Just writing this chapter I realize just how underrated s5 really is.

Also, I wanted to say I've been super behind on comments lately, so I'm sorry if I end up replying a few weeks later. I've always tried my best to reply since I know someone took their time to not only read, but voice their thoughts, but for some reason I've been having trouble with it lately... 

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Little by little, Grian's strength grew back. He and Xisuma travelled the server, visiting all sorts of sights. Aside from the hour or so tours he would take, he remained mostly at Mumbo's base.

There was something about Mumbo that drew Grian to him. Perhaps it was just the simple fact that he was the one that brought him here, who had nurtured him back to health and stayed with him through his breakdowns. That had spent hours with him. In any case, if Grian felt even a little at ease with anyone, he found that it was the spoon himself.

Before he knew it, a full week had passed him right by. He could still feel his injuries a bit, but he had regained his mobility.

What he did not regain, however, was his peace of mind. Each night brought about a new nightmare. It was as though sleep was a replacement for going to The Void. More than once, he found himself waking himself at the sound of his own shrieks of terror. They were so loud, in fact, that a tieless gentleman would run right inside a few moments later to behold the sobbing avian.

Grian couldn't understand why this kept happening to him. Why he would panic when he had left his old life, why he was so scared of being found, being abandoned. Why in the quiet moments alone, he could almost feel their eyes when he couldn't find a trace of magic. Why even that scared him. Why he kept freezing up and crying against his will. It was all so... embarrassing. He didn't want to be this needy, but for some reason, he couldn't stop it. He just hoped that this neediness wouldn't get him kicked out one day.

Regardless of all this, time moved on. The time in which all the Hermits would change worlds drew closer, and soon it was the night before. Grian found himself with all the others, sitting around at one of their bases. Luxuries were all around them, ones they would soon no longer have.

"It seems that the time we have had on this server is drawing to a close." X began once everyone was settled in various couches and chairs around the large room. He looked to Grian, his gaze softening a bit. "When that happens, we like to share memories and plans for the next world. It's also a time that we, unfortunately, say goodbye..." his gaze moved to a person, a man with a beard and a bloodied apron.

"I'm sorry that we didn't have much time together." The man in question said to Grian, taking a stand. "My name is Vintage Beef. This server has come to mean everything to me, but... I've come too long for another adventure. I know it's a scary place out there, but I think my time has come..." he gave a sad smile to his friends, blinking back tears. "It's been one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my life but... sometimes you need to make those too. Maybe it's for forever, maybe it's just for awhile, but I'm afraid I won't be joining..."

And just like that, Hermits were practically throwing themselves at the man, many of them beginning to cry as they wished him farewell. Grian simply sat there, his wings drawing in on themselves, watching rather awkwardly. He wished the man the best, but he had no real ties to him; up until two seconds ago he hasn't even spoken to him. He silently looked down at his feet, now dressed in black tennis shoes they too were a gift from the man who had saved him. He studied the laces, trying and failing to find them interesting.

"It'll be okay." A familiar voice spoke next to him, taking his hand. Mumbo again, of course. "I— I know this must be awkward for you, but... once we get to the new world, we'll be on a blank slate. It'll be easier to integrate with everyone there."

"Thank you." Grian could only reply, feeling a bit better. Though then again, maybe he should feel guilty. "But... shouldn't you be with him too?" His eyes went back to the crowd.

"It's alright, mate. I have the full night to say goodbye to him. He's not going to disappear the moment he's not hugged." He laughed, but then he paused. "That would... be quite concerning if that was the case, actually... I suppose I haven't tested that either. Maybe he really is going to-!!"

Grian broke his train of thought with his own laugh. "Mumbo, he's not going to disappear. Don't worry so much!" Rather ironic how he was the one now saying that, when he himself worried about everything.

