Someone was playing Tag 2: Electric boogaloo. Someone was playing his game! Happy tears pricked his eyes as read the sign all over again, someone actually cared about his game! Grian needed to find Etho, he needed to thank him for taking part!

The dirty blond nearly crashes into things multiple times as he flies around in search of Etho, a childish glee clouding his mind from following his natural flying instincts. His lightly spotted wings first took him to the shopping district, but after a look around with no sighting of white hair he turned to the nether. Why? Well, he didn't know where Etho's base was so this was his way of finding it.

One quick and quiet flight later, which was a blessing of having the wings of an owl (littelay), he was at the jungle where the organized mess that was Etho's base (I haven't seen the base all that much, so I could be describing it wrong) was located. And he was in luck today! Because right in the open was our dear new tag holder.

The only warning Etho was given was a giddy thrill (bird traits! Even though owls don't thrill...) from Grian before he was tackled by said Hermit. The whitehead was knocked to the floor by the surprise attack from the skies. Now normal catching Grian wouldn't be so hard, he's got mostly hollow bones due to bird traits, but since Grian came out of nowhere it made Etho fall to the ground.

Grian mummers an apology before he latched in to the other man and hugged him tight whilst thanking him profusely. "Thank you! Thank you! Man this is so amazing, you're actually playing the game too! Oh man I can't believe it, you're actually playing the game!" The small man's violet eyes snap open as his cheeks flush. "Sorry, I was just really excited!"

"I can see!" Laughed Etho, sitting up with Grian still on him. "Though why are you so excited about me joining in?"

Grian's happy mood deflates and Etho is instantly one high alert. "It's-it's just that everyone has been complaining about it. Saying that I should have left tag in season 6, and I did! I changed the game completely! Hell, I even made a prize pool for this one!" His eyes glaze over with sadness. "But no one likes it. They even hate it. And don't even try to tell me no - Scar and Mumbo said it to my face themselves, and I'm pretty sure the others agree with them."

Etho surprises even himself with the low growl he lets out. "How dare they! I understand not liking something, put to belittle someone just for that?" He shook his head, mismatched eyes blazing with determination as he looked Groan in the eyes. "Listen to me. I, along with all of the other new guys - well returning guys really but you get the point - don't find it stupid. If I'm completely honest, I'm actually very excited to be a part of this game!"

"Really?" Wondered Grian, big violet eyes looking up at the taller man. "Are you all really happy to be a part of this?"

"Why don't we ask them, hmm?" Hummed Etho, throwing Grian over his shoulder as he made his way into the nether. This got a loud screech from Grian, who wasn't expecting the sudden change of position and location.

It was weird seeing it upside down, the nether roof now looking like a roof again instead of like a floor(?) and the red misty atmosphere of the fiery landscape becoming a faded floor which none could wander. Portals flashed from the corners of his eyes, but he could never see anything more than the middle of the frame, so he didn't know where he was. At one point Grian could hear typing, so Etho was probably telling the others where to meet them.

Grian was surprised when Etho suddenly stopped and the familiar feeling over being transported through a nether portal overtook him. He hadn't even noticed them approaching any portal, so that was what brought the biggest surprise. But the guffawed lighter he was met with was also a surprise. He couldn't see who it was from where he was being held, but if he guessed from what little he knew, Bdubs, Keralis, and maybe Hypno were all off the table. So that left Beef and Xb. And here comes the fun part: He had no idea what their bases looked like, which meant that he couldn't tell where he was by his surroundings. Which is just so lovely.

"End station!" Grinned Etho, releasing his grip on Grian and letting the shorter jump off his shoulder. He didn't comment when a brown wing smacked against his arm as it's owner huffed lightly at him, only giving the other a hidden smile.

"I could have made it hear myself you know." Said Grian with crossed arms, though he didn't sound all too miffed. "Plus us both flying would have been quicker."

"True." Agreed Etho. "But then we would have to wait a longer time for the other three to get here. Speaking of which, do you know when they'll be here?"

The last part was aimed at the Hermit who'd Grian had been brought too. And at the reminder of said person also being there the dirty blond turned to look and see who it was. Turns out it was Beef, the tall man was smiling jovially at them both, his back straight as he proudly stood before his hacienda. "Keralis is already in the dining room, Bdubs and Xb are going from the shopping district now, and Hypno said he was halfway here five minutes ago."

Etho nodded at Beef before he started to lead Grian inside the sandstone build in front of them. Beef calling that he'd be waiting for the other three before joining them inside. Keralis happily bounced up to them as soon as they arrived, giving Grian a big hug once close enough. He then dragged the dirty blond to the seat next to his, leaving Etho to go sit in a seat opposite to them.

There was a bit of time before the rest of the people that were supposed to be there to arrive, so the three of them started discussing their bases. Etho gave Grian some redstone tips for his base when it was brought up, and then the discussion turned to redstone.

"I've heard that you were on a server in older updates before this, right?" Asked Etho, leaning against his arm casually. And after being given a nod of conformation he continued. "So how's it been adjusting to the new redstone mechanics? And mechanics over all?"

"It was interesting. So much was different, and there was so much more I wasn't used to and a lot of things that had changed and evolved." A nostalgic smile worked its way on the small man's lips. "Though I was taught quite a bit of what had been changed before I joined the server, RG was adamant I do so."

