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Martyn woke up to a message on his communicator from someone he never thought would be the one to reach out to him, especially years after the death and dismantling of Evo.
SolidarityGaming to you: If you're interested in something that can defend you against the watchers, visit my private world. I've already whitelisted you.
A very ominous message to wake up to indeed.
Martyn had tried to drill Jimmy for more context, but his old server mate had absolutely refused to give up more information on the subject via communicator.
SolidarityGaming to you: It's not secure.
Again. Super ominous.
And that's how Martyn landed himself in Jimmy's generic, grass, flat world, waiting for the man of the hour to finally log in himself.
Perhaps it's stupid to come onto Jimmy's world after such vague and informationless messages. For all he knows Jimmy is the Watcher luring him into a trap, rather than the person who can possibly provide information on how to thwart them. (Not that he thinks Jimmy would ever make it as Watcher material. He's too kind for his own good. Evil just isn't his schtick.)
But still. Martyn feels like he's taking some serious risk appearing here. It's a risk he's willing to take though if it'll possibly provide him with this mysterious defense that Jimmy speaks of.
The Watchers may have decimated the Evo SMP, but Martyn would be damned if he went down so easily a second time. The idea of a possible way to counter the Watchers… it's a very tantalizing thought.
And so Martyn is there and he is waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
Martyn checks the clock on his communicator and groans at the sight.
He's been here for a full hour. A full hour of just sitting on the grass with nothing to do but watch the clouds pass overhead.
Thankfully, that's the moment Jimmy pops into existence, because he's not sure how much longer he would have been willing to wait before just leaving, with or without the information. Jimmy stumbles into existence as he spawns in, the gray particles disappearing as he bats at them with his hand.
"Jimmy," Martyn says, abandoning caution as he sends an ill-tempered look in the other man's direction. "I've been waiting for an hour."
Jimmy looks up, eyes wide like a deer in headlights.
"Oh, um, I'm so sorry! I was, um . . . busy . . . yeah. I was busy."
Not suspicious in the least.
Martyn sighs as he recalls how bad of a liar Jimmy had always been. It seems that hasn't changed in the passage of a few years.
What has changed is Jimmy's appearance.
The young face that Martyn remembers, soft with youth and teenhood, has sharpened into that of an adult with the faint shadow of shaved whiskers on his jaw. And while his eyes hadn't lost their largeness or sparkle, they had lightened from dark brown into more of a honey-hazel color.
That is only his physical change. His wardrobe has transformed with time as well. Instead of wearing that corny, yet well-loved Captain America hoodie with an S emblazoned on the chest, he wears an unbuttoned blue shirt over a white tee. It gives him a much more mature look, to the point where Martyn barely recognizes Jimmy as the same person, especially without his trademark hoodie he remembers him wearing for all the time he's known the other.
While not a completely dramatic change, Martyn concludes that Jimmy now looks more like a man and less like the boy he used to be.
Martyn feels a grin slip onto his face. "Long time no see, Jimmy. How've you been?"
"Rather brilliant, actually," Jimmy says, grinning as he straightens up tall. And boy, Martyn hadn't realized how much he had missed Jimmy's smile. He had always been such a happy person and he's glad to see that that hasn't changed. It would have been an honest shame if the world had managed to crush that out of him. It's this smile that tells Martyn he isn't going to be expecting any trouble from the other player anytime soon.
Jimmy can't lie even if he was paid his weight in gold. Nothing bad is going to happen.
. . . for now.
"So you said something about 'defense against watchers,'" Martyn says, addressing the reason he's here. "You got some information on that?"
As much as he'd love to meet and greet and catch up with Jimmy, he wants to get straight to the heart of the matter. What Jimmy has to say might be important and Martyn would like to have his hands on that information as soon as possible.
Jimmy nods, face going serious but not solemn. "Yes. Though I guess it's more of an offer than, like, a sword , or something. Or a bow. Or a potion. Or a, y'know– just not a weapon."
Martyn takes this in, brow furrowing. "I'm not quite catching on. What do you mean exactly?"
Jimmy rubs his hands together as he searches for words.
"Have you ever heard of the Listeners?"
Martyn feels his stomach drop at the phrasing.
Why? Because that's exactly how you introduce the topic of Watchers to a person.
Have you ever heard of the Watchers?
Martyn crosses his arms and his gaze sharpens.
"No. Should I have heard of them?" Martyn frowns deeply. "Are they a knock-off Watcher group or something? 'Cus I'm not interested in canoodling with Watcher-wanna-bes."
