"Just thought of something nice, I guess..." The return to full awareness was slow, Jimmy's brain seeming to be foggy and heavy. A flash of memory here muffled dialogue from the TV there, he kept going in and out of a trance-like state.

"You killed that man." The sudden words in his mind was like cold water to his thoughts. Why did he believe he killed someone? Closing his eyes, he tried to envision something like that but it all seemed too fake. 

"Jimmy? You look stressed, talk to me." Alex's voice carried him back to his still hazy reality and the other man just went with the question on his mind.

"...Did I kill someone?"

"I-" His breath hitched. Jimmy waited for an answer but Alex was unsure how to just answer something like that. Going into technicalities, it got complicated. Heart failure was the 'technical' cause but that caused by blood loss, which was caused by Jimmy which should make it his fault... It made Alex's head hurt. "I'll give it to you straight... yes you caused the chain of events that led to his death. No, you did not technically kill him. But I mean you didn't hurt anyone innocent. It was Dawood! He hurt you and many other people and he had big plans to harm many other people. You saved the victims of the future and avenged the victims of the past." Jimmy fell silent, turning over on his pillow cautiously. 

"Is it bad I wanna go back to sleep?" he asked, voice weak.

"Because you're tired?"

"Because I don't wanna think." This time it was Alex's turn to go quiet. He wished his words would reach Jimmy right now but the heavily drugged man probably would barely formulate a response.

"Just rest then, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

"Promise." As Jimmy's glassy eyes closed, Alex could only hope the other's remarks were solely from the anesthesia...

***

2 hours pass until Chris and his group arrives. Well everyone except Chandler who was gonna show up early tomorrow morning. Greeting them at the hospital entrance, only one thing was on their minds.

"Is Jimmy ok?"

"Yes, he survived and he's just napping now."

"Well then let's go see him!" CJ replied, taking the lead at the front of the trio. But Alex grabbed his wrist bringing his movements to a halt.

"Slow down for a sec, you can't see him just yet."

"Can we when he wakes up?" His mom asked.

"Well... here let me explain..." Guiding them through the hospital corridors, Alex did his best to make it short and concise. "I'd have to ask when he actually wants to see you guys."

"Why wouldn't he? I mean he's been missing for 6 months!"

"As he said, he disappeared for a reason. If I'm recalling correctly, the Indian mafia threatened y'alls lives if he didn't keep his mouth shut."

"Wait who, how?!?!" But he cut her off, finishing what he was saying.

"So I want him to fully know that he's safe and you're safe before you just come barging in. And if he needs a little time to prepare himself then so be it. I promise you'll be able to talk to him, just maybe not today." CJ tried to argue but his mom quieted him.

"I suppose that makes sense, please tell him we love him and we'll be ready when he is." 

"I'll make sure to." The room number comes near. While Chris, Tucker, CJ, and Ms. Donaldson were ushered to a nearby waiting room, Alex returned to Jimmy's room whose blood pressure was being checked. He remembered his earlier promise, now broken but Jimmy didn't seem to know, giving him a weak smile. "Hey, I've got some news for you..."

"What is it?" The nurse made her way out and he returned to the uncomfortable plastic chair by his bedside. 

"Well... you've got visitors."

"The police?"

"No, they're only going to come when you're a little more stable. I mean you have... actual... visitors."

"Like who though?"

"...Your mom, your brother, Chris, and Chandler are here...Well, Chandler will-"

"Why... they shouldn't be..."

"Jimmy it's ok they can know now. Dawood and most of the associates are either dead, on the run or in jail. They won't bother with you and have no way of knowing."

"Do I have to see them now?"

"No no you can wait if you want to. We can start off small to. Maybe if you only want to see a person per day.

"I guess that works."

"Good, I'll tell them they can head back to the hotel for the night."

"Wait, Alex!"

"Hm?"

"...Tell my mom I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"I will."

***

December 24th, 2021

"Uno!" Putting his final card on top of the messy pile, Jimmy laughed as Chandler admitted defeat.

