As days passed and everyone slowly healed from their injuries and their mental health started to improve, Scott sat inside his room looking out of the balcony. The cold wind blew gently on his hair as he leaned his head down on the railing and thought about Jimmy. He couldn't stop thinking about him, and he wondered how he would feel if he knew how Scott truly felt. He was torn between telling Jimmy the truth or keeping it to himself. As the cold wind blew, Scott shivered a little and decided to seek some advice. As Scott got lost inside his head, someone knocked on his door. "Scott? You in there? It's me, Katherine!" She yelled from the other side of the door. Scott slowly walked up to the door and found Katherine holding a bunch of poppy flowers. "Hey Scott! I just came by to see how you're doing? Anyway, these are for you. Jimmy told me they're your favourite flowers!" Katherine smiled, as she watched surprised Scott take in the gesture. Scott carefully took the flowers from Katherine, touched each one of them, and smiled. His heart was racing and he felt his face blushing as he couldn't stop smiling at the thought of Jimmy. "Thanks Katherine... I needed this...," he said, trying to hide his face and his growing admiration for Jimmy. Katherine looked at Scott, noticing his growing feelings for Jimmy and also his attempt to hid them. She gently ruffled his hair and laughed. "You're welcome Scott!" she said, with a grin. Scott put the flowers down beside his bed and went back to Katherine. He thought about what he was going to say and then said suddenly. "Kath, how did you find out you had feelings for Shrub?" Katherine was surprised by the question and blushed, then realised why he was asking. She thought about how to answer his question, and she knew it would be revealing herself and her feelings for Shrub. But she couldn't lie to Scott, so she decided to tell him the truth. "For my whole life, I've never had a crush on anyone. No one had ever caught my attention until we found this castle..." Katherine began to explain to Scott, thinking back to her first days of meeting Shrub. As she continued her explanation she said, "...when I saw her for the first time, I thought she was mean by the way she acted at first, but after that she started showing her true self, she was funny, nice and honestly pretty cute. I didn't know what these feelings were... But I felt like I had known her my whole life." Katherine continued to explain how she had felt drawn to Shrub for some reason, like they had known each other for a long time. As she talked about her feelings, she realised that the feelings were quite strong and hard to ignore. She had always told herself that she didn't need anyone in her life, but now she was questioning that belief and feeling something that she had never felt before. She looked at Scott, debating with himself on whether or not she should tell him how she really felt. But her heart was telling her to take the risk and open up about her feelings. "But one day, we were by the pond and I couldn't fight my feelings anymore. When I looked at her, flowers would pop out of nowhere and I would just blush like crazy, and that's when I realised I liked her. That night, I cried to Jimmy about how I didn't know what these feelings were, and he helped me a lot," Katherine continued describing her feelings for Shrub and the way it had grown. She was glad that she was finally able to admit how she really felt and felt a sense of relief as well. Scott hugged Katherine tightly when she finished describing her feelings for Shrub and how they had grown. "Thank you Katherine... You really help me right now," Scott said, still a bit embarrassed to admit his feelings, but glad that he could talk to Katherine about it. Katherine laughed and playfully teased him. "When are you going to reveal your feelings to Cod boy?" She smiled, as Scott blushed again, embarrassed. But he couldn't deny how he really felt, and he knew he would also have to tell Jimmy how he felt sooner or later. "Come on Scott, let's go get breakfast! I'm sooo hungry!" Katherine complained, making Scott smile.