Jimmy winces and immediately starts shaking his head and waving his hands.
"No! Nothing like that! Quite the opposite in fact." Jimmy rings his fingers and seems to think hard about how he wants to approach his next sentence. "No, Listeners are those who . . . work against the Watchers. It's their whole thing. Watchers are bad guys, so we're going to stop them. That's how they work."
Martyn immediately hones in on the choice of words.
"We? What do you mean we?"
Jimmy's eyes go wide and he looks from side to side. "Um."
Martyn's eyes narrow. "Do you work with them? These Listeners."
Jimmy nods mutely before quickly bursting into speech. "Yeah! But like I said, they're good guys! I promise! They're people who work against the Watchers! Their-- their entire goal is to protect players and stop the damage that Watchers cause."
Martyn simmers on this, letting Jimmy squirm a bit as he tries to make sense of all this new information.
The idea isn't completely out of left field. Surely the Watchers would have already taken over every server and world if someone wasn't opposing them.
"And these Listeners are just a bunch of players like you," Martyn says, pointing at Jimmy. "How can a bunch of players stand up to Watchers? Evo was destroyed for a reason, Jimmy. We couldn't do anything."
Jimmy's back straightens and for the first time since he arrived in the private world, he looks confident.
"It's not just players though. It's entities too."
Martyn's hackles immediately rise. "What."
"They protect us," Jimmy says. "They help make sure we can't be swayed or controlled by the Watchers and help us ruin their plans and work against them in-server." When Jimmy looks at Martyn it's with a conviction he has never seen in the other before this very moment. "They give us the power to lessen the misery, Martyn. Maybe we can't save entire worlds, but we can at least save the players."
The idea feels crazy and Martyn can't help but be drawn in by the idea. But first…
"Prove it. Prove that you have these protecting powers. That they're good powers and now weapons of mass destruction."
Jimmy's face shines like he's been waiting for Martyn to ask.
"Let me hold your hand," Jimmy says, extending his own.
Martyn hesitates.
"C'mon, I promise I won't hurt you," Jimmy says.
His face and words are honest.
And Jimmy's a bad liar, so Martyn believes him.
He accepts Jimmy's hand.
There are a few seconds of nothing. But then…
Warmth.
It's the only way Martyn could describe it. An all-encapsulating warmth that feels like a mental shield. A barrier blocking him from threats.
He feels assured.
He feels steady.
He feels . . . good.
Jimmy retracts his hand and the warmth recedes. It doesn't leave Martyn feeling vulnerable per se, but he does feel less protected. Like he had willingly given up diamond armor for chainmail.
He looks at Jimmy and the other looks back, cheeky and clearly proud.
"So?" he asks. "Do you wanna be a Listener too?"
Martyn's always been a sucker for getting the upper hand. In the end, there was no answer he could give but yes.
"Yeah. I'll be a Listener."
Jimmy bursts into an ecstatic grin and promptly throws his arms around Martyn.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" the man exclaims. "I knew you'd accept!"
Martyn chuckles at the enthusiasm.
He's so sentimental .
Jimmy is so tall too. He absolutely dwarfs Martyn in the hug, his face happily plopped on top of Martyn's head and his arms wrapping around his shoulders, palms resting between his shoulder blades. Martyn had been completely encompassed by Jimmy's adoration and joy.
Snorting, amused and fond, Martyn returns the hug, his arms wrapping around Jimmy's waist rather than his upper back. The man is just too tall!
It's the moment he completes the hug is when it happens. A warmth blossoms beneath Jimmy's palms like sparklers and Martyn gasps, eyes widening as something gentle and sweet seems to ooze between the discs of his spine and settle there like honey and wax.
"Welcome to the Home of the Listeners, Martyn," Jimmy says, before stepping out of the hug.
For a moment, all Martyn can do is stand there in shock, arms out and adjusting to the sensation of something that had made itself comfortable in his upper spine. He is quick to shake out of it though, panic running across his features.
"Wh– what on Earth?!" he exclaims, reaching up and over his shoulders like he could extract and view the sensation he suddenly feels inside him. "What did you just do?!"
Jimmy laughs nervously, starting to look guilty as Martyn devolves into panic.
"Hey, it's fine! It's nothing bad!" he holds out his hands calmingly but Martyn takes a quick step back. He does not want to go for a round two with Jimmy's magic hands– no matter how nice of hugs the man can give. Are Jimmy's powers actually hostile?