Mumbo shook his head, getting back in a proper mindset. "I was spiraling, wasn't I?"  He supposed, chuckling as well. How silly did he have to be to seriously consider someone could up and vanish like that? "Well, thank you, G. Can— can I call you that? Ah gosh what kind of nickname is G, anyway? It's just a letter! It'd be like if I called myself M! Well it is rather fitting, seeing how m is like a mustache—"

"I like it." Grian interrupted the man's second spiral. He let his smile show, the one that reached his eyes. He didn't know the last time someone had given him a nickname; maybe they never had. (He was the one who had decided to be called the sun after all, not Miesall who hesitantly accepted it.) As strange as it was hearing a man ramble and talk to himself, it was almost comforting. He wasn't the only screw up, or the only one with worries and anxieties. He was certainly the weakest one of them all, but at least two of the people around him were flawed to some degree. The Watchers would never be like that.

"Really? Oh thank goodness..." Mumbo heaved, the tension in his shoulders deflating. "He doesn't hate me..."

"Of course not." Grian shook his head, causing Mumbo to pause.

"Can— can you read my thoughts?" He asked, his eyes widening. That was right, the man seldom realized he even did talk to himself out loud. It seemed to disturb him to have anyone even hint that he did, and Grian wasn't really sure how to approach the subject, so he had been trying to avoid the conversation all together.

"Uh—"

Thankfully, Xisuma was his saving grace, clearing his throat. It seemed everyone had found their seats once more. "Does anyone have any memories they would like to share?"

"Competition mining was fun!" A tall blonde woman spoke.

"It was fun beating you," Scar chuckled with a wide smile. He glanced at Grian. "We would have two people go to the same mine and try to get as many ores as possible in a limited time frame. The more precious the ore, the more points. Coal and iron don't count, of course."

"Hot Swap was fun." Mumbo chimed in, chuckling. "Though I kept picking up my own lava on accident!"

"That you did," his partner Xisuma chuckled.

"Oh! And remember the circus tent by the game?" Zedaph chimed. He rolled his eyes playfully. "So stupid!"

"You were the ones that made the cow clowns homeless!" Scar shot back, seemingly being the one to set this tent up.

"The... cow clowns?" Grian blinked.

"You know! The... the..." The scarred man began. He waved his hand in the air, as if trying to grab the word. "The red cows that look like clowns!"

Cub only chuckled. "Mooshroom cows, Scar, mooshroom. At least, that's what uneducated people call them. They are cow clowns."  Grian couldn't follow, but a few of the Hermits couldn't help but laugh.

"I still can't believe that you turned me into an ice princess!" Tango exclaimed from the other side of the room, pointing accusingly first at Cub, then at Scar. His solid red eyes narrowed as his black wings  unfurled a bit. His anger was met with the old man falling right to the floor with his laughter, and Scar would have joined him if only he wasn't strapped in to his own chair.

"—that— that was the best!!" Scar exclaimed through his laughter, laughing so much that he had begun to cry.

"And you violated the nHo with those dinosaurs!" Beef exclaimed, though he couldn't help but laugh as well.

"You abducted my statue of myself!" A brunette fairy exclaimed.

"You put a giant guardian in my base!"

"You touched me and Hel's cathedral!"

One by one, the Hermits recalled pranks the Convex  had played on them, each of them sounded cross but smiles broke through. The culprits' absolute screams of laughter only intensified with each accusation, unable to contain themselves. Even Grian, who knew nothing of these pranks found himself giggling just a bit at the images that came to his mind.  It wasn't long until each of them was just a mess of giggling, hardly unable to form words.

"I'm... I'm just glad that it's over..." A man, Iskall he was named, sighed once he was able to contain himself. "The reign of the Vexsters has come to an end..."

"Oh-oh-oh no..." Scar shook his head between his giggles. "We're only just getting started!" A few gasps were heard from around the mess of a circle they had.

"That's right," Cub said as he got himself off the floor and back into his seat. "The Vexsters are coming back for season 6, baby! The Vexsters are coming!" 

"Oh goodness me..." Mumbo only sighed, putting his head in his hands. "They're absolute menaces, Grian!"