"RG?" Asked Beef. He, along with the other three that were supposed to be there, had just walked inside in the middle of their talk. "Who's that?"

A bit startled at being asked it took Grian a few seconds to answer. "Oh! Uh RG is Robot Grian, he's one of my androids."

"An android?" Asked Bdubs, leaning forward from where he'd sat down. "You've made an android? That's so cool!"

"Two, actually," Revealed the dirty blonde. "Though only one is a true android, since the other is technically a demon."

"And they taught you about the new updates?" Inquired Xb, comfortably sitting on Etho's left. "They must be pretty advanced."

"They are! NPG, that's NPC Grian if you're wondering, is the best rustic house builder there is, it's literally why I made him! And RG was created to play build battle, and to just build in general, when I was sick." Grian spoke with such fondness his companions couldn't help but smile with him. "They're both great! We didn't always have the best of relationships, but we've worked it all out."

"You'll have to introduce us sometime!" Decided Bdubs, a wide grin on his face.

"I can ask X if I can bring them sometime then! I have been missing them myself."

"Then it's decided." Said Beef, a warm smile on his face. "You'll introduce us to your two androids and we'll, uh, we'll do something I guess!" He then sobered up and sat at the head of the table. "Now let's get down to business then. Etho? You called us here, so would you mind explaining the situation?"

The white head nodded before jumping into explaining what was up. And by the end of his explanation Bdubs had migrated to the open seat next to Grian. "How can they say such things!" Cried Bdubs, his sharp teeth - had he not lost them from his dragon bro days? - on full display as he clenched his teeth.

"That's what I still want to know." Said Etho, sitting back down unaware that he'd even stood up.

"Well I at least know what to do." Grinned Bdubs, an arm draped over Grian's shoulders. "We hang around this little dude and make up for what the others aren't doing. So who's not playing the game?"

Beef and Xb both raised their hands (I don't know if who was a part of tag 2 other than Bdubs, Keralis and Grian so I'm just guessing here). The dark haired man nodded at them both before clapping his hands together. "Okay! This leaves me, Keralis, Etho, Hypno and Grian as members of the game. And speaking of the game it'll go on as per usual. Etho you're the one with the tag at the moment, right?"

The white haired man pulled out the tag and swung it around in a non-verbal yes.

Their meeting wrapped up soon after that, and plans of staying in touch and having weekly meetings were made before they parted ways.

Life went on after that, with the hunt for the tag fully on.

And slowly, very slowly, the other Hermits started noticing that something was different from before. First of all, Grian was hanging out with the new (old) Hrmits more, which they were all very happy about. Secondly, they saw other Hermits all walking around cautiously around each other (at least most of them) but there was also a shine of happiness in their eyes too. The Hermits found this confusion, because what the hell were they doing?

It wasn't until a fateful day in the shopping district that it all made sense.

The shopping district was surprisingly crowded, not that anyone really minded. So seeing someone (Grian) in the crowded be killed it caused a bit of a panic. What they weren't expecting was for the killer, Bdubs, to glide down scanning the items before picking up a name tag before putting the rest of the items in a chest.

The Hermits remained frozen until a cry of: "Your next DoubleO!" was heard from the ice shop. Etho had poked his head outside and was grinning at the other. "You won't have the tag forever!"

And suddenly it all made sense, the caution, the side eyes. They were playing Tag 2: Electric Boogaloo.

"Are the two of you playing Tag 2?" Asked Doc, looking back and forth between the two. At their nods he looked at them weirdly. "Why?"

"Why? Why?!" Cried Bdubs, coming over and looking at Doc with disbelieving eyes - though if you look close you could see it was mostly an act. "Because It's an amazing game, that's why! It's creative and fun, all you could ask in a small little game." No one noticed his dark brown eyes quickly flashing a pale magenta. "You're all truly missing out on so much fun."

He didn't give Doc time to reply before turning to Etho and shouting: "Hey! You're on drinks tonight!"

An "Okay!" was shouted back at him before they both went back to normal, leaving a ton of confused Hermits behind.

A few days later Xiusma went to Keralis to ask about it, but he was intercepted by Joe before he could. He asked if it could wait, saying that he needed to speak with the other man. But all he got was a shake of the head. "You won't find him there, it's Friday afterall."

"What does it being Friday have to do with anything?" Asked Xisuma, not understanding the importance of the date.

"It's a get together day for him and some of the others." Explained Joe, picking up the dog X hadn't even noticed before. "And I recommend you leave him to it."

The admin looked at the poet in surprise. "What do you mean."

"He's fixing our mistake. And I'd let him do so without interrupting it."

This just made X even more confused. But Joe didn't elaborate more than that, leaving the yellow suited admin with a cryptic message.

"Violence hurts the body, but words hurt the soul. That is something we all seem to forget, so recommend you remember."

It wasn't until later that night that it hit him: Grian and the Tag 2 game.

Oh dear, what had they done?

<I have nothing to say but sorry! I hope my longer chapter was a decent apology. And in other news: there's only 7 of my ideas left, so request might open soon! And in less important news: I'm soon halfway to 30! AKA it's soon my birthday. It'll be fun looking over you kids (i say, only 14 now and turning 15) as you live on. Anyhow, I'm gonna go buy some candy and then play Pokemon now.

So stay safe and have a wonderful time everyone!>