The constant song of an incoming discord call was what woke Hbomb in the middle of the night. He rouse from his slumber and took his phone from the bedside table, peeking at his screen groaning as he squints his eyes to read the caller's name:
'Antfrost'
This made Hbomb wonder why the man was calling him in the middle of the night on a Saturday morning so he answered it.
"Hello?"
"Sorry but check the discord"
"Which channel?"
"Dream SMP, Purpled found something interesting"
With that, the line died with a beep. And like what the male has told him to do, he opened up the Dream SMP discord chat although it took him a couple of minutes to follow, trying to wake himself properly to process the possible information better.
The previous chat was just the remaining members discussing the possibility of it being real.
It didn't take him long enough to find the link to a TikTok video after a few scrolls up which puzzled his still sleepy brain. While the media loads, questions started flooding into his head.
Did they announce the current issue behind the scenes while he was sleeping? Did the MCC staff betray their trust and tell everyone about the missing content creators? No, the chat seems too chill for that.
So, why did a fan account under the name of 'IshaNotFound' caught their attention?
"I shifted to Minecraft and met Schlatt!!"
The text in Arial says, plastered on the screen above the raven kinky hair of the female about to present the idea that took everyone's interest.
"Alright, buckle up everyone cause this is about to get crazy!"
How crazy can it be though?
He listened as the female described her 'shifting' adventure in Minecraft as a treasure hunter with her three other friends and that while they were on this 'monument', the ceiling opened up and Schlatt with Quackity, Skeppy and Karl fell down. She also mentioned being beaten up by Schlatt, and to be specific, her body was flung so hard it broke a wooden wall.
It's crazy. The more it goes, the more he believes that it was indeed a story, a fiction. And with every second passing, his skepticism rose bit by bit. Who wouldn't?
His fingers itched to tap out of the app but because Purpled himself had sent it, someone barely active in the SMP and the fact that Ant had to wake him up for it, was enough reason for him to stay.
Near the end of the video, she said that when she was trying to talk to her dying teammate, the male was talking about how he doesn't want to die. And that he won't respawn. And when she asked him about what he meant, he said that...
"Part 2 coming up later!"
Hbomb let out a groan at the cliffhanger. Why did people thought it was a good idea to leave things unanswered?
He's not believing it, but he wanted to know everything before judging it.
His thumb went to touch the profile picture where it displays George's skin with flowers and sparkles around him. The profile loads and he started to search for the second part, it didn't take him long to find it since it was the first video being shown, fresh from recording. As soon as he saw the Arial fonts that said 'Part 2' his thumb immediately tapped on it.
What has his friends done to deserve being trapped in a game? If they really are...
"Alright, so what he said was he's trapped in the game like physically there. And that if he dies, he might never come back."
That made his eyes widen, breath hitching in his throat as he thought about some of his friends being unable to come back anymore. Surely they won't be stupid enough to bring themselves at death's door right?
They won't do anything that might put themselves in danger, they're smarter than that.
Besides, this is just a product of lucid dreaming. This isn't legit... right?
"Sounds crazy right? And also, Herobrine seems to be the reigning king of almost everything and has put bounties on a lot of people we know."
That brought his attention back to his phone, Herobrine? A glitch is in the game? That was the last nail in the coffin, he had enough of the bull he's been hearing.
"Sapnap, Techno, Karl, Phil, Dream, and even Sam! Like what did they do to that glitch bitc–"
Hbomb then went to his home screen, dizzy with information. It can't be true, he can believe that his friends might've been kidnapped but being transported in a different world?
Impossible!
He then came back to the app to copy the link to send back to Discord. He needs them to know how crazy it sounds!
Alternate Reality?! He could think of many ways to achieve that! It's just illegal and damaging.
"Are you guys seriously believing this shit?!" He sent to the gc, incredibly skeptic of the idea.
If you told anyone that a friend is lost in another world, taken by the universe itself, no one would believe you, everyone would laugh at that. Because it'll be considered fiction.
"Do we have any other lead? Tell me, what other choice do we have?" Ant replied back and it didn't take that long before he sent another message.
"Everyone is skeptical here, I don't know about you but I'll listen to anything that indicates what might've happened to them."
He's right, and Hbomb cannot argue with that. Even the authorities have problems trying to solve the mystery of their sudden disappearance. They're lucky enough to have them still trying their best.
With a ding, Purpled said:
"Anyway, if Herobrine is really in there, and they're physically IN the game. Then there's no hope of them coming back alive"
"You're being too negative, touch some grass and lighten up will you?" Ant responded almost immediately.
"Are you implying that he should do weed? he's a minor!" Hbomb light-heartedly typed in, directly replying to Ant, trying to lighten up the mood.
"No I did not refer to doing illegal things, and for you to imply that is concerning buddy." Ant retorts making him laugh lightly.
"Guys do you think we should contact her about it?" Punz butts in, bringing their focus back into the main topic which is the possibility of her reaching out for the others.
