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The sparkle of particles indicated Gem’s respawn moments before it happened, and Pearl’s heart leapt.
Beside her, Pearl sensed Grian stepping closer to the stone platform in the center of the garden, where he himself had appeared only ten or so minutes previously, followed by Etho a few minutes afterwards.
In fact, it had been seven minutes since Etho had respawned, grinning from ear to ear and met with hearty congratulations from his fellow Cabin Core members. Seven long, almost painful minutes as Pearl waited for the Winner of Past Life to spawn in the Terminal garden.
(It wasn’t necessarily abnormal for Winners to take some time in returning to the Terminal after winning the Game- in the past, they would take a few minutes to collect themselves in the Void, or even seek out a creative final death, like Joel had. That didn’t mean that the delay wasn’t keeping Pearl on edge, desperately waiting to see her best friend again after almost two weeks apart.)
As the outline of the newest Life Series Winner came into focus against the wooden walls that surrounded the garden, Pearl couldn’t help but take a step forward. It was an unspoken rule amongst the players to not crowd the respawn point (a tradition that began after some of the more particularly traumatic final deaths, especially in Double Life), but the crowning of a Winner was unique. The whole point of the Terminal, after all, was to ensure that no one was alone after their death... at least not for very long.
Pearl and Grian, as Gem’s main allies, stood at the foot of the steps that led up to the respawn platform, Scott standing close behind the pair. Etho and the other Cabin Core boys had paused their celebration of his second-place finish and were waiting to congratulate the Winner, and the Rejects, who had been inside celebrating Jimmy’s fourth-place finish, were stood against the wall of the main building, while the rest of the players were scattered around the garden.
“Heyyyyyy” Impulse greeted Gem first, beginning the chorus of greetings and cheers as she fully formed.
“Let's go!”
“That’s our girl!”
“Well done, Gemy! So proud of you!”
“Knew you could do it!”
“Goodness, I-”
Pearl couldn’t finish her sentence as the wind was suddenly knocked out of her, her vision suddenly obstructed with red curly hair as Gem barrelled into her, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. Pearl was taken aback only momentarily, before returning the hug with a squeeze.
“You did it” Pearl said into her hair, keeping her tone subdued as she felt the slight shaking of the woman in her arms.
“I-” Gem started, and Pearl was disturbed to hear the tremor in her voice.
(Not surprised that a Winner of a Life Series Game was minorly traumatized by the finale, no that was par for the course. But this was Gem. She had always been surprisingly, almost concerningly, good at compartmentalizing.)
Pearl glanced over at Grian, who wore a slightly sad smile. Behind him, glances were exchanged. Etho was the first to make eye contact with Pearl, and the unspoken message was received loud and clear:
‘Take care of your girl’
and, underneath that, something Pearl didn’t quite understand
‘I’m sorry’
With a nod, he turned to the other Cabin Core boys and gestured for them to return inside the main building. Cleo and Martyn followed quickly behind, with the rest of the server, save Grian and Scott, sending supportive glances in Pearl’s directions before going inside as well.
“I missed you” Gem finally managed, voice barely above a whisper. Pearl rested her chin atop the shorter girl’s head.
“Aww, I missed you too”
There was a small sniffle as Pearl looked over to Grian, who had approached and was now standing, looking a little bit lost, at the pair’s side. Behind him, Scott was watching with a solemn expression.
“You did so well, Gem. I know it’s... it’s hard. But you played so well.”
Gem shifted a little bit at Scott’s praise, turning her head so she could see him. She smiled weakly.
“Thanks. I know I... I did good. I was honorable, just like you always say. But I...” she glanced back up at Pearl for just a moment, before burying her face into Pearl’s hoodie once more, “I’m sorry”
...
“What? What are you-”
“Gem, no, you-”
“You don’t-”
All three drifted off into nothingness as they each realized the futility of shutting down the apology before they even knew its origin.
“It’s just a game, Gem. Whatever you think you have to apologize for, I promise you, nobody- not us, not the other Players- no one holds it against you”
Grian stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on Gem’s shoulder, and she instinctively leaned into the touch.
“I know that. Maybe I didn’t mean sorry, sorry. I know it's not my fault, logically, but...” she looked up at her fellow Villains, unshed tears that Pearl suspected were more due to exhaustion and adrenaline than anything else glistening in the corners of her eyes, “they were saying that you deserved better than us, Pearl. That we didn’t care about you, didn’t care if you lived or died, and that’s not true. It’s not.”
“Oh, I know that, silly. And I’m sure they didn’t mean it. Gem, it’s like I was telling Jimmy- it's probably for the best that I went out when I did. I’m... cursed. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time where I wasn’t left behind by my team, whether purposefully or not. Honestly, it felt pretty good to be the one other mourned, instead of doing the mourning myself.”
Gem hummed, clearly considering her words.
“Yeah. Mourning my best friends who I was supposed to protect, even though I know I’m going to see them in a few days, sucks. Bad.”
The lighter, comedic tone that usually graced her voice had returned, and Grian chuckled.
“You can say that again”
A soft knock on the door gained the attention of the four in the garden, and they turned to see Cleo poking their head through.
“Mind if we join you?”
Behind them, Scar, Joel, and Martyn were standing, each looking equally hesitant to interrupt and desperate to help as best they could. Gem nodded immediately.
“Sorry I ruined the celebration”
“Pff, don’t even” Pearl shook her head, turning to face the rest of the Winners and shifting Gem so she was pulled tight under one arm, “I was an absolute wreck after Double Life. Sometimes I hope that someone has a more traumatic series than me so I don’t hold the crown for most embarrassing return”
“Okay, but you had a pretty valid reason to be a wreck,” Scott interjected, laughing.
“I think anyone who willingly returns to these cursed Games can be rightfully considered a wreck”
Scar looked at Cleo in faux offense, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Speak for yourself. I’m perfectly normal and completely sane.”
As the banter continued and intensified, the rest of the Players returned to the garden as the sound of laughter and pointed jabs reached them, Peal sat down on the platform, pulling Gem with her, the smaller woman still pressed firmly against her.
After a moment, Grian joined them, sandwiching the newly crowned Winner in the middle, and it was almost as if the Villains had never been separated in the first place.