As they both walked down to the kitchen, Shrub walked out of her room looking like she just woke up and she was still wearing her pyjamas. "Morning," Shrub yawned. Katherine blushed as she heard Shrub's voice, and she could feel her own feelings for Shrub beginning to take hold again. Shrub walked up to Katherine and gave her a good morning kiss, causing Katherine to blush even more. Katherine couldn't believe that she and Shrub were dating and she still couldn't believe that Shrub liked her back. "Well good morning to you too Shrub!" Scott said, sarcastically rolling his eyes and smiling at both of them. Katherine chuckled and playfully elbowed him. She still couldn't help but notice how her own feelings for Shrub were becoming stronger and stronger every day. As the three walked into the kitchen, they found everyone already eating their food. "Morning guys!" Pearl said, smiling at them as her mouth full of toast. As the three sat down, Gem started talking. "So guys, I was wondering if we could go back and try to get Jimmy..." Gem said, as she looked over at her brother with a worried look on her face. The last time they had gone after Jimmy they almost got killed. Fwhip rolled his eyes, and said, "Gem, you know what happened last time! We almost got killed!" "I know fWhip, I was there," Gem said, trying to keep her voice steady and calm even as her emotions were rising. "But we have to get Jimmy back before things get worse!" she yelled at him. Fwhip just rolled his eyes again, clearly disagreeing with Gem, and he said, "Gem, we barely escaped with our lives last time. Jimmy knows how to take care of himself. Don't make it sound like we're the only ones who can help him." "Fwhip, do you hear yourself right now?" Gem asked, as she raised her voice at him. "Yes, we are the only people that can save Jimmy! And we need to stop Xornoth too! Seeing what he did to Katherine doesn't make you worry about Jimmy?" she yelled back at him. "Let me remind you, Gem, me and past Jimmy were enemies! We had wars!" Fwhip yelled back at her, clearly not liking the way the conversation was going. "You became friends, fWhip!" Gem yelled back at him. "And look how that ended? My empire got blown up! And Xornoth got released!" Fwhip yelled in response. The argument continued to get more and more tense, as both of them shouted at each other. It seems that they had both been deeply affected by their experiences with Xornoth and Jimmy, and they were still trying to process it all. "Guys, stop!" Pearl cut in anxiously, worried about the escalating argument. "It's way too early in the morning for this," she said, trying to diffuse the tension. "And Fwhip, Gem's right, we have no choice but to save Jimmy. If we don't, he might die!" she said, looking at them both imploringly. Fwhip looked at both of them silently and went to eat his food without replying. His expression was hard to read, and neither of them knew what to think. He was clearly still processing everything that had happened, and he didn't seem ready to talk about it yet.
As Scott finished his food, he left the now silent building and went to the cave where he and Jimmy had almost kissed. As he entered, the memories came flooding back to him... He thought about Jimmy's brown eyes staring lovingly into his. He remembered how Jimmy had pulled his head closer, making his heart pound faster. He could still feel the warmth of Jimmy's breath on his face, and he was reminded of his own growing feelings for Jimmy. But he also felt a little ashamed and confused as he tried to decide what these feelings meant. Scott sat down on the picnic blanket, looking calmly at the underground pond filled with coral and cod fish. He was lost in thought as he remembered the times he had spent with Jimmy. As he watched the movements of the fish, he was reminded of the way Jimmy's hair had moved in the water when they had gone swimming together. He couldn't take his mind off of Jimmy, and he wondered if he should reveal his true feelings to him again.