"Good game, good game." 

"Alright, which one of ya wants to go up next against the Uno champion- AW SHIT!" Holding his side, he inhaled sharply before slowly leaning back.

"Careful not to move so fast, just because you get to leave today doesn't mean your fully recovered."

"Believe me I know Chan, mom how long you think it's been since I took the painkillers?"

"Like 3 hours? Maybe one more wouldn't be harmful." One of the pills was handed to him and he quickly swallowed it. 

"Guys we gotta be at the airport in like an hour. Want me to get one of the nurses to double-check his vitals so we can get out?" CJ asked. 

"Great idea." As CJ left, Alex grabbed his cards, straightening them out before slipping the stack through the rubber band, sealing it closed. The room went quiet again. His gaze ended up meeting outside the huge window on the wall. Warm afternoon sunlight streamed in from the glass structure. Jimmy's eyes followed the birds that occasionally flew by. And for once it didn't matter where he paid attention, he had no reason to worry that something bad could happen if he zoned out. That alone took a major weight off of his shoulders.

His mind wandered off into daydreams wondering what might happen next. For lack of better words, 2021 was the shittiest year of his life. Even worse than that pandemic that seemed like ages ago to him. Maybe 2022 would send him something better. The nature outside made Jimmy long for a chance to just go outside and relax. He's always had to have been so on guard that it's been a while since he could just stop and stare.

"Jimmy, the nurse is here, think you can sit up?"

"Ya give me a second..."

***

This was the first time Jimmy has ever had to have been in a handicap spot on a plane. But hey first time for everything. By his side was Alex, mindlessly scrolling through Reddit, a soft laugh here and there. Behind him was CJ and his mom, quietly doing whatever on their phones. And in the final row back were Chris and Chandler, giggling about something probably only they could understand. 

"Heh look at this." The familiar glow of dark mode shone in his eyes as he read the meme. Um, sorry, but what the hell is a 'zimp'?

"Oh my god, Alex I just realized something horrifying!"

"What is it?"

"I missed 6 months of memes!"

"Geez, your right... Don't worry I'll catch you up." The plane's engine rumbled and roared and the vehicle began picking up speed. Time started trickling away. The pair looked through meme compilations of each month he was gone, giving him a general idea of what he missed and a better idea of what is relevant. Slowly, Alex grew more tired, eventually handing his phone over to Jimmy so he could scroll through Reddit on his own. 

He ended up moving from Reddit to Twitter. His name was apparently trending there 4 days ago but now the #MrBeastIsBack was long gone. Going to his profile, he scrolled through the replies to his last tweet. It simply said 'Bye'. And at the time, that was enough for him. Some people were sending welcomes, condolences, asking for money, sending GIF's or clips of the original video, or being mad. Though the video clips were being taken down rapidly as it was against Twitter's TOS, of course, the clips that existed were like a hydra. 10 more popping up when one is taken down. 

Looking to the tweet, he decided to send out a new one. Maybe just a simple hello or something. For right now he didn't want to interact with social media too much. But his fans deserved something right now. Logging into the account, his eyes met his bio.

'I want to make the world a better place before I die.'

Had he really done that? Someone was dead because of him. Not someone innocent sure, but someone with people who did care about him. Dawood should be in a prison somewhere... not actually dead. But everyone around him keeps telling him what he did was fine. Even the police saw him as the potential U.S threat and is glad he's gone. So was he really making the world a better place? The questions lingered in his mind as he clicked send.

'Hello.' 

To some capacity, MrBeast was back, and he couldn't help but smile.

~~~

(The final chapter is the epilogue, we doing good guys! Also, updates on future endeavors like an audiobook, book 2, and short story about Dawood and Bhushan will be coming soon. And today is Jimmy's birthday so happy B-Day lol. My gift to you is that in this chapter nothing bad happened to you! But next chapter... depending on it how it goes I might not spare you again lmao. Everyone go tell him happy birthday MrBeast is hella lit.)

Original Publication Date: May 7th, 2020