Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air was thick with intensity around the ConCorp courtyard, or what was left of it. There wasn't anymore greenery, instead a thick layer of ash and a few stray pools of lava. Weeks of work reduced to dust and smoke plumes. It was quite clear what had happened- a griefer. Scar and Cub stood with their backs to the damage and a deep scowl on their faces as they glared down at the crowd of hermits. Scar stood straight and tall, arms folded neatly behind his back. Civilized, despite the fury radiating off of them. Cub, however, was another story. His arms were crossed, his back was slightly hunched as he stared angrily into the crowd. If looks could kill, every single one of the hermits would be dead.

"I'm sure you can see why we all gathered  you here." Scar huffed. "What we want from you is very simple." He said, his eyes dark and his voice muddled with restrained anger. He walked forward, staring each and everyone of the hermits in the eyes.

"We want a name. And an apology." Scar hissed. His anger couldn't mask the hurt in his eyes. This was one of Scar's greatest builds, and to wreck it this was downright despicable.

The crowd of hermits were silent. No one spoke up. The laws of griefing in the Hermitcraft server were very clear- don't do it. Everyone had worked far too hard on their bases for someone to wreck it with some cheap TnT and lava. A single act of griefing was enough to get you a permanent ban from the server unless you were able to fix what you destroyed. 

"Well?!" Scar snapped. "Who did it?!" Murmers of denial wormed through the crowd. No one was taking the blame for this.

Cub stood up straighter, apparently just now taking part in the conversation. "We don't need a name, we already know who did it." He growled. His voice was like venom as he spat it at the hermits.

Scar sighed and turned to him. Evidently, this wasn't the first time they had their conversation. "No we don't, Cub. You don't know it was-"

"We all know it was Grian!" Cub cut him off, pointing at the petite, red-sweatered male. 

Everyone gasped and backed away from the accused. Grian looked shocked and almost offended to hear his name. "What?! I didn't do this!" He cried. 

"He's right, Cub, we don't know it was him." Scar replied in a soft but agitated tone as he gently grabbed his arm. 

"Really?" Cub replied curtly. He gestured to Grian with an accusatory finger. "He started an entire civil war because of pranks, has an entire shop dedicated to TnT, and belongs to Sahara- Our rivals!  I wouldn't be surprised if this was a desperate attempt to get ahead." He growled. 

Grian's face only seemed to get redder as he got more and more furious. "I didn't do this!" He snapped, throwing up his hands. "And those were pranks! Not Griefing!"

"Oh and there's such a difference, right?" Cub snarled at him, stepping off the platform and marching towards him and bending down so they were nose to nose. 

Grian didn't back down, crossing his arms. "I. Didn't. Do it." He seethed through clenched teeth.

"Alright, alright. That's enough." Xisuma growled, shoving himself in between them while Mumbo pulled Grian back towards the group and Scar did the same with Cub. He didn't normally sound so serious. "Griefing is a serious crime, Grian, and accusing someone of it is bold, Cub. What proof do you have?" The admin asked, turning to him.

"This has his name written all over it! His pranks have killed people, and we all know he can't help himself when it comes to TnT." Cub snarled, counting out the crimes on his fingers. "Is there really any question?!"

"Now wait just a minute," Mumbo interrupted, his hands still firmly on Grian's shoulders. "Grian doesn't grief. His pranks can go wrong, sure, but he doesn't intentionally hurt people." He said firmly.  "I've known him forever, he doesn't grief."

"Didn't he let Iskall take a demise trap?" Someone piped up. Everyone turned to Jevin, who was near the back. "Even though he knew it would give him a heavy disadvantage?"

Iskall rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I mean, they aren't wrong."

"That was for fun!" Grian protested. "And I knew it wasn't gonna kill him!"

"Might as well have. I could've survived if it wasn't for that stupid dragon helmet." False muttered loudly to another hermit, reigniting the arguing in the crowd.

Grian whipped around to her. "You were happy to be a Dragon Bro!" He snapped. "And he got me back a few days later!"

"Speaking of Demise, didn't you cause the death of two hermits when you weren't even on the Dead team?" Tango asked, narrowing his eyes. More nods of agreement.

"That was different! No one lost their stuff, and I paid them to do it!" Grian defended. The crowd was now yelling at each other on whether Grian was innocent or not, bringing up seemingly every crime.

"Everybody stop!" Xisuma shouted, his voice loud and booming.  Everyone silenced themselves, but the anger and tension had thickened significantly. "The last thing we need is another war."

"Another war that Grian caused!" Someone yelled. The crowd of hermits began yelling even louder now. Mumbo dragged Grian closer to him, pulling him away from some of the hermits who were now convinced he was guilty. Those who did agree with him were firing back. The arguing was growing louder and louder.

"STOP!" Xisuma shouted again, louder and more violent. The crowd died down yet again. "If Grian says he's innocent, then we have no choice but to believe him unless he's proven otherwise." The admin snarled. Protests surfaced but Xisuma held up a hand for silence.

"That being said, since he is a primary suspect,  he will be placed on probation until the culprit is found. Fair?" Xisuma sighed.

"Wait, what about ConCorp?!" Scar cried.

"We'll fix it as soon as we can, but we can't do anything until an investigation begins." He replied. "Innocent until proven Guilty, right?" There were some mutterings of disagreement, but no one tried to interrupt him.

Xisuma turned to Grian, holding out his hand for him to take. Grian's eyes widened slightly and felt Mumbo's hands grow tighter on his shoulders.. 

"A mark…?" He whispered. Xisuma nodded silently. Mumbo's hands felt ever tighter against Grian's shoulders. The petite man finally took a small step forward, separating himself from Mumbo. Xisuma gently took his wrist and began pushing up the sleeve.

The crowd was silent now. A mark. No one had received that in...well, ever. A mark was like a big symbol that displayed your crime. It was burned onto your hand and throbbed until it was removed. It was a horrible thing to receive. 

"Xisuma, isn't this a little...extreme?" Mumbo asked quietly. Xisuma didn't respond as his hand began to glow a bright red.

"Grian, you're now on probation. You are not allowed near any destructive block or near anyone else's base. Understand?" He said sternly.

Grian scoffed, but there was a look of fear in his eyes. Xisuma held his wrist firmly, despite feeling how much it was trembling. "This isn't fair, I haven't done anything!"

"Then this will be over rather quickly, won't it?" Xisuma sighed, running the red hand across  Grian's wrist. Grian hissed as something burned across his wrist.

"Ow, ow! Xisuma, please, I-I really haven't done anything! Stop!" He cried, tears brimming in his eyes. He tried to pull his hand away, but Xisuma's grip was firm and strong. Grian let out something again to a whimper when his pleas went nowhere. The pain was almost unbearable. Each symbol certainly took it's time to carve itself onto his skin. 

Finally, the sensation stopped and Xisuma released him. Grian wrenched his hand away, panting as he gripped his hand.. A dark ring around his wrist appeared and a creeper's face had been imprinted on it. He stared down at his hand in shock and hurt, but remained silent as he rubbed over it gently. The hermits were silent. The mark was a horrible thing to witness. Even if it would be removed eventually, it was still painful to witness.

Xisuma stepped back "There. Now then, this is a crime scene, so I need everyone to return home." He said. "Are there any questions?" No one spoke up. "Good. Now off you go." He said.

The crowd began to leave, people muttering about what could happen next, some asking each other how to "grian-proof" their builds. Mumbo quickly walked over to Grian, who was still looking down at his hand.

"...Grian?" He asked gently. "You okay?" 

Grian didn't look up at him, instead choosing to stare down at his hand. "You believe me, right, Mumbo?" He asked quietly.

"Of course I do, Grian." Mumbo sighed. "We just need to prove it. Come on, I'll fly you back to the base."

Grian nodded wordlessly. Mumbo stared back at the mess that was ConCorp. There's no way Grian did this…

Right?

Chapter Text

While everyone in Hermitville wanted to know who the griefer was, they didn't exactly enjoy the investigation process. Scar and Cub had declared themselves detectives of the case and had been snooping around in other hermit's bases. False had her entire base searched for nearly three hours, the stock exchange was closed for nearly two days while the two mucked about, and even Joe had to face an interrogation or two. However, it seemed the worst of it had come to Sahara. The duo had barged in during a meeting and demanded they comply with the searches at around noon-ish. Mumbo checked the clock on the wall. It was now 6:17pm.

Mumbo pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to soothe his ever worsening headache. It was no surprise Scar would want to attack Sahara and not just Grian. The mega-store had to be closed to the public while Cub and Scar searched, despite them only investigating the upper levels. Scar wasn't exactly being quick about the search either. 

Mumbo scoffed quietly to himself. He used the word "investigating" lightly. The only thing Scar seemed to be interested in was the inventory of their shop, and Cub only seemed to want to interrogate Grian. He cast a weary glance at the board room and winced as he heard Cub's accusatory screams through the glass.

"So you're selling Beacons, rockets, and sand…nothing destructive." He could hear Scar ask from down the hall.

"As I've told you a million times, no." He heard Iskall reply through gritted teeth. 

"And how much are they selling for...?" Scar asked. The two rounded the corner and Iskall shot an irritated look at Mumbo. 

Mumbo stood up from his chair in the waiting room. He might as well try to help Iskall while he waited to be interrogated. "Scar," he called. "Is all this really necessary?"

Scar frowned and narrowed his eyes, lowering his journal where the investigation notes were kept. "That's Detective Scar to you, and yes, it most certainly is." He huffed. "Griefing is a horrible crime and your CEO is our number one suspect!"

"But you've been here for hours!" Iskall cried, throwing his hands up in rage.

Scar glared back at him. "That courtyard took us days, Iskall. I'm sure you three can spare a few hours to help us." The man replied curtly. Iskall groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. "Besides," he continued. "Xisuma said we could have as much time as we need."

Mumbo sighed. He couldn't argue with that. "Now sit back down." Scar ordered. "Don't make us use force." Mumbo slumped back in his chair, his long legs stretched out onto the coffee table. He really wished Grian had put out a magazine or two. 

Grian.

Mumbo turned towards the board room. His friend looked exhausted as Cub hurled accusations at him. It wasn't the first time Grian had gone through this. It felt like everyday there was someone new to interrogate him. Then, of course, there were whispers and rumors about the whole thing. Hermits would talking almost as soon as the sandy-blonde approached and become silent. Some hermits shunned him while others tried to reassure him that he would be fine. Mumbo could see how much it wore him down. The redstoner had tried to distract him from the whole ordeal by having a business meeting, but of course the Convex Detectives followed them. 

He heard Scar ask another business question before going to snoop around in the redstone building for a fourth time, Iskall racing after him so he didn't mess anything up. There was some shouting and finally Iskall stomped out of the room and over to the waiting area. 

"I can't believe this, he wants to examine my redstone 'in case it was trapped.'" Iskall snarled, plopping angrily into the away beside Mumbo. "He's just going to mess everything up so we're even further behind."

Mumbo reached over and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Patience, Iskall. They can't stay here forever." He sighed, but in his heart he wasn't sure if he believed his own words. 

Iskall was practically red in the face as he turned to face Mumbo. "Xisuma gave them permission. I-I'm gonna kill them. I'm going to murder them, Mumbo!" He cried, before grabbing one of Grian's lovely throw pillows and screaming into it. 

Mumbo sighed tiredly. "Don't worry, Scar will get bored soon and Cub can't possibly ask anymore questions." The two winced as they heard Cub's raise to another volume. Mumbo slumped further in his seat. "I think." 

Iskall released the throw and placed his elbows on his knees as he slumped forward. "I know griefing is a horrible crime, but it's not like griefed their redstone!" He muttered, running his hand back through his hair.

Mumbo scowled at the wall.  "He didn't grief at all."

The Swede's eyebrow shot up. "You believe him?" He asked incredulously.

It was Mumbo's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You don't?"

Iskall looked towards the board room, his eyes focusing on the 'prisoner' at the end of the table. Grian's eyes remained tired and hollow. They had been since the mark had been scorched onto him. "Well, I mean, he did royally screw me in the demise games. And he's got a record of pranks. And he started a civil war." He recounted, turning back towards Mumbo. "While he's my good friend, Grian griefing isn't exactly out of the realm of plausibility."

"This wasn't Grian, though. I mean, come on, Grain's pranks aren't griefing. I should know, he pranks me more than anyone. His pranks are mild annoyances at best." Mumbo explained, thinking back to the multiple chickens stuck in their mail tubes and under the floorboards. 

"Didn't he take your mustache? Multiple times?" Iskall asked, a smug smile crawling on his lips. Mumbo snorted slightly.

"Again, mild annoyances." He replied.  "Grian doesn't destroy builds, he just adds onto them."  

Iskall hummed as he sat back in his chair. "I guess you're right. He never came across as a griefer, per say."

The door to the board room suddenly crashed open, making the two architects jump and turn around. Cub stomped out, leaving Grian at the table. Mumbo and Iskall shared a look of concern and rushed to the board room. Scar, having quickly finished up in the redstone room, followed. Mumbo noticed the investigation journal he was clutching was turned to a page of a hastily-sketched redstone design. He frowned, but pushed the thought aside. They had bigger problems to attend to.

"Get anything, Detective Cub?" Scar panted, shoving the journal into his inventory.

Cub made a low growl as he threw on his coat. "Someone's decided to keep quiet." There was a pause as he shot a glare at Grian, who looked just as frustrated and annoyed as Cub did.

"I'm not keeping quiet if I didn't do anything!" Grian snapped back, standing from his chair. Mumbo winced. It was rare to see his friend angry. He would often get flustered, but never genuinely upset.

Grian suddenly hissed in pain, grabbing at his hand. The mark was glowing and obviously was the source of the pain. Everyone in the room tried not to wince at the way he instantly deflated and slid back in his seat, tears welling in his eyes.

Iskall turned angrily to the detectives. "Get out. I don't care what Xisuma says, you two can leave." He snapped. "Or I'm going to kick you out." 

Cub looked like he was going to argue, but the gleam in Iskall's eye must've scared him off. The bearded man looked away, huffing. "Fine. We were just leaving anyway." He shot a glare at Grian. "You aren't off the hook, Grian." He snarled.

"Out." Iskal hissed lowly. 

Mumbo escorted them downstairs and held the large glass doors open- He wasn't sure why, all things considered- and watched the two file out of the building. Cub turned to look at him. "Your base is pretty close to him, right? I'd find someway to fortify it- and fast." He said quietly.

"Well considering he's innocent, I'm sure I'll have no need." Mumbo replied curtly. "Thank you for your concern, however." 

Cub frowned, but didn't reply. Mumbo watched them fly off before returning inside to the board room. Iskall had taken his seat, the red in his face fading. Grian remained at the table, but it was quite clear he was not paying attention. His eyes were solely on the mark on his hand. The creeper face almost looked like it was staring back.

"Did they leave?" Iskall sighed as Mumbo sat down, or attempted to. Grian had taken away his chair again. 

"For the moment." Mumbo sighed. "But I think Scar was more interested 'investigating' our redstone." 

They both looked at Grian to see if he would comment, but they were met with the top of his head as it bent to inspect the mark on his arm.

"Grian, pal, come on. We know it wasn't you." Mumbo reassured, glaring at Iskall who looked like he was going to object.

Grian sighed and put his chin in his arms. "It doesn't matter, they don't." He muttered. His eyes were dark and sunken in. The ends of his sleeves were a frayed mess from nervous picking. "No one does." He sighed.

Mumbo's eyes hardened with determination. This had gone too far. "We just need to prove it wasn't you, then." He declared.

"How? They're pretty locked in on the verdict." Iskall piped up. "Besides, Xisuma is combing through that courtyard with them. They'll find something before you do."

Mumbo flicked his hand passively. "Maybe, but it's a small courtyard, and there won't be enough evidence to convict someone. Xisuma is a fair guy, he won't call a verdict without enough evidence." 