As Scott watched the fish swim, the ground suddenly shook. He quickly ran outside to see what was happening and saw everyone running out of the building with fear in their eyes. As he looked around, he saw that the cave walls were shaking and he wondered what could have caused this. The ground was still shaking and Scott saw the water in the underground pond begin to ripple and swell. He didn't know what was happening, but he could tell that something serious was going on. Scott ran outside of the cave to the group of frightened people and asked, "Is everyone okay? What's happening?!" The others looked at him with fear in their eyes and said in response, "We don't know what's happening, but Gem told us to run just in case the building collapses!" As they all spoke, the ground continued to shake. Scott could feel himself beginning to lose his balance and he had to hold onto something to keep from falling. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he was growing increasingly anxious. As everyone tried to stay standing, the ground under their feet started to crack. "Guys, move!" Scott yelled, trying to use his ice magic to stop it but it didn't work. The others were getting more and more nervous, as red vines started appearing. "No no! This can't be happening!" Gem yelled in fright, as she pulled Scott back away from the spreading vines and tried to lead the others to safety. "Guys, over here!" Katherine yelled, making plant bridges across the cracks and walls, to try and keep the vines away. The others quickly followed her, trying to find the path of safety she had created. But the ground continued to shake and the vines kept growing around them, making it harder and harder to move. Soon, they were trapped, and they didn't know how to escape. As everyone tried to escape from the vines and find a way out, Pix noticed something coming towards them. "Jimmy?" he asked, his eyes wide as he looked at the figure in front of them. But it wasn't Jimmy. Instead of his green and smiley clothes, he was wearing a dark, bloody red colour. His brown eyes were now fully red, and a devilish grin was plastered on his face.... Everyone looked up as they saw "Jimmy" and the horror began to sink in. Lizzie's heart dropped as she saw her brother in front of her. She couldn't even believe it. "Jimmy?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Babe, I don't think Jim's in there anymore..." Joel shook his head and looked at Lizzie, worried and afraid, as he saw the devilish grin on Jimmy's face. "Let us go you freak!" fWhip yelled, trying to break out of the vines, when suddenly more vines surrounded him and lifted him up. They brought him closer to "Jimmy", who was standing with a devilish grin on his face. "Let go of my brother!" Gem yelled, pulling out her staff and breaking the vines that were holding him. The vines let him go, but they quickly turned towards her, trying to grab her as well. She dodged the vines and prepared to fight, determined to save her brother and her friends. "Well, isn't it the witch?" "Jimmy" laughed at Gem, whose face was filled with determination. "Come over here and try to save everyone? Even your cod friend?" he teased. "Jimmy" looked at her for a moment before turning to face the others and smirking. He began to speak again, but this time his voice sounded different, much darker and deeper than before. He didn't sound like Jimmy anymore, but someone else entirely. "Oh and I remember you!" "Jim" said, pulling Pearl closer with the vines to him. "Aren't you the farmer girl?" He laughed, as the vines tightened around her. "You're stronger than I thought! You almost died because of me!" "Hey! Let go of her!" Sausage yelled, as he tried to cut the vines and save Pearl. But the vines were too strong and they were quickly surrounding him too. "Why are you doing this?" Sausage asked angrily, but "Jim" only laughed again. "Sausage, I gave you everything that you wanted! I gave you power! You were one of my followers!" "Jim" laughed again. Sausage remembered the times when he had been corrupted by Xornoth and tormented by those memories on a daily basis. He had tried so hard to forget, but now the memories were flooding back in. He hated it and he wanted to get out, to escape from all the pain. But it was too late for that now, as he was completely captured by the vines and at the mercy of "Jim". "Sausage!" fWhip and Pearl cried in unison, as "Jimmy" laughed again, unaware of the wave that was coming towards him. Suddenly, a big wave of water came crashing in, knocking "Jimmy" over and everyone else. The vines on Sausage loosened their grip and everyone was able to escape. "Lizzie, thank you so much!" Pearl said with relief, as she hugged Sausage again, grateful to be safe. "Is everyone okay?" Lizzie asked, looking around at the others. "I think we're fine, just a few scratches and some trauma, but we're okay!" Grian replied, looking around at them as well. "Good, now Gem, Scott, and Katherine, I need your help to get Jimmy back!" Lizzie added. The three others nodded, determined to find a way to help their friend. They knew that finding where Jimmy was and getting him back was important and they were ready to do whatever it took. "Scott, I need you to freeze everything while Katherine holds Jimmy with her vines and me and Gem will get Jimmy back into control!" Lizzie said, as she came up with a plan. They all nodded in agreement, knowing that they needed to work together if they wanted to save Jimmy. Scott got ready to use his freezing abilities while Katherine gathered her vines to hold Jimmy and Lizzie and Gem prepared to help get him back. It was going to be a hard task, but they were ready to do it for their friend.