"I don't think so, she might look trustworthy but we'll never know! People are unpredictable..." Purpled said and the group chat stills.
For Hbomb, this would be a huge trade, one that could either lead to a good road or down to hell. But for him, it'll be a gamble but he'll take it, this is a chance for them to find out how their friends are. Why should they ignore it? Like Ant has said, this is the only reason they can make up.
It's a shock to find out that the authorities are still on the problem even after nearly two weeks have passed. He doesn't even find it in himself to complain if they did drop the investigation, its been weeks and there's not a single lead.
A ding from his phone made him open it, since it has shut down due to inactivity, to see Ant asking them about how the fans are handling the MCC delay, a whole conversation missed above it.
With almost all of them taken away by the universe, the remaining SMP members had no other choice but to reveal what was happening to their friends to the staff, but then they revealed that there are a few creators who also approached them with the same concern, they didn't need to ask who because they know that one of them came from Hermitcraft.
"Well, most of them were understanding but like always, there are people who complained" Ant responded but another chat bubble popped up from him.
"Some of those bad people sent hate towards the staff but the good ones are silencing them" He added.
He doesn't know what the others did, but as much as possible, he strayed away from any form of social media except Twitch of course. There are too many mentions in tweets asking where their favourite content creator is, it was overwhelming him.
He still streams as much as he can, and while his views have skyrocketed, most of them were just there to ask him about the absent streamers and youtubers. Flooding the chat with questions, there are others that had enough respect to tell them off and just watch for the content, he's thankful that there are people like that.
But there are times where it'll be too much that he needs to either stop streaming or close the chat.
"Expected" Hbomb replied.
"But about that tiktok girl, I really think that we should gamble the chance of her betraying us and telling everyone." Purpled said, waiting for his friends to respond while chewing on his bottom lip.
"Isn't it worth it to find a way to bring them back in exchange for whatever she might want from us?" He continued, he wanted to change their minds. It is a deal he'll take any day, he's not as close to some of the missing people but he'd still take it.
After what seems like a century of waiting, someone finally replied. It was Punz.
"Vouch."
Crazy!
"Should we ask the authorities about this?"
"We're not going to tell shit to them, who knows what's gonna happen if they found out that they're possibly in another reality." Ant replied to Purpled.
"Wdym?" Purpled typed back.
"Well, they might get abducted by the government to be experimented on in Area 51. We're talking about a different dimension here. Of course, they will get involved"
Ant has a point. This is a one in a million event that took many people away from this earth and into a block game. And they fear what might happen If the government caught a whiff of this, Hbomb is sure that even the four remaining members– including him– will also get dragged into a laboratory to be tested why they weren't taken away.
Dream and Techno might've hidden their appearance from the world but the authorities will find a way to take them away. They always do.
"So are we all aboard with the idea of talking to the girl?"
While everyone sent their approvals, Hbomb stared at the conversation. Even if he said no, it was a majority vote to do so.
"@Hbomb?" Punz asked, directly addressing him. He released a deep sigh as he typed in:
"Yeah, let's do this thing"
"Try asking with a fake account first" Punz suggested as silence settled in the group chat, a question aching to be asked but afraid to speak up.
"Who's gonna do it?" Hbomb asks.
"You of course." Punz replied back
"What?! Says who?"
"You were the one who asked" Purpled argued.
"That makes no sense!"
"Nothing makes sense anymore, do it for everyone pls." Ant said.
He didn't even have a chance to defend himself, he immediately waved a white flag.
Hbomb then went out of the app and into the Tiktok account to make a fake one to use as a way to converse with the fan without risking their identity and secret just yet.
And when he has one, he makes sure to change his profile picture and username. Pulling up a screenshot of him in the maid skin and named himself 'Fundy's Cat Maid'
After all the preparation, he went to contact the fan account.
'Hi! I was wondering if I can ask you more about your shifting experience? I'm having problems with imagining and I really wanted to meet them."
It's believable, right?
His eyes went over the message twice before pressing send, letting out the breath he didn't even realise he was holding as soon as it was sent.
He shuffled in his bed, trying to find a more comfortable spot when he heard a ding on his phone.
"Sure hun! What are your questions?"
Well, that was... easy.
His thumb hovered over his keyboard, cogs in his mind working a ton as he finds a question to ask.
"Could you explain where you are exactly?"
"In an underground city, It was called 'The City of the Lost' because apparently, everyone in that area is physically in the game. So they're like... Lost souls. I thought they meant they were shifters like me, but after what my friend said, I think they meant like... their bodies are really in the game." She explained.
So there are more people in the game? Normal people? That's crazy, but why did they get themselves taken while the four of them remained in the real world? What does the system require to be able to be one of the unique gamers?
"Crazy, right?"
"Sounds crazy but I believe you. Could you tell me your ways? :3"
He cracked his knuckles before rolling his head, getting ready for a long night of research
~~~~~~~~
I hope I'm not too ooc
should I shorten up chapters?
also, thank you guys for the kind words :3, I try my best :D