"Yeah, but-" Iskall started, but Mumbo quickly interrupted him.

"No buts. We've known Xisuma for years, he doesn't take sides on stuff as serious as this." Mumbo flashed a brave smile at Grian. "Everything will be fine, G."

Grian lifted his eyes before raising his head and cracking a small smile.. "You're right. I'm worried for nothing. Cub is just angry, he'll realize it wasn't me." He said, straightening up his back and sitting up. 

 "There he is!" Iskall cheered. "Now, we should start this meeting, for real this time." He looked out the window. "Any more interruptions?"

The trio of Architects laughed and began to talk about the new idea Sahara needed. Mumbo found himself looking at Grian, who was now fully engaged. He smiled softly and focused back on the meeting. His friend would be fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mumbo stretched as he finished his machine. It was early in the morning, and he had been up for hours trying to finish it. His hands and face were covered in Redstone dust, but it was finally done. Of course, there were probably plenty of improvements to be made. The output still took a bit of time to process and the machine itself was a bit clunky, but Mumbo was satisfied with his progress.

He hopped down from the machine and reached over at a towel he had set aside and began rubbing off the redstone dust that had stuck to face. He then reached into his sorting system to grab a fresh change of clothes, seeing as his were a right mess.

He looked out across the ocean where Grian's tower was piercing in the sky. He loved his own base, but there was something about the elegance of Grian's build. The pillars stretched to the sky, framing the sun just right at some points. He smiled fondly as he remembered the building process. Grian would always sneak into his base for spare gravel or sand lying around. Mumbo, of course would catch him and simply give the supplies to him after they shared a laugh about the whole thing.

He hadn't actually talked to Grian since the Sahara meeting. He had seen him flying about, but he looked far too busy to sit down and chat. Mumbo didn't blame him, he himself was incredibly busy as of late. He wiped off his hands and face before stepping back to view his handy work. 

Suddenly, his communicator began buzzing rapidly. He frowned, grabbing little machine before his eyes widened. "Oh crap…" He whispered. 

Walls and walls of panicked text and accusations were flooding the inbox. He sent a small message promising to meet everyone in a few seconds before grabbing his coat and elytra. He cast a glance to Grian's tower and winced at the sight of Xisuma and Cubfan flying over to it. He strapped on a few rockets and began the journey to the meeting area.

"Grian, please, for the love of god, don't do anything stupid." He whispered, plumes of smoke appearing over the horizon. The griefer had taken yet another victim, the victim being Cleo's once lovely pirate ship.

Chapter Text

Mumbo's eyes watered and burned as he glided through the ever-thickening smoke. His heart pounded against his rib cage as this ship came closer into view and he could really see the damage. The ConCorp courtyard began to feel more and more like a harmless prank compared to this.

The ship, or what remained of it, was flipped to its side and utterly demolished. The sails had been completely torn and singed, and were doing their best to stay attached to the mast (or what remained of it. It was little more than a burnt twig now.) The deck was, of course, covered in lava. Any scrap of wood that somehow wasn't touched by it had been lit on fire. Gaping holes in its side were pouring in seawater, and it seemed that the entire thing was completely gone.

Mumbo spotted the ghost ship that the hermits were docked on, observing the blaze. There was no arguing, just silence as they stared at the second griefing casualty of the month. The sinking feeling in his chest grew deeper as he flew down to them. Mumbo could barely land in the thick smoke, and when he did he doubled over in coughing. "W-what-" Another set of coughing. "What happened…?" He asked, but the answer was quite obvious.

"Grian happened." A female voice uttered lowly. Her voice was like steel, cold and harsh. It was False. Mumbo looked over at her, his eyes softened and the pit in his stomach growing deeper.

False wasn't turned to face him. She was watching the blaze roar, her hand gently resting on a shaking and trembling Cleo. Her small birds fluttered around her, cheeping and squawking over their lost friends. The hermits could still hear her muffled sobs over the roaring fire.

"But we don't-" Mumbo started, but a firm, metallic hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to face Doc, whose face was grim and somber. The creeper-man shook his head, and the words died on Mumbo's tongue. Doc was one of the only people on the server who could stare him eye to eye, and when he did it was terrifying. Doc's message was clear- Now was not the time. 

They all stared at the blaze in a hollow moment of silence. To have a build like this ruined so deliberately, it was heart-breaking. All the labor, all the resources and time, all of it was gone and you could never recover it from this. That didn't even cover what time of conscience it took to do something like this. To know how hard someone worked, and then to absolutely ruin it. It was an awful thing to do.

The sound of elytras brought everyone's attention away from the blaze. It was Xisuma, Cub and… Mumbo cursed silently. It was Grian with them. He didn't look much better than Cleo. His eyes were sunken and grey, his hair wildly messy and greasy. Mumbo had only seen him like this a few times and all of those times were when he was at his absolute limit. Memories of talking Grian off of a build and forcing him to shower and rest surfaced in Mumbo's mind, but he pushed them down. 

Xisuma roughly shoved Grian to the center of the hermits. Looks of concern flashed across the hermits' face. Xisuma was never this harsh. False and Cleo finally turned away from the blaze, and suddenly the mourning had burned into fury.

"You." Cleo whispered. Her voice was hoarse and horrible, but the worst part was the horrible rage that laced her voice.

Grian winced, Horror in his eyes as he stared at the burning wreckage. "C-Cleo-"  His voice was quiet and small. Mumbo had never heard it so soft and so timid. "I-I didn't-" He started.

"LOOK AT ME!" She screamed at him, shouldering off False's hand of sympathy. Grian flinched harshly, his wide eyes zipping back to the angry woman in front of him. 

"Cleo, y-you have to believe me, I didn't-" He pleaded. Something in Cleo snapped, because in a flash Grian was on the floor and False and Ren were holding Cleo back.

Mumbo immediately wrenched out of Doc's hand and ran to his friend's side. Grian rolled onto in knees, His hand cradling his face. Mumbo could see blood fall from his nose. 

"Easy, easy." Mumbo whispered to him, placing a hand on his back. Grian didn't reply or move.

Cleo was screaming as she tried her damndest to break free. "YOU DESTROYED IT! I-I TRUSTED YOU, I-I FOUGHT WITH YOU!" She shrieked. Mumbo could feel Grian cringe under him. "HOW COULD YOU?! H-HOW COULD YOU!? H-HOW-!" Her voice cracked and melted into loud sobbing as she fell against Ren and False. 

"I-I didn't-" Grian whispered quietly. "I didn't-" 

Cub suddenly ripped Mumbo off of him and Xisuma yanked Grian to his feet by his hair. The sandy-blonde cried out, hands rushing to his head in some vain attempt to protect himself. Mumbo shouted, wrestling against the person holding him back. Unsurprisingly, it was Cub, who stared forward with a look of hatred. Scar, who was standing behind him and Cub, made a noise of shock and anger and rushed forward.

"Quit sniveling and speak up." Xisuma hissed at Grian. 

"Stop, stop!" Grian whimpered out. "Please!'

"What the hell, Xisuma?!" Mumbo cried, shoving Cub off of him. "Let him go!" 

"Yeah! You're going way too far!" Scar shouted, grabbing his arm. "Cub!" He cried at his friend for help. Cub only looked on. 

Xisuma stared at the two before shoving Grian at the floor. Grian cried out as he hit the ground roughly, trying to back away from the admin. Scar rushed over to him, trying to help him back to his feet, which was surprising.

"I invited him into our home, and this is how he repays us." The admin snarled loudly, taking a step forward. "This man is nothing but a damned criminal. I will treat him as such."

Mumbo felt his blood boil at the words. He shoved himself in between them. Xisuma glared at him. "Out of my way." He snarled. 

There was nothing of the soft and kind Xisuma that convinced them all that Grian was a welcomed addition to the community. There was no light in his voice and no kindness either. (Had Mumbo ever seen Xisuma genuinely angry? No, he thought. He's never seen Xisuma like this.) 

Mumbo was either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish to snap back at the admin. "No! This is insane, Xisuma!" He cried. "You have no goddamned proof!"

"Neither do you!" Cub shouted back. "How are you so certain he didn't do it?!"

"Because I trust him! Believe it or not, I trust my goddamned friend!" Mumbo shouted. "And the rest of you should to, instead of just jumping to conclusions!" 

Xisuma shook his head. "I've made my decision, Mumbo."

"That isn't fair! At least let him defend himself!" Mumbo shouted back. He and Xisuma would have been nose to nose if it weren't for the helmet in between them. 

"Good idea, Mumbo!" Scar quickly piped up. He was still standing with Grian, who still looked frightened. Scar offered him a nervous smile before turning to Xisuma and Mumbo. "Let's have a trial!" He declared. The hermits began to mutter at the notion.

"No." Xisuma snarled. "I don't need a trial, we all know-"

"Innocent before proven guilty, right?" Scar interrupted, a gleam in his eye. "Your words, Xisuma." The admin didn't reply, but his fists did clench tighter.

Scar continued. "We don't have proof, and neither does Mumbo. No one can prove anything. So, let's have a trial. Then the hermits can decide if he's guilty or not!" He declared boldly.

"And if he isn't?" Ren asked, still holding Cleo. His voice was almost a little hopeful, Mumbo noted. Maybe this wasn't as one-sided as he thought. 

"Then we all owe Grian an apology and we track down whoever is guilty." Mumbo shrugged. 

"And if he is guilty? Which he totally is?"  Cub asked, gaining a sharp and cold glare from Scar.

"If Grian is Guilty, then I will ban him from this server forever." Xisuma's voice cut through. It was dark and cold, and despite the green glass visor shielding his eyes, Mumbo could see how he glared at Grian as he said it. 

The crowd was silent. Xisuma never banned, but then again, no one had ever griefed like this. A ban was like a death penalty; eternal isolation and a mark that lasted forever were just part of it.

"...when is the trial?" Mumbo finally asked. The stakes were incredibly high.

"Let's shoot for this time next week." Cub replied. "Though it really depends on Mumbo. After all, he's going to need a lot of time to prepare." The tone was smug and condescending.

The pit in Mumbo's stomach somehow sank lower and lower. The fact that he'd be the one defending Grian had completely blanked his mind. He turned to his friend. Grian was staring at the ground, his mouth coated in dry blood and tears rolling down his pale cheeks. Mumbo felt his resolve strengthen. 

"Fine by me." He replied, glaring at Cub. His fists were clenched and his heart was filled with determination. 

"Good, good." Cub replied, a faux smile on his lips. "Oh, and one more thing." He pointed at Grian. "I don't trust him to be out alone." 

"Fine. House arrest." The mustached man growled.

"No no, that's not enough." Cub replied. "I don't trust him alone, period. Not without surveillance."

"You're kidding me!" Mumbo cried, throwing up his hands. "A barrier would work just fine and you know it!"

"I agree with Cub." Xisuma said. "We need to be sure so this-" he gestured to the ruins of the pirate ship. "-can't never happen again. I've got a place that will-"

"Area 77!" Scar interrupted. "Me and Doc can watch over him there easy-peasy and Mumbo can discuss the case with him!" 

Mumbo didn't like the way Xisuma almost seemed...disappointed at the notion, but everyone else seemed fine with it. Even Cub.

Scar clapped his hands. "Alright! We'll head there right now then. I guess we'll see everyone next week, right?" He grinned. Everyone muttered in acknowledgement before they began to slowly break off and away from the wreckage. Mumbo walked over to Scar and Grian, the anger and rage he previously felt melting into concern.

"Grian?" He asked quietly, gently placing his hand over Grian's shoulder. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Grian wiped his eyes and nose with the back of his sleeve. "Y-Yeah. I'll...I'll be fine. Area 77 isn't that bad." He whispered. He tried to smile, but the corners of his lips trembled and it died as soon as it had come. 

Mumbo's eyes softened. "I'm going to win this for you, Grian. I promise."

He locked eyes with Mumbo for the first time that day. "I know you will." He replied, a genuine smile cracking across his lips, much better than the one before.

Scar gently nudged him. "Come on, man. Just, head there with Doc and we'll meet you there."

The smile dropped and fear flashed in Grian's eyes as Doc's metallic hand gripped his shoulder. "Don't worry, G." Scar said softly. "He won't hurt you and neither will I." 

Grian still looked hesitant. He looked towards Mumbo, who offered a smile. "I'll be there soon." He assured. Grian hand clenched his sweater, but he nodded in reply and began to follow Doc off the ship. 

Mumbo sighed heavily, his heart tight and his stomach tying itself in knots. What had they gotten into? A shadow loomed over him, and he turned to see Cub. It took every bit of restraint to not deck him like Cleo had done with Grian.

Scar, however, had no restraint as he shoved Cub back roughly. "What the hell was that?! You two took it way too far!" He shouted.

Cub's face flashed with surprise for a second before it turned to anger. "Why are you on their side!? Grian destroyed our courtyard!" Cub yelled back. "You spent days on it, I thought we were a team in this!"

"I'm trying to be a team, but you're not listening to me!" Scar cried. Mumbo stepped back slightly. He felt strange, like this wasn't something he should he seeing. "You're so hellbent on it being Grian! Have you even looked at that folder of evidence?!"

Cub scoffed. "We don't need one when we know it was him!"

"Yes we do! Because if Mumbo proves that he's innocent, then we're back at square one and we all look like assholes!" Scar snapped. "Oh wait! Too late, because you and Xisuma are trying to ban him with no evidence!"

"But he-!"

"I pull pranks all the time! And hell, so do you! Does that mean we're both griefers?!" Scar interrupted.

"Why are you choosing their side?!" Cub cried, his face red and his fists clenched at his sides.

"...Are you making me choose?" Scar whispered.

There was a beat of silence as they glared at eachother. Cub seemed to flounder, a mixture of hurt and surprise painted on his face. Finally, he simply turned and slung on his elytra, flying off without another word.

Mumbo turned Scar. So many feelings seemed to be running through him, but the main one seemed to be hurt. "Scar, are you-?"

"M'fine." He muttered angrily, turning away from Mumbo. Another beat of silence.

"Mumbo?" Scar asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

He turned to Mumbo, his face twisting with some sort of conviction. "Do you really believe him?" 

Mumbo paused. Did he? It would be so easy to say no. Grian had given plenty of reasons for Mumbo not to trust him and logic dictated that Grian would be a likely culprit. But then he thought of the way Grian looked and how a once confident and loyal friend now stood with a permanent hunch and a softness in his voice that Mumbo had never heard. Logic might say it he was guilty, but his heart said otherwise.

"With all my heart." Mumbo replied, his heart blooming with confidence in his answer. Scar didn't reply at first, only staring at the burning wreckage. He then turned to Mumbo, and unreadable expression on his face.

"Then make me believe him too."

Chapter Text

"What do you have to be nervous about?" 

Grian shrugged beside him, lying comfortably on his back. His fingers fiddled with a small yellow flower as they watched clouds drift across the warm red sky. "A lot of things. They could find my building to be rubbish, or my pranks to be mean, or just not like me in general." He muttered. 

The man laying beside him, Taurtis, scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's it then? You just aren't going?" He asked, turning his head to face the blonde.

Grian groaned. "I don't know, Taurtis. I mean, Hermitcraft is a dream come true, but come on. I'm not-"

"If you try to be humble or modest, I will kill you." Taurtis growled, his eyes morphed into a glared.

"Pearl is so much better than I am, though!" Grian exclaimed, followed by a grunt as Taurtis slapped his chest. "Hey-!"

"Stop being so modest, Gri!" Taurtis asserted. "I know you love doing this thing where you just accept things and never try anything new-"

It was Grian's turn to scoff as he sat up. "Accept things?! I pull all kinds of pranks all the time! Of course I try new things!"

"You know that's not what I meant." Taurtis said, sitting up as well. "Grian, you have to go. It's a once in a lifetime chance."

Grian rolled his eyes, picking at the hem of his green shirt. "Don't you think you're being over dramatic?"

