with almost any other family. Especially Felix. But that's neither here nor there. You hurt my Jimmy Donaldson."
"No one laid a finger on him. He had no injuries. I did not hurt him, now can I go?"
"You told me he almost committed suicide." Vinoth visibly tensed. "Maybe you didn't hurt him, sure, I can believe that since I've always known you're a fucking pussy. But you hurt him mentally. And for that, you will pay a thousand times over." Still rather weak from the blood loss, he was easily shoved back to the ground where Bhushan pinned him down, mostly by his chest. And suddenly it all settled in at once. He wasn't gonna get out of this one with a swift bullet to the head. He wished Jimmy had just aimed a little higher.
"Hey no maybe let's back off... uh he didn't kill himself? I'll join your syndicate ya?"
"Buddy you lost that chance a long time ago. Now, what game should we play first? I can see how much pressure it takes to snap your ribcage without fully breaking it? Ooh or maybe I can pull out all of your teeth and see if we can fix em up with the sticky juice from those weird berries over there. Are they poisonous? Guess we can find out. Or should I just go to slicing and dicing you open to see what makes a monster like you tick?"
"Monster... MONSTER? You're calling ME a monster when you're about to TORTURE me to death!?!?!"
"I'd never hurt someone without good reason. And you've proven to me you have a very good reason." Vinoth zoned out. He tried to imagine his daughter but all he could see was her burying her head in Felix's chest. Harshita grabbing onto his shoulders like if she let go he'd disappear. He remembered when she used to do that with him. In the end, he'd die a shitty father, and he felt absolutely awful. Tears trickled down his face. "Anything else you'd like to say? I think that once I begin that little mouth of yours is not going to be doing much other than screaming."
"...Tell Harshita her papa loved her very much."
"I'm sorry Vinoth, but you gave up that title a long time ago."
A knife sliced open his thoracic cavity.
~~~
(lmao it's like 4 am I'm going to bed, ill do notifs shit tmrw)
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