So for this one, I chose a song to listen to/base the shot off of a song. I mean, I chose 100 Bad Days (by AJR) but ended up listening to Monster (by Dodie) during it so uh :/ some mixed vibes here but whatever

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Six years.

It had been six years since Grian had graduated High School.

It had been four years since Grian was called to be a Watcher.

It had been three years since Xisuma had invited Grian to Hermitcraft.

It had been a half a year since the beginning of Season 7.

And Grian loved every second of it. The highs and lows, every little mistake and success, Grian loved.

Over time, his PTSD and trauma had gotten much better with the support of all three of his families.

Evo, his friends who'd helped him first, including Taurtis who knew what he'd gone through.

The Watchers, teaching him how to defend himself and how to be strong and stand up against his enemies, even if he was terrible at it.

And the Hermits, the place he called home. They'd taught him how to go above and beyond, how to have fun roleplaying without hurting anyone.

He loved them all. He'd changed, in six years, and it wasn't until that day that Grian realized it.

Sometime in those six years he'd stopped flinching at the mention of rabbits.

Sometime in those six years, he'd stopped biting his tongue and staying quiet.

Sometime in those six years he'd stopped holding himself back from what he enjoyed.

Somewhere along that time, Grian had gained a bounce in his step, a more cheery disposition.

He'd never realized until that day, how free he'd felt.

But the universe decided to tie up loose ends, to give him a chance to say what he wished he did six years ago.

And for once, Grian thanked the universe when he came face to face with the person he used to fear the most.

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"Dude, someone broke into the server." Iskall's voice was confused and kinda urgent. "Xisuma can't ban him, and says the guy keeps asking for you."

"For me?" Grian blinked.

"Yeah, apparently man."

Grian felt a spark of what he at first thought was dread, but realized it was hope. If it was who he thought it was then...

"Well, lets go then."

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All the hermits had gathered in the shopping district, surrounding a man with a bunny cap. He had a smirk on his face as he waited patiently.

He watched as the very person he was looking for arrived, pushing through the crowd.

"Oh, Gree-on! My old pal! Ah I've missed you! It's been six whole years!"

Grian's face was unreadable. Probably shocked at how Sam had found him. Ha, the coward wouldn't be here for long. "What do you want Sam?"

"I'm taking you home of course! Japan has been lonely without you and Taurtis! C'mon, let's go get him! Maybe we can even get our old schoolmates to join us!" Sam the intentionally changed his tone of voice slightly, using the slightly stern, slightly joyous tone that he knew always worked on Grian. "You wouldn't wanna say no, right?"

Grian face changed. Rather than unreadable it was... Calm? He then said something Sam didn't expect to hear.

"Japan is not my home. I'm staying here, okay?" Grian gave him an apologetic smile.

No, Sam never took no for an answer. Grian was coming with him. Whether he wanted to or not.

Perhaps a different tactic. "Aw Gree-on. We wouldn't want an ah... accident here, would we?"

"Accident!? What do you even mean by that?" One of the other players asked with a laugh in his voice. He had violet eyes and blonde hair, and was wearing a brown cardigan.

Hmm. Well this'll be good for some convincing. Some goofin' and gaffin'. Sam laughed and pulled out a knife. "Like this!"

He moved forward to sheathe his knife in the player, but then someone grabbed his wrists, holding him back. They plucked the knife out of his hand and tossed it away. Sam spun around to face them and-

Grian had done that!? Since when did he knew how to fight!?

"Sam, please leave. I already said I'm not coming, you have no reason to stay."

Sam snorted. "Look at you, acting all brave and stuff. Drop the act already! We both know you're a coward deep down."

"Why you little-" Another player, one with a green sweatshirt and a blue mechanical eye, went to move forward but stopped when Grian calmly put a hand in front of him. Grian said nothing, seemingly contemplated what to say.

"Aw Gree-on! Come home! I've missed you!" Sam tried again, taking a step towards Grian and pulling out another knife.

Grian didn't flinch. He didn't move away, his eyes confidently meeting Sam's.

Sam took another step forwards. "Y'know, we could start a rabbit farm at home, us and Taurtis. We could continue that roleplay we still needed to finish, ya know the one with the rats? You don't wanna make me sad, do you Gree-on? I want you to come home with me! Don't you care?"

"I don't care about what you want Sam. You don't control me. Not anymore."

Sam laughed. "Real funny Gree-on. Guess we have to do this the hard way-" Sam tried to stab Grian, but the Avian pushed him backwards. Sam landed on his butt, Grian standing above him.

It was then Sam realized how much Grian had changed. His posture was straight, an air of confidence around him. Sam scrambled for something to use against him, and found what he thought was a good bullet.

"Ha! I'm fighting you and your 'friends' aren't even helping! Heh, they don't care about you Grian, probably never had." Sam stood up and brushed himself off. "Come home with me, I care about you!"

Grian shook his head. "No you don't. You never cared about me. I don't know why I ever stayed your friend. No, I do know why. Taurtis. He was the only reason I stayed. I stayed to make sure he was okay. He didn't realize how unstable you were, so I stayed to keep him safe."

"At least we were friends at all! These people aren't even helping you! They never cared about you, did they?"

Once again, Grian didn't flinch. "They're not helping because they know I can handle myself. They know this is not their battle to fight, and if they see me struggling, you can bet they'll come to the rescue. If you had succeeded to stab me, they would've torn you apart in seconds. They're not just friends, they're family. Same with Evo and the Watchers. Everyone I've met in these past six years has treated me better than you."

"Wha-well-"

Grian shook his head. "They helped me find myself. They helped me heal from the wounds you caused."

Sam frowned. "You're not you Gree-on."

"No, I am me. This is who I should've been all those years ago. I never realized it until today but... I am different. And that's a good thing. I am exactly who I'm meant to be, and you can't change that!" Grian began grinning, a wide, happy smile breaking out.

Sam had never seen this side of him before.

"Sam, there is nothing you can do to hurt me. For six years I've been safe, and that won't change anytime soon." Grian began giggling. "I'm just... I'm not scared of you anymore."

Not scared of him? Sam took a surprised and slightly nervous step backwards. Then a thought came to him, something that might just work. Sam marched up to Grian.

"Either way, your Admin can't ban me. You still can't get rid of me. I'll annoy you until you give in. I'll keep you from sleeping. I'll-"

"I have a stack of obsidian in my inventory, Tango and Iskall have the honor of pinning him if he tries to run." The admin interrupted him.

"Wh-what?" Sam frowned.

"Oh yeah, obsidian is impossible to break without an iron pickaxe. You'll break your fists before you break the block." A player with a mustache answered him. "It's quite simple, really. Try to harass Grian and we lock you in a box of the stuff while Xisuma figures out how to ban you."

Sam snorted. "Only if you catch me first. I'm a fast runner if I do say so myself."

"Sir, I train ravagers for a living, you can't outrun me." The player with red eyes said. That must've been Tango.

"Also I had a base in an ice biome last season and now it's in a jungle, so don't try to slow us down with obstacles." And that would've been Iskall then.

Sam looked back to Grian.

"Sam, I've killed the Ender Dragon. I've fought a war and mastered the elytra. I've even traveled back in time. I organized a heist to steal from a government facility. Twice. I began a server-wide game of tag and hot potato. I even created a game of life and death, in which I demised three people. I haunted the server as a salmon ghost and fought off evil as a chicken-themed superhero. I've brought back an ecosystem from the dead, just because I felt like it." Grian smiled. "And I've done and built much more. This is my life now, and you no longer have a part in it."

Samgladiator was banned by Xisumavoid