"Maybe." Taurtis said. "But as your friend, I know you. And I know you're going to love it there, and despite what you say, you want to be a hermit."

Grian didn't deny it. The giddiness he had felt when he read Xisuma Void's invitation was genuine. He had wanted to join them for a long while, that was true, but...he could never leave Evo. Why would he? He had a great life here, and even greater friends.

"It's a fun idea, but I'm perfectly fine here! I don't need to join the Hermits, and I love being with you guys." Grian shrugged, lifting his eyes to face a very unamused Taurtis. 

"See what I mean?" Taurtis asked pointedly. "About the whole acceptance thing?" Grian didn't reply, his cheeks burning. "Well?" His friend asked. Grian sighed and stared at the ground.

"You've made your point." He sighed, burying himself into his knees. "Fine, fine. I'm nervous, I admit it. Who wouldn't be?! They're all such great builders, and the redstone work they do is insane! I can barely make a door!"

Taurtis smiled with reassurance, putting his hand on Grian's shoulder. "You'll be perfectly fine. I know it." 

Grian looked up. "How are you so sure?"

"Because you're you." Taurtis grinned. "If I know anyone who can wiggle out of trouble, it's you." 

Grian offered him a small smile but didn't reply. he needed to think. He and his friend sat together for a moment longer. They knew mobs would spawn, but still they still lingered, enjoying the other's company. 

"...I got you something." Taurtis said quietly, not wanting to disturb the concert of cicadas and crickets.

"What's that?" Grian replied, watching him pull a small wrapped box out of his backpack.

Taurtis handed him the small gift, a goofy smile on his face. "A little gift from us here in Evo. I was gonna wait until you leave, but now you're getting cold feet and…" His ramblings died down as Grian unwrapped the box.

Grian lifted the gift up with brightened eyes. It was a hand-knitted crimson red sweater. "Pearl made it. It's so you can take a little piece of Evo into Hermitcraft." Taurtis smiled. "It uh, might be a little big, you're much smaller than we-" He grunted as Grian launched arms around his neck, nearly knocking off his headphones.

Grian squeezed tightly. "I'll miss you guys." He whispered.

"We'll miss you too, you gremlin." He whispered back. "Don't worry though. You'll be fine." Taurtis smiled at him. Grian blinked, the edges of his vision going dark. What was happening? Taurtis kept smiling.

"I just know it."

Grian's eyes peeled open and immediately squeezed shut at the bright end rods that illuminated the room. Everything felt heavy, and despite the long slumber he had just awoken from, he felt exhausted. He blinked his eyes open again, they just needed to adjust. He faced a decision now- go back to sleep, or stare at the wall for 12 hours? The choice seemed clear as he tugged the covers over his head. His head was swimming with thoughts as it tried to grasp at the corners of sleep that threatened to escape.

Area 77 wasn't bad, Grian decided.  It wasn't great, mind you, but it had to be better than what Cub and Xisuma had in mind. He shivered at the thought as he rolled over in the small white bed Doc had given him. He tried to ignore the sounds of the camera shifting to focus on him and pulled the pillow over his head, trying to go back to sleep. His mind however, failed to comply and he resorted to simply rolling over onto his back and staring at the ceiling.

The room was small and made of concrete and quartz. It felt a bit like a hospital room and smelled like one too. The thought drifted in his mind to ask for a candle, but it was gone as soon as it had come. He had enough in the room. No need to ask for more. Doc had already given him a bed, a private little bathroom, and even a sketchbook and some crayons if he got bored. The space wasn't bad, he kept telling himself. 'Be grateful it isn't worse.' Was a constant thought that circled in his mind as of late. 

The camera shifted again, and he shot a glare at it. "Still here, still not doing anything." He sighed. There was no response. There never was. He was alone with only his thoughts to keep him company.

That was the one thing Grain hated about this place (Well, one of many), he was always thinking. There wasn't really anything else to do, unfortunately. Sometimes he thought of nice things like building ideas or Mumbo, but those thoughts were always short-lived. Most of the time, his traitorous thoughts drifted back to the dark, grey stormcloud that was this case.

He tried to suppress them. Those horrible thoughts that told him that perhaps the Hermits never actually liked him and that's why they turned on him so quickly. Or the ones that said he was just burdening Mumbo with this. He especially hated the thoughts that crept in and whispered that Grian belonged in Area 77. He fit the criteria perfectly, after all. He was alone, abnormal, and dangerous. He'd fit right in. Who would even miss him? Certainly not the Hermits, it seemed. Why they didn't even care if-

Grian blinked. Was...was he crying? He rubbed the back of his hand to his cheek and felt the hot liquid burning down his even-hotter cheeks. There was a lump in his throat and he felt so...small. 

He wiped his eyes and nose. "Come on, pull it together." He whispered. "Keep it positive." 

Positive. He laughed. It was a bitter and hollow sound. He was positive that Xisuma wanted him dead.

Xisuma, he was probably the worst part of all of this. The man who welcomed him in with such warmth and care had dragged him by the scalp and branded him as a criminal. He used to think Xisuma was kind, always vowing to protect the hermits from any world-ending disasters or villains. More tears raced down his cheeks.

Was he a villain? He just be with this brand and this cell. Because it wasn't a room, it was a cell and no amount of happy thoughts would change that. 

He wiped his face. Again. 'Positive, keep it positive. That's all you have left.' He thought harshly. He couldn't afford a mental breakdown, not when Mumbo and Scar needed him. 

"Grian." A voice boomed, scaring Grian nearly out of his seat.

"OH MY GOD-!" He cried, pressing his back to the back wall of his bed. He could feel every muscle tense and his heart in his ears. He forgot the intercom function. "Doc, what the hell?! Give me some warning!" He laughed shakily, looking at the camera. 

"Scar and Mumbo want to see you. I'm going to open your door when you are ready." Doc's crackly voice came through the speakers. 

Grian sat up, wiping the remainder of tears and sleep from his eyes before standing. He raised his arms, stretching until he heard a few pops from his back. He walked over to the desk where his clothes were resting. A treacherous thought crossed his mind to forgo the red sweater, but it was immediately dismissed. He was glad Doc let him keep his clothes instead of forcing him to wear the prison jumpsuit.

"I'm ready." He said, standing by the door with an air of boredom.

Just like Doc had said, the iron door opened and revealed Doc himself. His face was as cold as a stone, but that was normal. It never really expressed that much emotion, except maybe anger. He stood aside as Grian walked out of the room and followed behind him as they began to tread down the large concrete hall.

"So...How's business?" Grian asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

Doc grunted out an answer and Grian frowned slightly. Though, he wasn't sure if that was Doc's naturally cold atmosphere or if he too believed Grian was a criminal.

"...Are you going to the trial?" Grian asked on his second attempt to strike a conversation.

"I have no choice." Doc growled. "Xisuma wants us all there."  

Grian winced at the name. "He uh, he does?"

"Something about 'teaching a lesson.' I don't know, he's been a right pain in the arse recently." Doc growled. Their footsteps echoed through the hall.

"Well, I could've told you that." Grian muttered. Doc let out a small exhale through his nose. Was that a laugh? Maybe. 

"Yeah, he took that a bit far." Doc replied, his eyes getting dark. "I've never seen him like that, but then again, we've never had a real griefer. I guess he's just trying to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Grian nodded, silently. The mark burned on his hand. Doc continued. "He's still been strange, though. I've been trying to get some prismarine from him for a while, and when I asked about it last week, he acted like he'd just forgotten about the whole thing. It's gonna set me back weeks."

Grian made a footnote of this. "He must be really concerned about the trial." He shrugged.

"Something like that." Doc shrugged.

Silence again. They turned down a hall, the footsteps still echoing down the chamber. He hadn't spent much time in Area 77. Plenty of it underground, but never inside. It was a beautiful modern interior. You could never even tell how far underground you were. They reached an iron door that Doc waved a keycard in front of. The door sprang to life, opening quickly.

"Alright. They're right in there." Doc sighed. "I trust you'll find your way."

Grian nodded, but he hesitated. "..Doc?"

"Yeah?'

"Do you think I did it?"

Doc stared at him, surprised by the question. But he sighed and answered. "... Maybe I did at one point. Cub's made one hell of a case against you, after all. But rational thinking says otherwise." Doc said, putting his robotic hand on Grian's shoulder, his eyes softening. "I believe you, Gri. And…" his hand tightened. "Mumbo is right, I should've from the beginning."

Grian's shock melted into a smile, his first genuine smile in a while. "Really?" He asked hopefully.

"Yep. And don't sweat the others." He sighed. "They don't mean what they say, they're just...scared. This has never happened before, and Cub knows how to work a crowd. It's why ConCorp has been in business so long." Doc shrugged. Grian laughed slightly, the cloud around his head lifting slightly. 

"Thanks, Doc." Grian smiled gently.

"No prob, now go on. You won't win the trial staying out here." Doc replied. Grian nodded and made his way through the door. It shut quickly, leaving Grian alone in the hall. He wasn't alone for too long, Mumbo and Scar's voices carried down the hall.

He headed to the source, the source being a large board room where Mumbo and Scar were organizing things. Well, "organizing" was more of a loose term in Grian's opinion. Papers seemed to be everywhere and piles of photos littered the dark oak table. Mumbo's jacket and tie were slung over a chair and the man himself was stringing some photos together with red thread. Scar was sorting through papers, his hat and jacket crumpled up onto the floor.

Grian stepped in. "Mumbo, I don't want to hear a single thing about my poor organization." he joked. They both turned and smiled tiredly. 

"Hey, Gri. Guess who joined the defense?" Mumbo grinned, gesturing to a very tired looking Scar.

"Not officially, but Cub won't listen and Mumbo wanted the case files, so." He finished with a shrug. Grian smiled knowingly and sat down. 

"So?" Grian asked. "What's the plan?"

"The plan," Mumbo started moving aside from the board, "is to prove your innocence through an alibi and facts." He said.

"Sounds easy enough." Grian shrugged.

Scar sighed heavily, handing him a few papers. "Yeah, not quite. Cub has a lot of evidence against you."

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, your TnT shop was emptied a few nights before the crime and with no payment." Mumbo sighed. "Which means only you could've emptied it." 

Grian paled. "The shop? But I never went there! I'll be completely honest, I forgot it existed."

"I believe you, but we have to convince the others it wasn't you." Scar replied. "I'd check the Area 77 camera feed, but somehow, everytime the culprit strikes, the camera feed just cuts out."

"Which is another pile of evidence against you." Mumbo sighed. "After all, you dug a huge hole into Area 77, giving you direct access."

Grian frowned. "But by that logic, Ren could be the culprit, or Doc and Scar." 

The mustached man shrugged. "Doesn't matter. If they can use it against you, they will. And trust me, Cub will."

Grian picked at the hem of his sweater. "What else?" He sighed.

"All of the locations as of yet have been pretty close to your base, Gri." Scar shrugged. "Again, petty evidence, but it's still evidence against you." 

Grian felt a pit welling in his stomach. "A-Anything else?"

Mumbo shrugged. "Other than your history of pranks, not much. We should be able to argue that one, but the other two will be tricky." 

"We need an alibi." Scar stated. "Where were you when ConCorp was attacked?" 

Grian thought for a second. Where had he been that night? That was a few weeks ago. Then, a memory popped into his head and he flushed pink. 

"Grian. What were you doing." Mumbo demanded more then he asked, his voice low and with a tilt of warning. 

"Uh, I was...I was sort of…" Grian rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I might've put something in your base, Mumbo. Again." He muttered.

Mumbo blinked before groaning. "Oh for God's sake Grian, I just cleaned it out!" Scar began cackling with laughter.

"It, uh, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Grian said, unable to keep a grin from splitting across his face. Scar laughed some more before it settled into a chuckle.

"No no, that's good. That's an Alibi for ConCorp. If Mumbo can find and take a picture of the prank, case closed. You have an alibi and it shows your pranks are harmless." Scar smiled, shutting the folder he had opening.

Grian's smile fell. "Uh, it's not that simple." He replied. "You see, I just threw a few eggs, a-and I've gotten so good at throwing eggs at Mumbo's base, that it's impossible to tell which chickens are new and which one are old."

Scar stared at them for a few seconds before sitting down and opening the folder again. "It still works, but not nearly as well."

Mumbo groaned. "Okay then, what else? What about Cleo's ship?" 

"I was collecting gravel and sand for Sahara. That's what we had that meeting about last week." Grian replied, nodding at Mumbo who nodded back.

"That's true, me and Iskall were probably doing something similar." Mumbo replied. 

"But neither of you were with him?" Scar asked. Mumbo shook his head. Scar sighed heavily. "Well boys, it's not much, but it's a start."

Mumbo sat down beside Grian and smiled tiredly. "A start is all we need. Let's get cracking, gents." He said, cracking his fingers and handing Grian a pen. It was going to be a long night.

They worked for hours on end, finally stopping when they felt relatively decent in their defense. Mumbo sat back in his chair, his mustache frayed and his fatigue evident. Scar was staring at the table, his eyes clouded with exhaustion. Whatever he was writing had been reduced to mere scribbles as he dragged the pencil across the paper slowly. Grian himself was a few blinks away from exhaustion, his eyes heavy and he felt like he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

Mumbo finally stood and rubbed his eyes. "Well, lads, I think we've done all we can do. I've come up with every counter argument I could think of, Grian knows every answer to every question, and Scar has conjured up every piece of evidence he could." He muttered tiredly. His speech was slurred. "The trial is in two days. Let's all get some sleep, yeah?" Mumbo muttered, wiping his eyes. Scar grunted in agreement, his head thudding dully on the table.

Grian groaned sadly. He didn't want to go back to his cell. He wanted to stay here with Mumbo and Scar. "Are you sure?" He slurred. "We can stay, look over the case some more!" 

Mumbo smiled sadly. "Gri, if we look over the case anymore, we'll just be making silly little mistakes." He put a hand on Grian's shoulder. "I know you're scared to go back there, but don't worry, I've got a fool-proof plan to win this. You'll be out of here in no time!" He grinned.

"Care to tell me?" Grian muttered. 

Mumbo hummed, helping him stand. "I can tell you that it involves a very important build I have over near that island on my base." 

Grian frowned. How the hell was that supposed to help? And why did Mumbo look so… smug about it all? "What are you-?" He started, but Scar cut him off.

"Come on, Gri." He muttered, standing up. "I've got a lovely surprise for you." His smile was tired, but genuine all the same.

"I'll see you two soon." Mumbo smiled. "Go ahead and show him, I'll clean up around here."

Grian furrowed his eyebrows. What were they talking about? Scar led him down the corridor, and Grian couldn't help bust to turn back to his friend, who had bent down past the table to pick some papers up. The man and the room disappeared as they walked further down the hall and Grian couldn't figure out where they were going.

"Scar, where-?"

"Shh! Almost there!" Scar grinned at him. They were going faster now. Grian couldn't help but laugh as Scar dragged him along. Their feet resounded along the concrete halls. 

Finally they stopped, both breathless and red in the face. "Alright! Here we are!" Scar grinned, stepping in front of a large glass room. 

Grian stared at it. "What…" he panted for this. "What is this?"

"Your new cell!" Scar said, opening the door. What was inside made Grian's eyes widen and his mouth drop to the floor.

The room was huge and...green. Grass covered the ground and a few trees grew along the back walls. But the most impressive thing was the huge RV that stood in the middle of it all, and an exact replica of the one he built with Ren. He stepped forward into the cell- no, the room- and felt his breath hitch as he heard bird sounds from the speakers and saw a running fountain behind the RV. 

"Scar…" he breathed, turning to look at him but Scar only shook his head. 

"Say nothing about it. It's a gift from me to you." Scar smiled. Grian couldn't help but latch his arms around him, hugging him tightly as warm tears slid down his face.

"Thank you." Grian whispered.

"No problem, Gri. I want you to relax. You're gonna be just fine." Scar hugged him back tightly.

"I just know it."