"You magicked me up!" Martyn objects.
"A good kind though!" Jimmy quickly assures. "A good kind! You're a Listener now! That's what you wanted, right? To be a Listener?"
Martyn pauses, one hand still hovering over his shoulder as he looks at Jimmy with wide eyes.
"That was some– some kind of initiation?" Martyn says, incredulous. "A hug? Really? You've gotta be joking!" He glances between Jimmy and the world around him, like the grass would provide him answers.
Jimmy shakes his head rapidly, looking happy that Martyn is no longer growing more panicked. He reaches out again and this time Martyn doesn't retract, allowing Jimmy to slowly guide them both to sit on a couch– which Martyn can't remember Jimmy summoning.
"Yeah, that was the initiation. The power transfer," Jimmy says, wide smile returning. "At least you got to hug me, rather than a stranger. Let me tell you, my initiation– it was awkward. "
Martyn stares mutely. He could imagine.
"And! And! You get another plus with this too!" Jimmy says, excited and completely oblivious to how much he had just scared Martyn.
"Oh yeah? What?" Martyn asks dryly, mildly dreading the answer.
"You can always find me!" Jimmy points to himself, acting like what he said makes the most rational sense, and that, on top of that, it is wonderful too.
Martyn blinks slowly and lifts a hand to rub his eyes. "What?" he asks. He's said that a lot since he arrived in Jimmy's flat world. It's starting to get just a bit tiring.
Jimmy puffs up proudly. "Since I'm the one that made you a Listener, that means you'll always be able to find me– even if I'm on an entirely different server." Jimmy spreads his arms to express the distance. "The only thing that could stop our connection is if I, like, permadie or something." Jimmy drops his arms. "But that's not happening any time soon so you'll always be able to contact me. That way, if you're ever in trouble, you can call for help. Dial me up, just like that!"
Martyn's brain is completely fried.
"... alright." What else can he even say to that? Thanks but no thanks? I change my mind? Please no? What the actual fu–
Jimmy's grin falters. "What's wrong? You wanted to become a Listener." Jimmy pauses. "Right? You did, didn't you? I didn't misunderstand, did I?" Anxiety is slowly creeping over his face and into his voice, hands rising up to twist as his shirt collar like he wants to strangle himself.
"No, no," Martyn jumps to reassure. "I did want to become a Listener." He takes a breath. "Still do."
Jimmy breathes a sigh of relief, putting a hand over his forehead. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried there."
Martyn continues on. "But you also just gave me a magic hug and now I feel things and I'm just a teensy-weensy bit overwhelmed."
Jimmy laughs a bit, slumping back into the couch cushions, folding his hands between his knees. "Ah. Sorry 'bout that. Guess I should have given you a heads up." His cheeks flush slightly in embarrassment even as he grins, not having meant to cause distress for his old friend. "Got a bit excited."
"Maybe a tiny warning," Martyn reiterates.
Martyn takes a moment to digest the latest development. To wrap his head around a newly crafted fact of life.
I'm a Listener now.
It doesn't register as real yet, though the warmth in his spine is a constant contradiction to his disbelief.
He turns his head to look at Jimmy, who has slumped across the couch with a goofy grin and his hands behind his head.
"I've got a question for you," Martyn says.
Jimmy immediately gives him attention. "Yeah, what's up."
"Why did you choose me and not somebody else?" Martyn asks. "You didn't have to offer me the power of a Listener, but you did. Why?"
Jimmy's face contorts a bit, looking like he's struggling between amusement and embarrassment.
Which is not a good sign, Martyn thinks.
"Well…" Jimmy hedges. "Um. I couldn't exactly call Grian up and ask him if he wanted to be a Listener, now could I."
"No, you couldn't," Martyn agrees. "But you could have called up BigB or Pearl or anybody else from Evo."
Jimmy's face does a funny contortion again.
"Um. No. I couldn't've, actually."
Martyn stares. "Why not?"
Jimmy casts his eyes to one side, flopping an arm over his mouth as he mumbles the next words.
"I lost the numbers to their communicators. You were the only number I hadn't lost." Jimmy blazes pink behind his arm. "You were literally the only option."
Oh. My. Gosh.
Martyn can't stop himself from breaking into cackling laughter, even as Jimmy kicks his leg in retaliation.
Of all the reasons for him to end up being the person who's on the receiving end of Jimmy's magical hug! Martyn never would have thought and he is very glad he asked.
This is teasing fodder for years to come.