"Oh don't worry," Scar only chuckled, beginning to smirk as he pulled out a Vex head. He put it on, obscuring his face. "We're only expanding our empire. Before you know it, we'll dominate the entire shopping district!" Such words only made Xisuma put his head in his hands. They already had gotten carried away with shops before the season had even started.

"Guys," he only sighed, shaking his head. "I thought we went over this..."

"It's all in good fun, Xisuma. All in good fun." Cub assured. "Most of them won't sell anything of use." He too had agreed that the past seasons had a problem; they all had.

"We all agreed to be careful." Scar nodded.

"I still can't believe that Mumbo forgot the ordinance immediately." Welsknight spoke, chuckling. "It hadn't even been one month and he had already made two shops! That spoon!" That had everyone chuckling.

"That... that was pretty silly of me, wasn't it?" Mumbo chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in nervousness. "It had completely slipped my mind."

"Yeah, a lot of things do." The man sitting next to him, Iskall, said as he pat the man's back. "But really, who could forget Senor Bumbo Cactoni and all the other Bumbos?" The man chuckled, remembering his favorite ongoing jokes.

"Bum...Bo cactoni...?" Grian asked, tilting his head slightly as he strained to look past Mumbo at the brunette.

"Oh! You don't know! A Bumbo is any build that has a big Mumbo mustache on it, and often funny eyes and a mouth. They got quite wild." The one-eyed man giggled. "I might just keep that joke going!" Grian just wished that he knew these inside tidbits, that he too could laugh along and come up with old stories that they all knew. Everyone here was close, that was for sure.

One by one, the Hermits recalled all sorts of things. Mini games. Jokes. Get together and parties. Something called the nHo, which Scar could never seem to remember the name of. (The man would say three random letters, no matter how many times the others said it flawlessly. Why was that, exactly? Was it some kind of joke?) Grian listened with wonder at all the absurd shenanigans that took place. Little by little, each one came to reveal their season plans, each one unique from the others.

At long last, the group came into a comfortable silence. That was when the admin turned towards Grian. "And you?" He asked. "What are your plans? ... if you have any, of course."

Almost as if he hadn't expected to be asked that, the small man jumped a bit. "M-my plans...?" He croaked. He had hardly been here a week! How was he supposed to know what he wanted to do? "I- I was thinking of building in the Futuristic District with Mumbo..." he supposed, blushing just a bit. Being with the man who towered over him brought him comfort. It was the most familiar thing here, which was all he could ask for. "Maybe... maybe I could make a water base again..."

"That sounds lovely, mate." The man beside him smiled, his eyes twinkling as he brought him in for a side hug. "I can't wait to live next to you." He smiled. "And with that kind of proximity, you know what that means? Lots of sleepovers." He chuckled.

"Quite honestly, you never know whose bed you'll wake up in here." Scar only shrugged, his own smirk and giggle giving away at the not-so-innocent intent to his words.

"S-Scar!!" Mumbo exclaimed, his face flushing as his eyes widened. "Don't put it like that, mate!! You're giving him the wrong idea!!" The reaction only caused the naughty man, and a good number of his friends to burst out into laughter. Such a joke would have never been okay with the Watchers, but no one (besides maybe Mumbo) seemed to mind at all. Maybe that was the reason why Grian couldn't laugh, though he tried.

A sentient zombie only narrowed her eyes once she had recovered. "Don't worry, we really aren't like that here... we just find ourselves hanging out a bit too late and before we know it, we can't be bothered to go all the way home so we stay up a few hours doing nothing of importance."  She assured.

"E-exactly!" Mumbo stammered, still trying to recover. "You have nothing to fear here but a good time." Such a line had GoodTimesWithScar nearly falling out of his chair. He tried to respond, but he was laughing too hard.

Well, whatever would happen, Grian realized, he was in for a wild ride. He just hoped it was a fun one. "M-Mumbo... you idiot..." he found himself saying, letting out a giggle.