Chapter Text

As weird as it is to say, this wouldn’t be the first time Grian has woken up in a different place than when he slept. Whether through a bugged respawn or a prank, the man has woken up in all kinds of unexpected places. There was that one time in the nether, a few times in the end, and once he even woke up at the bottom of the ocean. A random field outside of the shopping district was definitely one of the more tamer places, but also the most confusing. How the hell had he gotten here? And why did he have his elytra?

Grian pushed himself up with a low groan. He had to have been there for sometime, because his red sweater and his skin was covered in the morning dew. His head wasn’t hurting, and if it hadn’t been for the dragonfly that had landed on his nose, he likely wouldn’t have woken up. He had always been a heavy sleeper. He looked around, rubbing his eyes. The shopping district was down the hill, illuminated by the rising sun. How had he gotten here? Area 77 was days away from here, and how did he have his elytra? Xisuma had taken his elytra and armor when he arrived at Area 77, how could he have gotten it back? Grian knew it was his, too. The material was worn and damaged from when he clipped the edges of buildings.

He suddenly became aware of how bad this looked. He had escaped Area 77, no idea how he had escaped it, and had somehow gotten his elytra back. Panic began to well in him. No one would believe him if he said that he "woke up here." He scrambled up, eyes darting around. There was no one around him.

Grian threw off his backpack, which he also suddenly had, and threw it in front of him. It was definitely his, the different stains and burn marks practically spelling his name. He threw it open, rummaging through it and hoping to find some kind of answer. His hands brushed against the familiar paper cylinder of rockets and then the smooth surface of a few golden carrots. They were quickly thrown to the side as he dug further. His heart sank as he found an answer, but it certainly wasn't one he wanted. He recognized the feeling of the object almost immediately, but he had to pull it out to be sure.

His breath caught in his lungs as he stared at it- a fresh stack of red TnT.

He dropped it like it had burned him and scooted away from it. His heart began to beat like a drum and his body began to tremble. "That's...that's not possible!" He cried, crushing his sandy blonde hair in his trembling fists. "I-I'm dreaming, I-I'm having a bad dream." He tried to reason to himself, closing his eyes tightly and trying to ignore the hot tears that poured out.

He quickly opened them, hoping to find the ceiling of his RV and hear the fake birds that played over the speakers. He only found that damning TNT. He pinched himself. Again, nothing. Then he grabbed at the grass an tugged. The grass ripped from its roots and covered his hand in the morning dew, telling him once again that this was all real. A strangled sound ripped from Grian's throat as he realized how bad this all was.

"THERE HE IS!" A voice that he could vaguely pick up as Ren shouted and then the sound of several of whooshing elytras.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was silent as Grian stared at the table. He'd finally stopped crying, but Mumbo wasn't sure if it was because he had calmed down or if he had no more tears left to cry. The trial had been delayed a few hours in light of the new...Evidence against him.

His own head was a swirling mess. This plan had been foolproof. Tell everyone about a new build, then tell each of them a different location. The real griefer would strike, and then they would know exactly who it was. Grian wasn't supposed to be found outside of his cell with all the damning evidence he could get his hands on. Evidence that Grian shouldn't have even known the location of, or at the very least should have been incredibly hard to get to.

He stared at the pictures of the wreckage. The only person who could've known about this build was Cub. He was the only person that Mumbo gave this specific location to. So how did Grian end up outside of it? Hell, how did Grian get outside of his containment?! Area 77 was supposed to be impenetrable! Scar and Doc had gone to check the footage, if there was any, leaving Mumbo alone with the supposed culprit.

He looked up at said culprit, who was currently destroying his sweater sleeve. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, but they were filled with anxiety and confusion. Mumbo sighed to himself. Was it wrong to start doubting him? It seemed easy before, even with the mob mentality that poisoned each hermit. But now, all he saw was piles and piles of evidence condemning him.

"Grian?" Mumbo asked softly. Grian lifted his eyes. "Please, please be honest with me. Did you do it?" He asked, nearly pleading with him.

Something flashed across those charcoal eyes. Hurt, maybe? Shock? Whatever it was, it struck a sour chord on Mumbo's heartstrings.

"No." Grian whispered, narrowing his eyes as hurt turned to anger. "For the last time, no, I didn't grief Con-Corp, I didn't destroy Cleo's stupid ship, and I didn't wreck your build!" He was yelling now. "I-I don't know how I got there, or how I got my stuff, but-! But I know I'm innocent!" He shouted, his voice breaking. He panted, sliding back down in his seat and covering his face as the redness returned.

"I-I'm, I'm innocent." He whispered, rubbing his eyes. "I-I know I am."

Mumbo bit his lip. He wanted to believe him. He wanted to be reignited that same passion for justice, but with every second he felt more and more dread creeping into his mind. The trial was less than three hours away, and in that time he needed a way to figure out how the hell he would prove Grian innocent.

He took a deep breath and opened the folder, landing on a picture of Grian before this all happened. His skin was healthier, his eyes were filled with optimism and a spark of mischief that only Grian had. Mumbo narrowed his eyes, his resolve strengthening. He was Mumbo Jumbo, dammit. He's famous for solving problems- even problems that didn't exist. And he didn't give up on his friends.

"That's all I need to hear, Gri." He smiled, rolling the chair up beside his friend. "Now, let's get cracking on one hell of a defense."

Grian looked up, his eyes brightening. "Really?"

Mumbo nodded. "Come on. Whatever happens in that courtroom, I'll stand beside you."

The blonde wiped his eyes, a genuine smile creeping into his face. "Thank you, Mumbo."

"Of course, Gri." Mumbo replied, opening the file for him. "Now let's get started!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The courtroom buzzed with anticipation and nerves. The hermits gathered around, each whispering about the case. Cub stood by the side, dressed in a black suit with a black tie and shirt. He looked relatively relaxed, if not determined.

Mumbo flipped through his files, but his mind was going too fast to really read through them. He wasn't used to being the center of attention. He kept sneaking glances at Cub. He had such a nice suit, so much better than his and was his folder laminated? Where was a laminator? It had colored tabs too and dear god this was a horrible idea-

"Hey Mumbo." A swedish voice chirped above him. Mumbo looked up to see Iskall in his green suit that he wore to Sahara meetings. "You nervous?"

Mumbo sighed, pushing his hair back away from his face. "Me? Nervous? Never! I'm only saving Grian's life! No big deal, right?" He laughed nervously, but it quickly died.

Iskall chuckled.and gently placed a shoulder on him. "Hey, you'll be great. I'm not sure if I entirely believe him, but… you two are my best friends." Iskall said, his eyes softening as he looked at the floor. "I want you to succeed. I want my friends back. Prove my computing system wrong- I know you can."

Mumbo blinked. "That's...wow, Iskall. Thank you." He replied. "That was very nice of-"

"I also have money riding on this, so…" Iskall interrupted, a mischievous grin at his lips. Mumbo frowned deeply. Iskall's grin faded.

"Right. Not the time." He exhaled and held out a hand. "Well, good luck."

Mumbo smiled tiredly and shook it. "Thanks, Isk." He replied, watching Iskall take his seat beside Stress. He turned back to the front of the room. Xisuma would be coming in soon, and then the trial would start. Was he ready? Because he certainly didn't feel ready. He felt ready to vomit or pass out or both.

A door opened and the room went deadly silent as Grian came through, being guided- or maybe dragged was the right word- by Wels. All eyes locked onto him and slowly the room filled with gossip-like whispers. The blonde slumped in his seat, trying not to meet Wels harsh gaze as he walked back to his seat.

Mumbo rolled his eyes. "Ignore them, I know we can change their minds." He said, but he didn't believe his own words.

"...I just can't believe how fast everyone turned on me." Grian whispered, picking at his suit jacket sleeve. It was a bit too long on him, but it would work.

Mumbo's eyes softened. "They're just scared, Grian. We've never had a griefer, and Xisuma's never been truly angry. Plus, Cub does know exactly what to say to sell something. Whether it be an idea or a piece of garbage."

Grian looked over at him. "...that's a nice suit that he's wearing."

Mumbo groaned. "Yeah."

"And he laminated his papers."
"I know."
"Are they the color coded?!"

"Grian, I know." Mumbo hissed slightly. "I had three hours, how was I supposed to know we had a laminator-?!"

"Presenting the Judge and Admin, Xisuma Void." Wels declared, stepping out of the way so Xisuma could take his place. Mumbo and Grian collectively cringed. Any ounce of confidence they had was immediately dismissed at the sight of that cold visor. Funny how something that used to make Mumbo feel so safe now terrified him.

"Thank you, Wels." Xisuma replied. "I think we all know why we're here today, so I see no reason to prolong this any further."

"Prolonged? That's a big word." Grian muttered bittely. Mumbo elbowed him and shot him a glare.

Xisuma gestured to Cub. "We will now go into opening statements. As per tradition, the prosecution will state their case first, followed by the…" he laughed. "'Defense.'"

Mumbo narrowed his eyes, feeling his face burn and his hands clench slightly. How dare he?! This time Grian nudged him.

Cub stood, oozing with confidence. "Thank you, your honor." He smiled. "My fellow hermits, for years we have lived in peace and prosperity. Never fearing being griefed or having our trust broken. That was, until Grian came along." He snarled, pointing at Grian.

"I trusted him at first, just like many of you, but then came the constant barrage of pranks and mischief unlike what we've ever seen before. Pranks that evolved to a war, a build off that pushed my partner to exhaustion, a time machine, and then he infiltrated a government controlled building to steal it back! Not to mention a game based solely on griefing your friends!" Cub exclaimed. His speech was passionate and fiery, laying down nearly everything Grian had done and warping it into a bad thing.

"However, I believe he tested our patience quite enough. Ruining our builds with lava and tnt is anything but a harmless prank. We took him in and treated him like family, and what does he give us in return? Betrayed trust and ashes of once beautiful builds." Cub snarled. "It's my goal to restore peace to this server, and if that means putting my old friend behind bars, then I'll do just that." He finished, his voice getting lower and harsher as he glared at Grian.

Xisuma nodded at him, allowing him to sit back down and flash a cocky smile at Mumbo. "Thank you, Cub." He replied. Then he glared at Grian. "Defense?"

Mumbo sighed, trembling slightly as he stood. Grian squeezed his hand and smiled shakily. He tried smiling back, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "U-Uh, hello." He said.

"Please speak up defense, I hardly doubt they can hear you in the back." Xisuma sighed dismissively.

Mumbo winced. "O-Of course." He said, louder this time. "While it's true that Grian has certainly been a chaotic force on the server, I-I hardly doubt that any of it was out of malice. We've always known Grian to be prankster, which is why I'm positive he didn't do it. Grian's pranks are elaborate and are never just griefing for destruction's sake." He stated, the trembling and nerves slowly fading as passion built inside of him. "This whole thing has spiraled out of control, and instead of actually looking for a griefer, we've just pointed fingers at someone!"

"Friends, please, I beg you to see reason today." Mumbo said, panting slightly. "Give us a chance. You've given him one before, please, do it again." He begged, staring at the faces of his friends, his family.

A gavel banged loudly. "Thank you for that… Heartfelt speech, Mr. Jumbo." Xisuma replied. His tone was stiff and unyielding. Mumbo sighed and took his seat beside Grian, appreciating the reassuring smile he was given. Xisuma cleared his throat. "We will now go into the presentation of evidence, which will determine if our culprit is innocent or not. Prosecution?" He read.

Cub stood again, still confident and poised. "Thank you, your honor." He chirped. "Our first piece of evidence is the prank war, a war caused by Grian."

"Objection!" Mumbo stood quickly, his chair scooting back. He blinked. "Oh, sorry, that was a bit too excited, wasn't it?" He laughed slightly before clearing his throat. "Your honor, the prank war wasn't started by Grian. Iskall started it, Grian was just a participant."

Cub rolled his eyes. "Fine. Iskall started it. However, Grian took it to another level by raiding the stock exchange and stealing everything in it. He also ruined hours and hours work by ruining Doc's Bush. Not to mention, he was also the captain of the G-Team!"

"Maybe, but Grian never stole those diamonds. They never even left the building." Mumbo replied quickly. "And by your logic, Doc is just as guilty as Grian. I mean, he did lead Team Star quite a bit, and he's the one that helped make an entire ghost ship to prank Cleo." He shrugged. The hermits began whispering amongst themselves as Cub narrowed his eyes.

"Mr. Jumbo, I must ask that you keep your interruptions at a minimum." Xisuma hissed after banging his gavel. Mumbo smiled sheepishly and sat back down in his seat.

Cub cleared his throat. "This war proved Grian to not only be destructive, but also deceitful. It was him who came up with the idea that you, Mumbo, should act as a mole. It's quite clear that Grian knows how to deceive people, going as far to put his friend on the front line just to get some info." The whispers returned.

Mumbo glared at him. "I didn't have to agree." He snarled.

Cub chuckled. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said I didn't have to agree." Mumbo repeated, louder this time. "Grian gave me a choice, and I agreed because I trusted my friend." The room went silent.

Cub stared at them, something flashing across his eyes. Perhaps he wasn't expecting the harshness of Mumbo's tone. "But it was his idea, was it not?" He recovered quickly. "Even if you didn't have to agree, he still came up with the idea and gave you orders, right?"

"Well, yes but-" Mumbo floundered slightly.

"And did those orders require a level of deceit and lying?"
"Yes but-!"

"Then that proves my point. Grian is a master of deceit." Cub replied cockily, now addressing the court. "In fact, he's gotten so good at lying, now he lies about indisputable evidence against him!" Cub glared at them both. "But we'll get to that later." He sneered.

"Thank you Cub." Xisuma replied calmly, nodding for him to sit down. "Defense?"

Mumbo stood up, gripping his papers. "The War may not be the best judgement of character for my client, but by Cub's logic, we're all criminals! Each of us participated in the war in one way or another, and let's not forget, Grian wasn't the one lying to Team Star, I was! And let's face it, I did a piss-poor job of doing it!"

The courtroom began to chuckle. Mumbo smiled before glaring at Cub. "If Grian really is some master of deceit, don't you think he would've picked someone better to do the job? Or at least planned on me mucking it up?" He sat back down, trying not to relish in the way Cub fumed in his chair.

Grian grabbed his arm, his eyes filled with determination for the first time in a long time. "This is going great!" He whispered excitedly.

Mumbo gave him a smile. "Better than I thought it would, at least. But, come on, we aren't out of the woods yet." He sighed. "We still have to explain how the hell you were out in that field." Grian's smiled faded slightly, but he nodded and sat back.

Cub stood again, his confidence had slightly faded, but in its place a fiery determination had settled in. "Not to keep bringing up the past, but I'd like to avert your attention to one of our more recent events here on Hermitcraft. Demise."

Mumbo winced. This one would be tougher to argue for. Cub continued. "Demise was a game started by Grian and built on the premise of trapping and killing your friends for fun." He chuckled. "If trapping your friends and killing them is Grian's idea of fun, do you really believe your builds will be safe from that maniac?"

The courtroom began to murmur again. Xisuma did little to stop them. Grian huffed. "Demise was for fun, everyone who signed up knew what they were getting into. Besides, I wasn't the one who built a mansion death trap." He whispered.

Mumbo nodded absentmindedly, but then he froze. "Wait, Grian, say that again?"

Grian blinked. "...I wasn't the one who built a mansion death trap? But what does that have to-"

"Defense, if there is something you'd like to say, I suggest saying it for the court to hear." Xisuma snarled.

The two silenced, but Mumbo nodded and stood. "Uh, if the court will allow it, I'd like to call a witness." Mumbo stated. The room buzzed yet again, but quickly silenced with a glare from Xisuma.

Xisuma turned his steely glare to Mumbo. "...I'll allow it."

Mumbo smiled. "I'd like to call Cub to the stand." Satisfaction welled within him at Cub's shock. The bearded man groaned and rolled his eyes as he stood and walked to the stand. He slumped in his chair and glared at Mumbo.

