Music tip:
Krewella – Live for the Night
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Lovers of Freedom

Chapter 20:
No Fear

The first difference they noticed was the size of the hall itself, in which the new Minecraft fan event was hosted by Microsoft for the first time ever. It easily was comparable with the one in which the main stage had been during the last Minecon event he had been to a few years ago.

"…then Mitchell and last but not least Adam will follow. Some fans will be lined up at the side, so make sure to…"

Mitch drowned out Murphy's voice and glanced through the partly open door of the small room the team and him were currently in. From what he could see the stage they would go on was on the other side of the room. Countless rows of seats were placed in blocks in front of it and one big aisle in the middle would be their way to the stage later on, when the hall was filled with countless fans.

Right now he couldn't imagine the hall being even half-full, after he had read the comments under his most recent videos. The fans were mad for Microsoft banning Minecraft from other gaming channels and even though most of them cherished the fact that their precious Team Crafted was reunited once more, they weren't willing to accept the unfair ban.
Right now he couldn't see someone coming at all. He wouldn't for a fact.

Another point making him skeptical regarding this event was the fact that Murphy wanted to do something special. Instead of simply walking up to the stage when the welcome speech of Mr. Nadella was over, Murphy wanted them to run down the aisle like fricking rock stars in between the supposed masses of fans.
It was ridiculous, but he couldn't do anything about it.

"Alright, get ready, the halls will be opened in a few minutes."
Murphy turned around and left the room in the direction of the stage, where he would watch them like a hawk during the whole procedure. As soon as he had left, Mitch took a deep breath and watched as the others prepared for their so-called big moment. Obviously he wasn't the only one unwilling to go out there in a bit.

Exactly 30 minutes later a member of the staff entered their room and left the door to the hall wide open, before turning of most of the lights to stop the guests from noticing them too early. "You know when to go out?" he asked emotionlessly and barely looked at them, while he stood at the side of the door to keep the stage in sight. Without replying they lined up in front of the door and tried to keep a good glance at the hall, but the lights had been turned off during the announcement of Nadella.

He named the first member of the team.
And suddenly the crowd went wild.

Quentin turned around and winked, as he left the room backwards.
"Let's get started!"

A spotlight appeared and bathed him in white light, as he walked down the aisle and finally disappeared from their eyes. The noise was ear-deafening and with every member walking out towards the stage it rose.
Jerome disappeared with an eager look on his face and then there were only Adam and him left.

"Please tell me you're as nervous as I am," Adam rambled quietly despite the noise and leaned forward so that Mitch could hear him. The Canadian turned around with wide eyes and quickly nodded, not daring to hide the anxiousness inside of him after their soothing talk in the plane.
"Of course, what do you think?! Have you heard them? I didn't think so-"

"It's your turn Mr. Hughes," the assistant interrupted him and pointed towards the stage.
His heart stopped.

"Good luck," Adam whispered and quickly leaned forward in the darkness of the nearly empty room to press a soft kiss onto his cheek. Then he pushed Mitch forward with a bright smile on his face and suddenly his feet moved on their own.

He entered the hall.
Silence.
The spotlight appeared and blinded him for a second.

"Mitchell Hughes, also known as TheBajanCanadian!"

The hall exploded, a million screams tore the silence apart and people to his left and right jumped up and down, infected by the heavy beat of the music. His arms were covered in goosebumps and he had to remind himself to breathe, as he slowly started to walk towards the stage.

Mitch picked up his pace and began to run, when he finally was completely overwhelmed.
Everyone was cheering for him. Simply incredible.

The fans left and right to the small aisle reached out for him with their hands, so he spread his arms and managed to high five one after another. A happy and confident grin was placed on his face and for once it couldn't be more real. They loved him. The crowd went completely crazy just for him and his friends, they adored them and being so close to their idols had to be incredibly special for them. The least he could do for them was to enjoy it as well and be as confident as in his videos.

Not that it was a problem.
Pure magic.

Way too soon he reached the stage and stood at the front of his friends, throwing his arms up in the air. The screams hit an ear-deafening level and captured in the moment he enjoyed the magnificent view in front of him. Not a single seat seemed to be empty – in every one sat a happy face, clapping their hands to the beat and awaiting something even more special.
Adam's arrival.

He took a step back and fell in line with his friends, who looked as overwhelmed as he felt. Jerome clapped him onto his back and was saying something to him, but Mitch didn't understand a word due to the clamor. With a bright smile on his face he put an arm around his best friend's shoulders and stared back into the sea of fans.

Of course he knew that a lot of their fans had been enthusiastic about the reunion of Team Crafted.
Of course he knew that they had a lot of fans to begin with, but this…
He hadn't expected such a welcome in a million years – not even back in the old days of the group, before the fight and the break-up had happened.

Exactly that was what he had wanted all along.
To be back with his friends.
To be loved by their fans.
To achieve something special.

Suddenly the mess with Murphy felt far away, a distant and unpleasant memory, a bump on the road to reach his goal. Then the memories became stronger, the threats and hurtful actions of his supposed to be mentor, the reason he had agreed to be part of this unfair company in the first place-

The smile dimmed and slowly he looked to his right. Directly beside the stage stood Murphy, hidden in the dark with a satisfied smirk on his lips. Mitch wasn't the only one, who was happy about the outcome of the event, but Murphy's reasons were so much more darker and perfidious.

This was what Murphy had wanted all along…
Pleased fans.

Right.

The thought began to spread in his mind and suddenly the event faded into the background of his consciousness. He couldn't do anything against his nemesis, not directly, but when Murphy's plans didn't work out, when the fans weren't content with him anymore…

A plan was formed in his mind and the happy smile made way for a superior smirk.
It was risky, but it could work out and was the only chance he had left at beating Murphy and his schemes once and for all.

"Mitch? What's going on?!"
Jerome.

He looked to his left while the people were cheering for Adam, who was just walking towards them down the aisle.
"I decided to fight back," he simply answered, looked back at the fans and waved.

"Wait- do you mean Murphy? What have you planned?!"

"Just wait and see, Jerome, wait and see."