Mumbo strolled over to him. "Cub, you were one of the early members of the demised team, right?"

Cub rolled his eyes. "Yes."

Mumbo nodded. "And, do tell who's idea was it to build the Death Mansion?"

Cub opened his mouth, but stopped. "... Mine." he replied with far less sass then before. Mumbo tried to hide the smirk creeping on his face.

"You also gave everyone the idea to use TnT minecarts for a much larger and controlled explosion, right?"

Cub became flustered. "Well, yes but-!"

"Well, Cub, it seems like you have a better knowledge of TnT and Griefing than Grian does." Mumbo shrugged.

"Grian has a whole shop devoted to it!" Cub snarled, standing from his seat in a rage.

"And you and Scar sold TnT to both sides of the civil war for profit! At a higher price!" Mumbo snapped. "Is that true, Cub?!"

"Yes, but-!"

"You keep claiming that Grian is a master of destruction, but you seem to have a thorough knowledge of explosions and traps! One could argue that Grian got his idea for demising Doc from you!" Mumbo cried. The courtroom erupted into noise as Cub tried and failed to defend himself.

Mumbo turned and gave Grian a confident smile. Finally, finally they were getting somewhere. For the first time in a long time, Mumbo felt like they could win this. Suddenly, Xisuma slammed the gavel down rather angrily. The court immediately fell silent. "Are you finished?" He snarled at Mumbo. Some of that shining confidence diminished as cold eyes glared into his own.

"Uh, yes. I believe so." Mumbo stuttered out.

"Then sit down." Xisuma growled. Mumbo did so without any hesitation. Was Xisuma...angry at him for defending Grian? This whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing was Xisuma's idea, wasn't it? Something didn't feel right about Xisuma. They've had trials before, normally over petty disputes or complaints, but never before had he been so...hostile.

Cub stood in the middle of the court, drawing Mumbo's attention back to the case. "I'm going to follow Mumbo's example and call up my own witness." He said with a bitter smile. He whipped his head towards their table and sneered. "Grian."

Mumbo felt Grian tense beside him. The blonde gave him a worried look. "Don't worry," Mumbo whispered. "You'll be okay." Grian bit his lip and nodded, standing and walking slowly to the stand.

Cub was almost immediately in front of him. "Back to the topic of traps, Grian. While I may have given you the idea of using TNT minecarts, was that the only trap you used in Demise?" He said, towering over Grian. The blonde sank into his chair.

"Uh, n-no." Grian shrugged. "Me and Scar used Pufferfish, a-and the original trap for Doc was lava."

"Are those the only traps you know?" Doc asked, though demanded was a better way to describe it.

"N-no, I've done a few videos on how to mess with people." Grian admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's right. Three in fact. There was one in particular I want to bring up, however." Cub smiled, opening a file. "In your video you describe using lava and scaffolding to cause a fountain of lava to pour on your friend's house. You eagerly state that the best part is watching your friend scramble to save their build."

Grian squirmed. "That...sounds worse than it really is-"

"You know, a lot of those pranks were wrecking a friend's home." Cub muttered.

"But they were all okay with it!" Grian defended. "It was for a video!"

"A video titled 'How to mess with your friends.'" Cub snapped back. "Do you really consider griefing as just 'messing around?'"

Mumbo winced as he heard the others mutter behind him saw Grian squirm in his seat. His fingers tapped against the table anxiously as he waited for Cub's onslaught of questions to cease.

"Now then, back to Demise." Cub said, gaining everyone's attention yet again. "Grian, do you mind explaining to the court what the Demise dares were?"

Grian cringed. "Ah, well, they were like obstacle courses. People would do stunts that...might or might not kill them. I-It was just to get the game started!" He tried to defend himself.

Cub frowned. "That seems rather cruel Grian. Killing your friends just to get a game started?"

"I paid them!" The blonde cried. "I paid them a lot, actually!"

"So that makes it okay?"

"I mean, it certainly helped! I didn't exactly twist their arm behind their back, Cub!" Grian mouthed off, shooting up from his seat.

"What about Iskall, hm?! You shoved a dragon head on him, knowing fully well how much armor it would cost him!" Cub shouted back.

"Iskall won the game! And he got me back the next day!" Grian hissed.

"And when he won, what did you do?! You tried to kill him again, even though the game had finished!?"

"But I knew it wouldn't kill him!" Grian cried.

"Well, griefing someone's build doesn't count as killing either. How are we supposed to know that wasn't another 'harmless prank!?'" Cub snarled.

"Objection!" Mumbo shouted. Grian was letting his temper get the better of him, he needed to pull Grian away from the chair.

"Overruled." Xisuma snarled back, forcing Mumbo to reluctantly sit back down.

"I know the difference between pranks and griefing, Cub!" Grian yelled.

"Do you!? I think Cleo's ship would say otherwise!"

"I didn't do anything!" Grian screamed, his voice cracking and tears welling in his eyes as Cub yelled at him, pushing him further further down and back into his seat.

Mumbo stood again, heart racing. "Cub, stop!" He shouted. "Xisuma, please-!"

"Mumbo, sit down or I'll end this case right now!" Xisuma shouted over them. Mumbo let out a whine as he plopped into his seat, hands gripping the table.

"If you didn't do it, then why were you outside the shopping district, right beside the crime scene?!"
"I don't-!"
"Why were you outside of your containment?!"
"I didn't-!"
"Why did Ren find you with TnT and your confiscated elytra?! How did you get your hands on them!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Grian finally erupted, burying his face in his hands and shaking. "I-I don't know-!" He sobbed.

Cub stepped back, but there was no sneer on his face. Mumbo could see that there was some look in his eyes. Surprise? Guilt, maybe? Cub stepped over to his table. "No further questions." He muttered and sat down.

Xisuma nodded. "I'll the defense some time to...calm down. We'll take a two minute recess until then." He declared before banging the gavel. Mumbo immediately sprang up and went to the witness stand.

"Gri, Grian. Look at me." He whispered, grabbing Grian's wrists gently.

"M' sorry, I-I'm sorry-" the blonde hiccupped, sniffling heavily. "I'm so sorry."

"Grian, look at me." Mumbo demanded. Grian finally lifted his head, terror and tears welling in his eyes. "It's okay. It's… a minor setback." He was lying, and he knew Grian could tell. He tried not meet Grian's eyes as he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out the red handkerchief that was tucked into it and handing it to his friend.

Grian took it with trembling hands. Mumbo sighed and looked into his friends eyes. "Grian, w-what if-? What if they're right?"

Grian snapped his head up and blinked. "...W-What?"

Mumbo cringed and looked away. "What if- somehow, you did do it? I mean, we have no idea how you woke up there! And with all that stuff?! What if-" he bit his lip. "What if somehow, you did do all these things?!"

Grian's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Mumbo, stop it."

But Mumbo couldn't stop. The words kept tumbling out. He could feel his anxieties creep up his shoulders and grasp his neck like a vice. He knew it was wrong to doubt his friend, but good lord was Cub making it easy to. He continued. "I mean, maybe you were sleepwalking or something! It would make sense! Maybe we should go for a plea bargain, and you could-"

"Mumbo, stop it." Grian hissed at him. "Stop it right now!" A small pale hand gripped Mumbo's tightly, probably tighter than it should. "I-I can't do this alone. I certainly can't defend myself! Mumbo, I need you to believe me- I didn't do it!"

"But-!"
"You said that was all you needed to hear, was that a lie?!"

The two were silent for a few seconds, just staring at each other and breathing heavily. Mumbo sighed heavily and ran a thumb over Grian's wrist. "N-No, of course it wasn't." Mumbo admitted. "I just...I don't want to lose you, Gri. And...if Cub convinces this court, then-" 'If Cub convinces me…' went unheard.

"Don't." Grian interrupted. "Don't. I-I don't want to think about what happens if we lose."

Mumbo bit his lip. "Neither do I, if I'm being honest."

Grian smiled, but the fear in his eyes betrayed it. There was too much on the line for Mumbo to second guess himself, but...here he was. What kind of friend did that make him? Xisuma banged the gavel and Mumbo saw that everyone had returned to their seats.

"Grian, return to your seat so we may begin." Xisuma snarled. Grian sighed and stood but a hand from Mumbo stopped him.

"Actually Xisuma, I have a few questions I'd like to ask him myself." Mumbo said, putting on a confident smile.

"Fine." Xisuma sighed, leaning back in his chair.

Mumbo looked back at Grian. "Grian, you say that you have no idea how you got to the shopping district, right? That you just woke up there?"

"Right." Grian replied.

"And you claim you didn't know where Xisuma was keeping your elytra and inventory bag?"

"Right." He echoed again, tilting his head and trying to see where Mumbo was going with this.

Mumbo nodded. "What do you know about the latest griefed building?"

Now Grian looked really confused. "Uh, nothing. I'll be honest, I uh, I didn't know it was there."

"That because I didn't build it until after you were imprisoned in Area 77." Mumbo replied coolly. The courtroom filled with gasps and murmurs. "That build was one of many, and all part of an intricate plan to reveal who the real griefer was."

"Objection." Cub called from his table. Xisuma nodded, allowing him to continue. "If that's true, then why was Grian outside of the crime scene with all of his things? Could it be that your plan worked and the real griefer is sitting in front of you?" He chuckled.

Mumbo smiled thinly. "Good question Cub. How was Grian discovered outside of a build no one told him about? Especially one so uninteresting as mine. In fact, the only other person who could've possibly known about this build and it's purpose was you, Cub." He replied. The Hermits once again began to whisper.

Cub frowned. "What exactly are you implying, Mumbo?"

"Like I said- that build was one of many and all apart of one huge plan." Mumbo smiled. "I built around...30 of those little storage areas and told every hermit in this room, including Grian, a different location and how important it was to me. I even said that it was critical to this case." He explained.

"I told Grian that our secret weapon, the storage facility, was on one of the islands around my base. And as of this morning, it was untouched. I told Scar that it was in Sahara. Again, untouched. I told everyone something different, and the only building that was griefed was yours, Cub." Mumbo declared, pointing at Cub.

Cub seethed as the room buzzed with chatter about this new revelation. Xisuma slammed the gavel down, hard. "Are you accusing Cub of bring the Griefer, Mr. Jumbo?" Xisuma asked, his voice angry and low.

"No." Mumbo replied. "Accusing a friend of doing something that awful with little proof would be absolutely heinous of me." He snarled, making sure to glare at his audience. "Also, Cub has an Alibi for last night. He was with Ren and finishing up the final touches on this courtroom."

Xisuma looked at Ren, who was seated in the audience. "Ren, is that true?"

"Yeah, we worked all night on it." Ren replied tiredly. "No idea how he has any energy right now."

"Judging by phantom ashes on the roof, I'll go out on a limb and say he doesn't." Grian interjected. Xisuma shot him a glare, and the room went silent. Xisuma returned his attention to Mumbo.

"Mumbo, why exactly bring this up if you don't have a point?" Xisuma sighed angrily.

Mumbo cringed slightly. This was gonna be hard to worm out of. "Oh I have a point. I don't think Cub did it. I think you did, Xisuma."

If the courtroom was loud before, now it was a cacophony of gasps and chatter. Even Cub looked bewildered by the accusation. Xisuma glared down at him.

"... Excuse me?"

"Like Grian said, he has no idea how he got out of Area 77 and claims he woke up there. Area 77, mind you all, is hours away from the shopping district. It would take him all night to get there, even with the Nether portals!"

"Then how exactly did he get there?!" Xisuma demanded.

"Easy. Console commands. I think you teleported him. It's the only way he could've gotten there in the dead of night and how he could just wake up somewhere. If he was teleported out of his bed, it would make perfect sense." Mumbo explained, trying not to lose confidence over Xisuma increasingly vicious gaze. "And...you're the only person with that ability as admin."

"...That would also explain why he had his stuff back." Cub interjected, his eyes furrowed as he thought along with Mumbo. "And...I told you about what Mumbo said to me, I told you about the location. That's how Grian would know where it was."

Xisuma stood. "That's ridiculous!" He shouted.

"Is it? The one thing that kept my head turning was how exactly Area 77 cameras and my drones capturing Grian's footage." Cub said, going to stand beside Mumbo. "I kept thinking Grian was using that little tunnel he and Ren dug to infiltrate and wipe the footage, but there's no way Grian could do that on such a short amount of time!"

Mumbo blinked. Was...Was Cub on their side now? He couldn't focus on that now. He had to finish this. Xisuma looked like he was about to shout something again, but then he stopped. He sat back down in his chair and crossed his arms.

"That's quite an accusation, you two. But I have one question for you-" Xisuma leaned down to them. "Why the hell would I grief my own server? A server that I've spent years building and making better?"

Mumbo blinked. He didn't have an answer. He looked at Cub, but he just shrugged. They were both clueless. Suddenly, the back doors swung open and Doc and Scar walked in. They looked miserable, like they had just died a little. Cub and Mumbo shared a look before parting so they could cross in between them.

Xisuma sat back. "Ah. Area 77. Back with the footage, I assume?"

Mumbo sat down in his seat, and Grian quickly followed as Doc began setting up a projector. Scar stood to the side, staring at the ground. Mumbo tried to get his attention, but he refused to even look at them. Something was wrong, and a horrible, awful feeling welled in Mumbo's chest.

"This will be the final piece of evidence. Then we will make a verdict." Xisuma stated, stepping down from his stand so he too could see the film.

Doc stepped back from the projector. "This...this was captured in the shopping district last night." He muttered. "I think it reveals a lot." He said, glaring at Grian harshly.

Mumbo really didn't like where this was headed.

The footage began playing. The shopping district came into view, directly in line with Mumbo bait build. Then came the destruction. It was hard to see the criminal in the dark but then they dumped lava over the build. Their face was illuminated, and Mumbo felt like vomiting.

It was Grian.

It continued. It was agonizingly long as everyone watched Grian destroy the small building. Mumbo couldn't breathe. He couldn't think and he certainly couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then, as if to mock him, the Grian in the video took off with his elytra, making sure to fly directly in front of the camera.

The lights on the court room came back on. Everyone was silent. Mumbo turned to Grian, who's eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

"That...that wasn't me…" Grian whispered, his voice trembling. "Th-That wasn't me!" He shouted, standing up quickly, so quickly that his chair clattered behind him.

The room went from shock to anger. People began shouting at him. Mumbo wished he could say something, anything in defense of his friend, but his tongue was dry and so were his excuses.

Xisuma glared at Grian. "I think it's time we gave a verdict." He snarled. "Who thinks he's guilty?"

A few hands shot up immediately. Some were hesitant, but they were still raised. One by one, everyone in the courtroom except Mumbo and Cub held up their hands. Grian's breathing became erratic as he stepped back.

"No, no, no…" he whispered.

"I now pronounce the defendant guilty. The punishment? A permanent ban from this server." Xisuma hissed.

Grian took another step back."No! No, you all have to believe me, I-I didn't do it! I didn't!" He hit a surface and spun around to see Ren and Wels had moved behind him.

"Come on, dude… Don't make his any harder than it has to be." Ren whispered sadly as he grabbed Grian's arm tightly.

Grian immediately ripped it away. His mind was on full panic mode, fight or flight instincts having been kicked in. He squirmed away from them, running back towards Mumbo and gripping his arm for safety.

"M-Mumbo, please, please! I-I didn't do it, you have to believe me!" He shrieked, clawing desperately at Mumbo's arm. His eyes were spilling with tears.

Mumbo stated down at him, unable to say anything. "M-Mumbo?" Grian whispered frantically.

"I...I don't know what to believe." Mumbo whispered brokenly, looking away from his friend.

Grian let out an awful whimper sound as he realized that Mumbo, the last of his friends, had abandoned him. It was Xisuma who ripped him off of Mumbo. Grian shrieked, flailing against him.

"NO! NO, PLEASE WAIT!" He screamed. "PLEASE! M-MUMBO!"

Xisuma was merciless as he opened a small portal to a dark room filled with bedrock. He drug Grian by the collar towards it, despite his screaming.

"Wait! Where are you taking him!?" Cub demanded.

Xisuma glared at them. "To the blacklist room. It's where admins keep their undesirables before we ban them." He hissed before dragging Grian into it before following him into it. The portal shut behind them, and the room was silent. Mumbo stared at the floor, a hollow feeling in his chest.

"Mumbo..." Iskall asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best, but-" Mumbo ripped his shoulder away and stood up briskly before storming out of the room, ignoring the hot tears that spilled down his face.

Chapter Text

Grian grunted as he was thrown to the ground. His entire body was trembling and the mark on his hand burned. Another sob tore from his throat as he forced himself up and away from the admin that towered before him. There was nothing protecting him now, no friends, no trial, and certainly no witnesses. Not that the witness would care, no one else seemed to.

“I’m usually a forgiving man, Grian, but you’ve really tested my patience.” Xisuma sighed, like a parent scolding a child. Grian scrambled away from him, grunting as his back hit against the bedrock wall of the blacklist room. 

“X-Xisuma, please!” The blond begged. “I-I didn’t-!” He couldn’t spit the words out he was crying so hard. His throat was burning, his mouth refusing to do anything but gasp for air.

“Oh, please.” Xisuma scoffed. “Face your punishment with some courage.” He snarled, walking away from the mess in front of him. He messed with something, grumbling to himself as he tapped something into the control panel of his communicator. 

Grian couldn’t form words. He was sobbing too hard to do much of anything except try not to vomit. He knew he should just leave with the last shreds of his dignity, but there was truly none left. He was broken, hurt, and utterly lost. How did it come to this? How did it go from silly pranks and family to being banned and hated forever? What would Taurtis say? Would he even believe Grian? Not that Grian would ever be able to explain himself to anyone now. A ban was truly a fate worse than death- eternal isolation. 

Another wail tore from him at the thought. What would he do now? What could he do now? He’d never been truly alone, and when he had he could barely take it. Who would see his builds? Or laugh at his jokes? Or hug him or tell him it would be okay or just smile at him-

“Damn thing, why is he being so difficult…?” Xisuma muttered, punching something else in. Something red flashed across the screen and he rolled his eyes through his visor. Grian didn't try to see what he was typing in, he had a feeling he already knew what it was.

“'S-Suma, ” Grian hiccuped in one final plea. "P-Please don't do this…"

Xisuma sighed and glared at him. “What, my job?”

“Y-You believed me!” Grian cried, staring up at the glow from his visors. “Y-You believed me…!” He repeated, as if that would somehow change anything. 

Xisuma stared down at him. His eyes were cold and hollow, just like the blacklist room itself. "My mistake." He replied cruelly.

The admin turned back to his communicator and huffed as it flashed again. "I'll be back." He sighed. "Why don't you wait here and think about why you're being banned?" 

"W-Wait!" Grian tried, but Xisuma was already gone along with any hope of getting out of the room.

Darkness surrounded Grian, save for the red glow coming from his hand. He stared down at it, soft hiccups coming from his lips as he pulled it to his chest. He didn't want to look at it, didn't want to face it. He didn't want to see the red burn that mocked him from every angle. He didn't want to believe that the only thing that had stayed with him through this entire thing was that damned mark. Everyone had abandoned him, even Mumbo.

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

The words echoed in his head over and over again. Mumbo said he'd never leave him, that all he needed was Grian's word, but Xisuma showed him one video and that was enough? That was the final straw? 

Grian curled into himself, shoulders heaving and body trembling as the darkness began to swallow him whole. Any resemblance of a bright side was gone. All that remained was the cruel scarlet glow from his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mumbo, you couldn't have known!" Iskall cried after him. "He had us all fooled!" Mumbo stormed down the hall. He didn't know where he was going, he didn't need to. He just knew he wanted to get away. However, those words made him freeze.

"Iskall, I love you, but shut the hell up. Please." Mumbo snapped, spinning on his heel. Venom dripped from his mouth and he glared at Iskall.

Iskall flinched slightly. "Mumbo-"

"He didn't have us all fooled, h-he-! He was just-!" Mumbo struggled to come up with anything to say in retaliation. His thoughts were whirling at a hundred miles an hour, each trying to waterfall out of his mouth. 

"Mumbo." Iskall replied softly, touching his shoulder. The hand was gentle, trying so hard to reassure him. "It's okay."

"It's not, though." Mumbo muttered, wiping his eyes. "Grian was either framed or has been taking the mick out of me this entire damned season! And to be quite honest Iskall, I don't like either option!" His voice rose in volume and pitch as his words became more manic. He cursed and wiped his eyes again, turning away from Iskall.

He tried so hard to maintain composure, never truly getting angry or grieving. His parents had drilled into him that there was no use in crying. Whether or not that was a healthy lesson was the least of his concerns. His composure was one of things people respected him for, he couldn't just lose it over...over this.

"Mumbo, mate, you did everything you possibly could've for him." Iskall sighed. "Even going as far as accusing Xisuma. But some people just wear a mask. I'm sorry you had to experience that firsthand." 

Mumbo nodded aimlessly. He knew Iskall was trying to be a good friend, but… Mumbo suddenly froze. "Isk."

"Yeah?"
"Say that again?"

Iskall tilted his head. "I'm sorry you had to experience-"

"The other thing."
"Some people just wear a mask?"

Mumbo turned to look at Iskall as it dawned on him. A mask, a bloody mask. Oh god, he wanted to hit himself. The Grian Head Hunt! Of course those damn things were lying around everywhere! Realization crashed on him like an anvil and Mumbo began sprinting down the hall. He missed Iskall's yelp of surprise as he tried to catch up to him.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Iskall cried.

"Connecting dots, confronting a very frightening idea, and running solely on adrenaline, but right now? I'm gonna save my friend!" He cried, stopping at the room and Grian had been holed up in before the trial. He threw open the door and froze as he saw Cub rummaging through it already. He looked up and gave them a pointed look.

"Took you long enough." He huffed, slamming the drawers. He must've come here straight after the trial.

Mumbo blinked, partially frozen. "Cub, what are you-?!"

"I'm looking through your notes." He replied nonchalantly, setting a file down. "You were onto something in that courtroom, and the video proved it."

A smile cracked on Mumbo's face. Cub...Cub actually believed him? "The Hsad Hunt. Someone is trying to frame him!" He babbled out.

"Wait!" Iskall cried, trying his best to pick up on the wavelength Cub and Mumbo were sharing. "Grian burned all those heads!"

"For two brilliant engineers, you two sure are dull." Cub groaned. "Let me spell it out- where do you get heads?"

"The Statue of Hermity?" Iskall replied. Mumbo felt his eyes widening. 

"Wait that means-?!" He blurted out. "I-I was right?!"

"Dead center, Mr. Jumbo." Cub replied curtly. "Now that we're all on the same page-"

"Wait, stop!" The Swede barked. "You two can't seriously accuse Xisuma-!"

"Why not?" Cub shrugged. "We all had a field day doing it with Grian." 

Mumbo shot him a glare. "You started this, Cub. Don't try to play the morality card, it's nowhere near your deck." He snapped. Cub bit his lip and huffed, but didn't argue.

"Hey! Focus!" Iskall hissed, the pair’s eyes being drawn back to him. "What I mean is that you can't just accuse an admin of something! How exactly are we supposed to convict him when he's the judge, jury, and executioner?! Besides," he said, going over to some of the files strewn about. "Why would Xisuma do something like this? Mumbo, you've known him for years!"

Mumbo bit his lip. He really didn't know that part. Xisuma had always been a kind and caring mentor to him. He was the one who always pushed Mumbo to succeed, always gave him new ideas. He was the same to Grian, always complimenting his build or providing him with the right materials at the right time. Why did he change? What happened?

"We need to investigate further." Cub muttered. "Maybe his base will have something."

"What?!" Mumbo cried, suddenly jerked from his train of thought. "No! We need to save Grian! He's in that- that room and all alone!"

Iskall shook his head. "Mumbo, only Xisuma has access to that room. And even if you break into it, and if you're right, what makes you think Xisuma won't just ban you too?"

Cub nodded. "We need to be clever about this, and we have a small, small time frame to do this." He sighed. 

Mumbo wanted to argue with them, he really did. But they were right. He was no use to Grian if he was banned. That had to do this right. They each stared at the ground, hoping that it would provide a plan.

"Now," Cub sighed, grabbing a marker and pressing it to the whiteboard. "Who do we know that is a good infiltrator?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is insane, this is bloody insane." Mumbo found himself whispering as they stood in front of Xisuma's base. Gone was the atmosphere of wonder and curiosity that always surrounded the magnificent buildings. It was now replaced with a cold sinister feeling as darkness loomed above the group.

The group being Cub, Iskall, Scar and Mumbo himself. Doc was at Area 77 and keeping surveillance on the server. He could see and speak to them from there. It took some heavy convincing getting Doc and Scar back on the team, Doc more so than Scar, but they couldn't deny Xisuma's odd behavior. Mumbo looked at his team and attempted to control his breathing. He was the lead here, he had to be strong. For Grian. 

Scar hugged himself tightly. "Are you three sure you want to do this? If we're wrong-"

"Scar." Cub said firmly. "We aren't. You argued with me for days that Grian was innocent. Don't get cold feet now." Scar looked like he wanted to argue, but he sighed and swallowed whatever he was going to say.

"What's the plan?" He opted to say instead.

"Simple. Get in, look for evidence of tampering, and get out." Doc buzzed through their earpieces. "You're going to want to find the server room. It keeps a detailed list of all of the commands Xisuma has inserted, including teleporting someone."

"And if we find that he teleported Grian-" Mumbo started.

"-Then we have our guilty party." Iskall replied. "Is everyone ready?"

Scar raised his hand. "And if we're caught?"

"I have a list of excuses ready." Doc cracked through. "Now remember, the server room is made of Void magic. When you go in, I lose all contact. Keep someone outside of it so I can keep in contact."

The group gave a few words of agreement. Cub turned to Mumbo. "Any last words?" He sighed, tossing him a potion of invisibility. 

Mumbo fumbled to catch it. He took a deep breath. "Let's put this case to rest." He said, popping off the cork and taking a deep swig of the potion, his team doing the same. Slowly his form went invisible, and all that was left was a floating bottle.

The group began creeping their way into the base. The large city-like buildings loomed above them as the crept through, redstone machines ticking away within them. There was no sign of Xisuma as they crept further into the sprawling base.

Mumbo tried not to think about Grian. About how he's alone in the dark, horrible blacklist room. He tried not to think about the white-knuckled grip Grian had on his suit jacket, or the look of utter betrayal in his eyes when Mumbo's faith in him faltered. Mumbo cringed to himself. He was a horrible friend, wasn't he? He lied to Grian, and now he was going to be banned. He felt his feet moving faster at the thought. The group moved silently down, further and further down the weaving base. They reached a large cave system, Xisuma's own decorative touch surrounding the rock walls, vines and wooden platforms standing there. The most surprising was the layer of bedrock that covered the ground, a strange device sitting in the middle and glowing...ominously. It had a metal door that was slightly ajar.

"Do you see the bedrock layer?" Doc crackled through, his connection getting more and more static-filled.

"Yeah, what now?" Scar asked.

"Alright. Do you see a machine? It should look a bit like an elevator door." Doc replied.

Mumbo and Iskall jumped down towards it. "It's right here."

"Alright, two of you go in while the other two keep watch." Doc cracked through. "Remember, I'll lose all contact when you go in. Be quick about this."

"I'll go." Mumbo said quickly. "I have to see this for myself."

"I will too." Cub muttered. "I started this whole thing, I've got to end it." 

Scar and Iskall shared a look before nodding. "We'll keep watch." Iskall replied. "Be careful in there, okay? We can't lose two friends in one day."

Cub and Mumbo nodded, staring at the elevator before Mumbo opened the heavy door tenderly. The hinges squealed as it opened, and a metal interior greeted them.

"Ladies first." Cub joked, but it was hollow and filled with apprehension. 

They both filed into the machine, nerves creeping up their spine. No one had ever been down below the bedrock. Mumbo wished they were going on better terms. The door closed and the machines whirred to life as they felt the elevator move down. Neither of them spoke during the journey.

The doors opened shortly after. Mumbo's eyes watered as the void air entered the room, and his lungs burned as the void particles filled his nose. It felt similar to the burn of smoke or accidentally inhaling redstone, except constant.

Cub was in a similar state, holding his sleeve to his mouth. He coughed roughly. "N-No wonder 'Suma wears a mask." 

"C-Come on, we need to find that command block." Mumbo wheezed out. 

They stepped out into the Void room, the pull of the void tugging at their cores. The void air was thick and heavy, constantly weighing down on them. It was no wonder why the void dragged you in and was nearly impossible to crawl out of. He resisted his body’s urge to lay down on the cold stone blocks that Xisuma had placed. He hadn’t done much to decorate the void, most of it was a vibrant green wiring that crawled and weaved down the wall, illuminating the metal walls. Mumbo crept forward, desperately wishing he could see his hand but thankful he could’t. A yell of frustration stopped them both cold in their tracks. 

“Why are you making this so difficult!?” A voice, which Mumbo presumed to be Xisuma’s, cried out in fury. 

“Grian?” Mumbo whispered, his heart racing as he stepped closer to the voices. Cub shushed him.

“Do you really think you can stop this? They already hate him, and you’ve already failed.” Xisuma snapped. Mumbo frowned. Wait, what?

“I-I won’t...Ex, please, stop this.” A broken and hollow voice whispered. Mumbo couldn’t help himself as he peered around the corner and stifled a gasp. 

The room had a single command block in it, but that wasn’t what was unnerving. There were currently two Xisumas in front of Mumbo, one ranting and raving as venom spit from his lips, and one suspended from the bedrock ceiling with glowing red chains. His helmet was missing, strands of sweat-matted hair clinging to his face. He lifted his head weakly, and Mumbo saw the brilliant emerald eyes that had first welcomed him to hermitcraft all those years ago. They were exhausted, but still blazing with some sort of determination. 

“You can’t stop what’s already in motion.” The free-Xisuma snapped. “Your precious family tore their youngest apart and left the body for the wolves.” He suddenly chuckled. “You know, I didn’t even have to leave any evidence. Cub immediately blamed him!”

“Y-You deceived him. H-He would’ve-!” The chained one tried to say but was cut off with cruel laughter. 

“I didn’t do anything, Xisuma! I griefed them, sure, and I left some damning evidence, but please! That was only after the hermits watched me throw him to the ground, Xisuma.”

The chained one grunted as he pulled against the restraints. “They....They were scared-!” 

“They were vicious, Xisuma.” The doppelganger sneered. “And I bet they can’t wait for this message to flash across their communicators.” He began to type something into the command block.

/ban Grian

Something sparked in Mumbo. Pure rage and panic as he saw the letters flash on the command block’s interface. He suddenly shot forward, a scream tearing from his lips as he tackled the doppelganger, just as the invisibility potion ran out. The two crashed to the ground and Mumbo felt the man squirm beneath him.

“You?!” The doppelganger shouted angrily, kicking Mumbo off of him. “How the hell did you get in here!?” Mumbo wheezed as pain blossomed in his chest and he fell over. The wind had been completely knocked out of him, but he didn’t care. He had to save Xisuma, he had to save Grian!

“Cub, Mumbo!” Xisuma, the real Xisuma, shouted weakly. “Y-You have to de-op him!”

“What?!” Cub cried from somewhere behind him. “How do I do that!?”

Mumbo couldn’t focus on what they were saying. He had to finish this. He swayed to his feet, glaring at the doppelganger. The man beneath the mask returned the harsh glare before charging at Mumbo, a hand colliding with the side of his face. Mumbo stumbled back, his jaw shooting with agony and the taste of metal filling his mouth. He began to wish desperately that he had taken that self defense course Iskall offered. 

“This is pathetic! Your friend’s life is on the line, and you can’t even fight for him?!” The doppelganger cackled. 

“S-Shut up!” Mumbo cried. He could hear Xisuma’s chains rattling as he tried to break free and Cub’s frantic typing on the console interface. He needed to be strong, he had to do this! He tried to stand up straight, but another blow to the face made him fall back.

“You’re not even trying are you?” The doppelganger snarled. “Is it because you know you’ve already lost?”

“I-I haven’t lost yet…” Mumbo tried to snap back, but a swift kick to the gut sent him crashing into the wall. He wheezed, coughing roughly as blood dribbled down his chin. Everything burned and he couldn’t see straight. He could feel the world spinning around him. He had to be low on health, and a few more hits would send him straight to a respawn point for sure. 

“Mumbo!” Cub cried, his hands leaving the interface to unsheathe his sword. He snarled at the doppelganger. “Fine, you wanna fight?! Let’s fight!”

Ex cackled with cruel laughter. “Take your best shot, Cub.”

“C-Cub! No, y-you can’t-!” Xisuma cried, his voice hoarse and weak as he pulled against the chains. 

Mumbo tried to keep his head up and his eyes opened, but everytime he did he was hit with a wave of nausea. No, they couldn’t lose, they had to rescue Grian! He tried to force himself up, but the void air combined with the constant swirling vision made him quickly regret that idea. He could hear Cub fighting, that screech of diamond against diamond was hard to overlook even in his sorry state. His vision was fading, he could feel his consciousness slipping away. 

There was a sharp crash and a cry, before a message rang out from their communicators. 

Cubfan135 was slain by EvilXisuma

Xisuma felt his entire world stop. His breath caught in his throat. Inside, the rational part of his mind told him Cub was fine. It wasn't permanent. This wasn't hardcore. This wasn't a ban, like Grian was in danger of right now. But the other side of his brain, the irrational, terrified part of his brain, was screaming and it wouldn't shut up. Cub was his friend. One of his oldest, dearest friends. Mumbo was too. To see him bloody and bruised, to see Cub's items floating on the ground…

He couldn't take it. He couldn't fucking take it. Not after weeks chained up, energy sapped away from him, used as a weapon towards his dearest friends— he couldn't take it. He wouldn't take it. Adrenaline shot through his body and he felt fury as he gritted his teeth. A gurgling scream fell past his lips, and he realized it was because he had just broken his thumb. With his thumb broken, he could pull his hand free from the shackle. He reached over and grabbed the other shackle, ignoring the pain that kept jolting through his hand. It was nothing compared to the shit that asshole had put him through. With that thought in mind, he broke the chain connected to the shackle easily, with one loud snap.

Ex turned to the furious deity behind him and sneered. “Well, look who's joined us." He chuckled. Xisuma roared and charged at him, slamming his good arm against his throat.

His counterpart wheezed and cackled. "I-I win, Xisuma." He coughed out. "Hatred and fear.." he coughed again. "Even you." Xisuma stiffened before his face paled. He dropped him like he had been stung.

"No, you're wrong!" He cried, stepping back. God, but he wasn't? The hermits had completely betrayed Grian, and here he was, breaking his code of pacifism.

"It's just a shame you're too easily distracted." Ex snarled, gaining back Xisuma's attention. He slammed his hand onto the Command block, and yet another message flashed onto the screen.

Grian has left the game 

"NO!" Xisuma roared as Ex' laughter filled the room. His power swelled within him before a charge of green magic shot out from his hands and straight into Ex's core. His laughter doubled in volume before it suddenly stopped and was replaced with a flash as items scattered across the ground.

EvilXisuma has been slain by Xisuma

Xisuma panted as he fell to his knees. He looked at Mumbo's body on the wall and sighed. 

God, what has he done?

Chapter Text

When Mumbo opened his eyes, he didn’t recognize the room he was in. Had he respawned? The dull echoes of pain in his cheek said otherwise. He sat up, groaning to himself. Nope, he had definitely not respawned. His sore body and headache helped him come to that realization.

What happened? Where was Xisuma? And Cub?! Mumbo began to sit up, his heart beginning to race. He heard a door click open and turned his head to face...Xisuma. The admin was without his helmet, soft and tired emerald eyes gazing at him.

"I wouldn't do that. You might have a concussion." He said, and immediately Mumbo was reminded of the admin he had always known. Not the one spitting threats and venom or hurting Grian.

"Xisuma? What-? What happened!?" Mumbo cried, despite his head throbbing in protest. His thoughts were spinning, and too many questions needed answers. "Where's Cub?! Where's Grian-?! Who was that?!"

Xisuma held up his hands defensively. "Mumbo, easy, easy." He said gently, going to the side of the bed and gently pushing him back down.

No, this wasn't the man Mumbo had tackled. The softness in his voice and gentleness of his touch proved that. But why did he look so much like him?

"I…" Xisuma sighed, pulling over a chair. "I know you have a lot of questions. All of you do and I promise, I will get to that. But we have a more important matter to discuss."

"Grian?" A sad nod was offered in return. Mumbo cringed slightly. "I-Is he okay?"

"Physically? Yes. A ban is painless. He has simply been placed into a smaller world, single-player if you will." Xisuma explained. "It's either a new world, or one he's left behind."

"But he's okay?" Mumbo asked.

"Yes." Xisuma replied. "But we have to get him back."

Mumbo nodded, but a dark thought entered his mind. "...Xisuma, what if he doesn't want to come back?" He whispered. The admin thought for a minute, guilt and various other emotions flashing across his uncovered eyes.

"...Then we respect his decision. We can't force him. But we need to at least remove the ban." Xisuma finally sighed. "So he'll be able to find another family if he wants."

Families don't ban eachother. The thought whirled in Mumbo's head, but he bit down on his lip to push it away. "How do we find him?"

"Doc and Scar have already worked it out. Apparently, the infinity portal is perfect for this type of thing." Xisuma mused, staring at the door. "Mumbo, when you're well, I think you should be the one to go after him."

Mumbo looked up, surprise going across his face. "Me?"

"You're his best friend, Mumbo. You brought him here, I know you can bring him back." Xisuma replied.

Mumbo was reminded of how much he missed the real Xisuma. The leader who was calm and gentle in any situation, never failing to come up with a solution or answer.. Mumbo shook his head.

"But… I gave up on him. Surely he hates me now?" Mumbo muttered.

"It's not in Grian's nature to truly hate." The admin smiled gently. "He's hurt and angry, sure, but he has every reason to be, Mumbo."

Mumbo didn't reply. In all honesty, he wanted nothing more than to sprint to Grian and beg for his forgiveness. He wanted to see him safe and sound. He wanted to hug him, make him smile and laugh for the first time in weeks, but he knew that he couldn't. He let Grian down, and no matter how much Mumbo wanted those things, he knew he didn't deserve them. Not yet, at least.

Xisuma placed a gentle, yet firm hand on his shoulder and once again Mumbo was reminded that the admin of yesterday was not the man before him.

"Mumbo. Grian is your best friend. If anyone can bring him back, it's going to be you." Xisuma reassured him. There was a tenderness in his voice that Mumbo surely missed. He looked down at his hands. Grian might hate him now but Mumbo couldn't just leave him there to rot because he was scared to face him. Grian had been through too much, they couldn't afford Mumbo's selfishness.

"Okay. I'll go." Mumbo replied, trying to get out of the soft white bed. He was quickly pushed back down.

"When you're well, Mumbo." Xisuma replied sternly. Mumbo huffed angrily, but nodded. Xisuma was right, this throbbing headache wouldn't help him navigate whatever hellscape Grian had been banned to.

Xisuma stood. "I'm going to let the others know you're okay. They have a lot of questions that I can't answer right now, but 'Is Mumbo Okay' is one I'm more than happy to lay to rest." He chuckled.

"Wait." Xisuma turned to face the mustached hermit. "Who...who is Evil Xisuma?" Mumbo asked.

Xisuma looked like he was searching for an answer or maybe debating telling Mumbo, but he sighed and sat back down. "Very well. You deserve the truth, Mumbo." He took a deep breath and began.

"When I became an admin, I...I didn't know how to be a leader. Not a proper one. I had the power, and I could fix things, but I didn't know how to care for the people I was gifted. They wanted a friend, not a god. I couldn't provide. I was incredibly new to emotions, and the idea of sharing those emotions with them was terrifying. I began to take notes on the hermit's interactions. If I could figure out what they liked most, I could become the leader they needed. Anger, hatred, and cruelty was their least favorite type of emotion. Anything that spawned from it always required an apology or another argument. So, I opted to rid myself of these emotions."

Mumbo looked bewildered. "Wait, stop. You can't just get rid of your anger, it's a part of you. It's not something you can control with an on-off switch!" He interrupted.

Xisuma smiled tiredly. "I wish you could've told me that in the beginning." The admin looked out the window with a somber look in his eyes. "I was a young star, I didn't know that becoming a leader was more than restraining emotions."

Mumbo gripped the covers between his fingers. "What happened?"

"Using void magic, I tried to force the anger and rage from my mortal form. It worked, but not in a way I had expected. I ended up splitting myself in two, and my clone was…" Xisuma grimaced. "Vengeful, to say the least. He hated the hermits, and vowed that he could and would destroy them. I tried to make him see reason but there was nothing I could say. He vowed to me that one day, he would turn my family into something horrible, that anyone could become just like him."

Xisuma's gaze had hardened as he finished. "I guess he was right. With enough pushing and prodding, my hermits were ready to devour their newest member."

"Xisuma, stop." Mumbo demanded. "That doesn't make him right. The hermits were scared, sure, but Cub came around! And I know they didn't want to ban Grian, but they thought there was no other option." Xisuma looked ready to protest but Mumbo wasn't finished. "Fear makes people do crazy things, like try and destroy their anger?"

Xisuma opened his mouth but closed it as he began chuckling. "I uh, I suppose it does."

Mumbo sat up. "I know the hermits want him back, I know they'll feel horrible when they realized what happened. Ex is wrong, Xisuma."

The admin pondered this before smiling. "Thank you, Mumbo. That certainly makes me feel a bit better about this awful affair. But what will make me feel much better is knowing that Grian is okay." He sighed.

"You and me both." Mumbo muttered, laying back.

"Rest up, Mumbo. The faster you heal, the faster we get him back." Xisuma smiled before disappearing out of the room, and leaving Mumbo to rest with his thoughts.

His recovery was quick. Maybe a day's worth of sleep and a few regeneration potions was all he needed to be back on his feet and ready to tackle the daunting infinity portal. The Hermits were crowded around the entrance to Area 77, muttering with anxiety and worry. Doc had been through it several times for fun, but now? Now it was a rescue mission.

Xisuma stood on the little stage, overlooking his worried hermits and watching Doc tinker with the diamond portal. "How much longer?" He asked.

"Few minutes." Doc replied, rummaging through the toolbox Scar was holding. Xisuma nodded and Mumbo felt his chest tighten. He was getting more and more nervous.

"Are you ready, Mumbo?" The admin asked gently.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Mumbo replied, a nervous grin splitting across his face.

Iskall gently pat his back. "You'll be fine, man. If anyone can get him back, it's you."

The mustached man smiled in reply, but he wasn't sure anyone believed it. He certainly didn't believe himself. Worry and nerves crawled up his spine and clamped around his throat like a vice. They had no idea what he’d uncover in here, and a part of him really didn’t want to find out. However, Grian needed him right now, and he refused to let him down for a second time.

“Can uh, can we review the plan one more time?” Mumbo called to Xisuma. The admin nodded as he turned away from Doc and Scar so he could face his fellow hermits.

“Alright everyone, I need everybody to listen.” He started, the anxious babbling growing silent. “Mumbo, you’re going through the portal with this-”
The group marveled at the bright orange box Xisuma had pulled from his inventory. Mumbo immediately recognized it and winced. A command block, or perhaps a smaller version of it layed in Xisuma’s palm.

“This has the coding that will lift the ban and get you and anyone who touches it home.” Xisuma explained. “However, it’s a one time use. Once you power it, it’ll teleport back to the server. If you aren’t with it, you’ll be stranded. Do you understand?” The admin finished, his voice stern and serious. Mumbo nodded as the fragile thing was placed in his hand.

“What if something does happen?” Mumbo asked tentatively.

“We’ll try to send someone after you after a week. But you need to stay alive until then.” Scar replied.

“Wait, why?” Ren, who was standing in the crowd, asked quickly.

“Grian has been banned to a single-player world. Only he is allowed to enter. Mumbo is a paradox to the world because he doesn’t belong. If he dies, there’s a chance that there’s no coding to respawn him and he’ll be lost to the void forever.” The admin sighed.

“Wait, what?!” Mumbo cried. “You didn’t tell me that!”

“I was worried it would deter you.” Xisuma admitted. “You’re the only one Grian would trust, Mumbo. It has to be you. Besides, the chances of it happening are low, and I don’t think there’s anything seriously dangerous in that world. Grian couldn’t have gone far, and the mob spawn will be pretty low.”

Mumbo felt his confidence drop. Oh god, he wasn’t a fighter! He only got far on the Demise Games by accident! Before he could let his growing nerves get the better of him, a firm and rested on his shoulder. He turned to face Cub, who stood behind him with a solemn look.

He stared Mumbo in the eyes with a blazing determination. “Let me come with you.” He said simply.

“You?!” Tango shouted from the crowd. Impulse, who stood beside him, shot him a glare. “This would’ve never happened if you hadn’t blamed him in the first place!” A few hermits shouted in agreement.

“Tango, we’re all guilty.” Impulse snapped. “Barely any of us tried to argue about it! Besides, we… We all just watched Evil Ex throw Grian to the ground. Hell, Cleo punched Grian without even thinking!”

“Hey, I-I thought he destroyed my base! You would’ve acted the same!” Cleo snarled back. The crowd began erupting into fighting. Blame and accusations being tossed around like a hot potato.

“ENOUGH!” Xisuma snarled, the crowd going silent. “We’re all guilty! We all did something to cause this! Indifference, anger, and fear are the reasons Grian is behind that portal and not here with us! With his family!” He shouted. The crowd was silent, each hermit trying to stare into the ground and avoid eye contact. Xisuma was right, and no amount of bickering would change that.

Mumbo stepped forward. “The least we can do is bring him back. But can’t do that if all we’re doing is fighting. I, for one, have had quite enough arguing.” He turned to face Cub. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Cub nodded. “Whether I caused it or not, I made it worse. All I had to do was swallow my pride, but I built an entire goddamned courtroom. I have to do this.”

Mumbo nodded in understanding. “I could use the hand.” He smiled.

“Wait, let us come with you.” Iskall replied. “Maybe we can-!”

“No!” Doc shouted quickly. “The portal is incredibly sensitive, it can only handle so many people! Even two is pushing it!” Iskall deflated, but nodded in understanding.

Xisuma looked out amongst the hermits. “While they venture out, our job is to find Ex so this never happens again. I need all hands on deck for this one. I’ll give everyone an assignment soon, but for now, we need to send off our rescuers.” He smiled at the duo behind him.

Mumbo and Cub faced the infinity portal with a sense of determination and a slight twinge of fear. Mumbo looked at Cub. “Are you ready?” He asked hesitantly. Cub nodded without a word. It was time to venture into the unknown and pull Grian back out of it. They could do this—they had to. So with a deep breath and clenched fists, Mumbo forced himself to step through the portal. The purple film enveloped him as the world went to a stark white before fading into black.

When he woke, he was laying on top of a gravel path. He recognized Grian’s build style immediately. The varying brown and grey blocks weren’t hard to pick up on. Had Grian already gotten over them? He pushed the thought out of his head and looked around, squinting at the bright sun. The world was quiet here, the faint birdsong riding on the wind as it rustled through the trees. A deep grunt sounded bside him and he turned to face a waking Cub.

“Remind me to never do that again.” He grunted. “That portal certainly packs a punch, doesn’t it?” Mumbo smiled, but it was short lived as he stood and faced the path. A deep forest had been cut through to form the road, and what lied on the other end deeply disturbed him.

“Uh, Cub?” He called hesitantly. Cub turned to face him and his jaw dropped at the sight just beyond the treeline.

Miles and miles of nothing but houses that were very rustic in nature lined the world just beyond the treeline. Each one was identical in style it seemed, and the only ones that weren’t were too far away to make out. Some spiraled into the sky, similar to Grian’s house on Sahara Street. Others were small and flat in nature. But what really took the cake was the large and distinguished rustic...castle that sat dead center of it all.

“Looks like Grian has been busy.” Cub muttered quietly, a mixture of shock and awe painting each syllable. Mumbo nodded in a sort of quiet horror. Cub sighed and stood, offering a hand to Mumbo.

There was a strange warble sound behind them and the duo turned to face…

“Grian?!”

Chapter Text

Grian joined the game

He stared up at the brilliant blue sky, a soft bed of grass cushioning his head and body. The gentle clouds rolled across it, a lovely breeze accompanying them. The sun was bright, but not enough to force Grian to squint as he looked up at the mural that danced above him. A flock of birds flew by, singing happily to each other. The world was picture-esque, a perfect view of a land that no mortal had laid eyes on in years.

And Grian hated every second of it.

Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared up at the moving mural before him. He didn’t want to move or breathe, he was too scared that he would die if he tried. He took a deep shuddering breath and tried to sit up. Immediately, his body began to tremble. His hollow chest ached and screamed as he tried to breathe. In, out. In, out. In- A broken sound wormed its way out of his throat, breaking the rhythm. His quivering hands grasped the blades of grass like a life-line as his shoulders heaved, uncontrollable sobs clawing their way from his chest.

It was over. He had lost. No, he figured. He hadn’t lost. Losing would imply that he could’ve won in the first place. He hadn’t lost, he had been abandoned. Abandoned by those who were meant to be his friends, his family. They had thrown him into a fight where they were already against him and cheered as he was pummeled to the ground. If it truly was a game, then it had been rigged from the start.

He tried pushing himself up. He couldn’t just break down in a field. Why not? He had all the time in the world. Grian shoved the thought down. Despite everything, he didn’t want to die. Not yet, anyways. Maybe that was the idiotic part of his brain that tried to tell him that it would be okay. That he would wake up in his base, safe and sound. That this was all just a nightmare.

He wishes he could rip that part of his brain out.

He took another deep shuddering breath and tried to force his body to pay attention to the world. What were five things he could see? God, he felt stupid. He forced the thought down. He could see the grass. He could see the herd of pigs just across the hill, there were three of them. He could see a tree line across the field and what looked like a small, overgrown path that reeked of familiarity. He could see his trembling hands in front of him, still gripping the gentle green blades of grass.

Step one down. He tried not to think of the way Taurtis would kneel beside him and gently repeat the question, or how Xisuma would ask him a simple math question or two to force his thoughts to concentrate. Another sound left his mouth. Not helpful. Focus on the next task.

Four things he could touch. The grass, the threads of his suit jacket, (Oh god, did he leave his jumper-?) the grains of dirt beneath his fingers, did his own skin count? Fuck it, he would count it. What next? Christ, what came next?

Hearing. Three things he could hear. He took a deep breath. He didn’t hiccup this time, which was good. He could hear birdsong drifting from the forest. He could hear the gentle dance of leaves as the wind blew through them, and he could hear the small herd of pigs. The steps were getting easier now, and he was nearly done with the list.

Two things he could smell. That was gonna be hard, there wasn’t much to smell in an open field. He could smell...what was the word? It was a word for the smell of rain... Mumbo always knew that word, what did he say it was? His brain finally produced in answer.

“Petrichor. I-I smell petrichor and...is dirt a smell?” He asked no one in particular. His throat felt dry, and it hurt to speak over the lump that had formed inside of it. He didn’t know why he was talking, it wasn’t like anyone could hear him. He shook his head. One last item on the list.

What is one emotion you can feel?

That was always the hardest question. It felt like an impossible task. How the hell do you put so many emotions in one box? He felt far too many things and yet somehow he felt nothing at all. The question almost felt cruel, in a way. He decided to try. One word kept floating around and around again.

Lost. He felt utterly and hopelessly lost.

Grian took another deep breath and wiped his eyes, looking out amongst the sea of greenert. He could more clearly see a path going straight through the center of the treeline. It looked like there might have been torches at one point, but they had burnt out a long, long time ago. He vaguely recognized it- it was clear that he must’ve made the path some time ago. It was his usual path pattern, but he hadn’t tried to alternate or use any other type of block. He had just trampled over the grass until it finally yielded a soft brown color. At least he had tried to make it look natural with a few buttons. One question plagued his mind-

Where did this lead?

He hugged himself tightly. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do than follow a horribly dusty path. He stood, wiping the blades of grass of the dress pants and started forward, trying to control the small hiccups that still tumbled from his mouth.

About thirty minutes of walking later, he finally came across his destination. A horribly old and decrepit rustic house sat in front of him, a decaying fence line covering the outer property. A battered and dusty sign had the words “Grian’s House!” carved into it. The actual structure groaned and creaked as a gust of wind blew through it. The supports for the deck near the side had completely given up as the platform sagged into the stream below. Ivy crawled up the moss-ridden walls of the house while cracks danced in the cobble stone foundation. Any windows that hadn’t cracked under the house’s shifting weight were dusty and covered in spider web. Any sane person would leave the former home be, but now was probably a bad time to discuss Grian’s mental state.

A small, bitter smile crawled onto his lip as he took in the sight before him. A hollow laugh escaped his lips. He couldn’t believe it, he was back! He was back to the beginning, back before Evo and Hermits. His eyes suddenly widened as his feet began to urge him forward. If all of this was still here, did that mean…?

He ran to the house, edging his way across the caved-in deck. The door hinges squealed as he pushed the door open. Throwing caution to the wind, he dashed for the steps. Only one tried to break beneath him, but the structure remained relatively stable. He threw open his bedroom door as fresh tears began to well in his eyes. His bed was still there. The soft red covers were hanging off the mattress. He never did remember to make his bed.

He turned and his breath caught in his throat. There. At the back wall. A large closet stood at the back, chains wrapped around the handles and a large iron sword sticking in between the closet doors. Logic told him that those chains were placed for a reason. Unfortunately, Grian never was good at thinking logically. He ripped the iron sword from its prison and slashed at the rusty chains, watching them fall to the floor before he ripped the closet doors open.

There he was. His wooden, mannequin-like arms were incredibly dusty, and his red sweater had all sorts of moth holes in it, but he was there. Bright red eyes snapped to life as an artificial smile greeted him like an old friend.

“Grian! You’ve come back! Are you here to build rustic houses?” NPC_Grian cried as it whirred back to life. His voice was nearly identical to Grian’s, but there was this sense of...coldness to it that reminded the listener that this was not Grian. NPC stood up straight. “Why do you look so sad, Grian?”

The iron sword fell to the ground with a large clang as it fell from Grian’s fingers. He tried to open his mouth, but all he got out was a silent sob as he suddenly wrapped his arms around NPC’s torso, burying his face into the musty red sweater. The wooden arms hesitantly wrapped around him, before they squeezed tightly. Not enough to hurt, but enough to actually comfort him.

A wooden hand trailed up to Grian’s hair and began combing through it. “There, there, Grian. You are home now.” NPC said gently. And for the first time, Grian believed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"There we are." NPC smiled happily as the suit jacket fell to the floor. “Good as new!”

Grian stared at it dully, a soft and loose black t-shirt resting on him. He had left his sweater back in the server. Maybe it was for the best- he didn’t want Taurtis to see him like this. NPC lit a few of the lanterns inside the room, still beaming at him with his ever-present smile and painted on cheeks.

NPC seemed to regard him with a type of pity. “Oh, Grian, I tried to warn you. Servers are filled with horrible, nasty people.”

Grian winced. His stomach twisted. “M’sorry, y-you were right.” He whimpered, wiping his eyes as they started watering again.

“It’s alright, Grian.” NPC smiled, picking a dusty vase up from off of the floor. “Believe me, I understand what it’s like to be abandoned.”

The human winced again. “Er...I suppose you do.”

“I do, Grian.” NPC turned towards him. His eyes were wide and glowing. ”Sitting in the dark waiting for someone, anyone, to come and find you and give you a purpose. But all you see is the sun setting and rising through the cracks of your closet, your prison. And all you can do is wonder and wait and seethe-” The vase cracked in his grasp, a chip falling to the floor. Grian let out the breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding as his back hit the wall behind him.

NPC looked down at the vase and gently set it one the dusty nightstand. “But that’s in the past. I’m not angry anymore.”

“It uh, it sure looks like it.” Grian let out a nervous smile. Part of him was starting to remember why he never came back.

“I could be. I have every reason to be.” NPC whispered, the never moving smile still painted on his face. Grian wished it would make him feel safe. “But unlike those awful hermit people, I can forgive and forget. We both said a lot of things that we regret, and true friends see past those pesky words and actions.”

“So...You really aren’t mad?” Grian asked hesitantly.

“Of course not. All that matters is that you’re here now, and clearly you’ve learned your lesson.” NPC replied, gesturing to the wrinkled suit on the floor. Whatever creepy feeling NPC had given him dissipated as he stared at the one thing he had left from the Hermits. A wrinkly suit from a trial that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“You know, Grian, some say the best way to move on is by getting yourself involved in something.” NPC said, looking around the old room.

“Like what?” Grian muttered. NPC suddenly shoved a shulker box in his hand. Where did he…? The question died as he looked at its contents. Building supplies. “...A rustic house.”

“A rustic house!” The robot practically squealed.

“I uh, I don’t know NPC-” Grian started.

“Grian.” NPC cut him off. “Ever since you’ve built me, the way you’ve always coped with bad things is by building. Those hermits hurt you deeply, didn’t they?”

The human shifted uncomfortably. They didn’t just hurt him, they had taken everything from him. They took his home and trapped him forever in solitary confinement for a crime he didn’t commit him. No, Xisuma and the hermits didn’t hurt him. They had murdered him.

NPC gently touched his hand. Brief memories of the wooden hand jerking his wrist and squeezing hard enough to fracture a bone surfaced and Grian flinched. NPC pulled it back, his glowing eyes showing some vague sort of pity. Or was it annoyance? Grian couldn’t tell anymore.

“Come on, Grian.” The robot offered his hand again. “Why not give it a try?”

Grian eyed the hand cautiously. He remembered the pain, remembered the way he held his wrist and cried while NPC screamed from the other side of the closet door. He remembered all of this, and yet for some reason, he desperately wanted to take it. He wanted to be comforted, he yearned for some kind of affirmation. He tried to think of the way Mumbo used to offer his hand to him when he had crashed his elytra. The single amused chuckle or gasp of concern before gently pulling the builder up. He tried to think of it, but one sentence and a haunting look of betrayal tainted every other image.

I don’t know what to believe.

Grian took NPC’s hand as tears welled his eyes. “Okay.” He whispered.

NPC’s eyes lit up. “Brilliant! Let’s get started!” He said, and instead of yanking or pulling, the robot gently grabbed Grian’s hand, and began carefully leading him down the rotted steps.

The first project was rebuilding the rustic house they Grian had lived in for so long. Even though both NPC and Grian knew a rustic house forwards and backwards, they still took it slow. NPC stood behind Grian, and instead of harshly nitpicking every detail like Grian remembered him doing, the robot offered words of encouragement and gently offered a suggestion when Grian had asked for one. It all left Grian...confused. NPC didn’t used to be like this. He remembered the way NPC threatened him, he remembered the harsh words and just tried to build whatever the robot wanted. Why was he being so gentle now?

The two looked back up on the restored house. NPC beamed at it. “It’s wonderful, Grian.”

Grian nodded, rubbing his bare arm. “It was nice to get back to building.”

“Exactly! This is why you should listen to me, Grian.” NPC chirped. “We should build more!”

Grian bit his lip, crossing his fingers. Should he test the waters? How much had NPC actually changed? Or what if Grian was remembering him wrong? He took a deep breath.

“You know what, I think you’re right.” Grian said cautiously. “Building is just what I needed after all of...that.”

NPC’s eyes lit up and his painted smile actually seemed genuine. “Of course it is, Grian. I’ll go get more supplies and-”

“Maybe I should try something different though, to help take my mind off of it?” Grian interrupted. He felt his heartbeat getting faster. Oh god, this was it. “Maybe I should try a...futuristic build?”

He waited for the venom, for NPC to lose it and snap at him. But nothing came. NPC only looked thoughtful. “Well, you could, but Grian, didn’t you build something futuristic for Hermitcraft?” He asked.

Grian blinked. Well, that certainly wasn’t expected. “Well, yeah. A few things, actually.” He admitted. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Maybe that had something to do with what happened.” NPC shrugged.

Grain reeled away from him. He couldn’t be serious. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you aren’t exactly known for being futuristic, right?”

“Well, no, but-”

“You said it yourself, Grian. Hermitcraft is the best of the best. I mean, they tossed you out pretty quickly, didn’t they? Maybe they were wrong about you.” NPC suggested.

“That’s completely insane!” Grian snapped. “My building had nothing to do with-! With that! I’m a great builder!”
NPC sighed. “Good friends tell you what you don’t want to hear, Grian. Think back on everything you built while you were there. Was it really that good?”

“Of course it was!” The builder cried out. “I built an amazing tower that stretched into the sky, with huge arches and pillars! It was white and grey and-!”

NPC only winced slightly. “That sounds like a cold, evil villain's lair, Grian.” He replied hesitantly.

Grain opened his mouth to argue, but something stopped him. Iskall did put the Eye of Sauron on top of it… “I-I’m just not describing it right. It was really cool.”

“If you say so.” NPC shrugged. “What else?”

“U-Um, oh!” Grian exclaimed. “I designed this amazing base for my team during this prank war-!”

“Stop.” NPC interrupted, holding up a wooden hand. “They let you design a base that would go through a war? You do realize that typically those bases are built to be destroyed, right?”

“It-!” Grian hesitated. Team Star built theirs like a proper fortress, and the G-Team did suffer more structural damage. God, his and the G-Team base looked nearly identical too, didn’t they? He decided to move on. “I...also built Sahara.” He muttered. NPC tilted his head in confusion.

“It was a huge megastore with a lot of redstone. I did it with two others.” Grian explained.

NPC’s eyes lit up. “You did redstone? I’m so impressed!”

“Oh, no. I didn’t do the redstone.” Grain laughed slightly. “I built the building all of it was in.”

“...that’s it?”

Grian wanted to argue, but he remembered the jokes Mumbo and Iskall made about finding a reason to ‘keep him around.’ He had built it with the same blocks as everything else. He remembered Scar and Cub mocking it, saying their competition was just a grey cereal box. He argued at the time, but now…

“Oh, Grian.” NPC said gently, placing his wooden hands on Grian’s shoulders. “You can build a futuristic house if you want to, but I think we both know why you shouldn’t.”

“I-I thought they were good.” Grian whimpered.

NPC hugged him. NPC never hugged him, but strangely enough, he wasn’t rejecting it. “Of course they weren’t. But we know what is.” He released Grian and handed him another shulker of rustic building materials. “Build what you’re good at. You aren’t one for risks, Grian.”

Grian stared down at the shulker before finally nodding. The wind in his sails had been completely taken away and his heart felt heavier than it had when he was in the blacklist room. Somewhere deep inside, he had hoped that they’d come back for him. But now? He wasn’t even sure why they had picked him up in the first place.

So he kept building rustic houses. One after another, block by block. He didn’t eat or drink, and he certainly didn’t sleep. Once he passed out, but he woke right back up with NPC sitting by the side of his bed, smiling like he always was. Grian wished he could relate. By the time Grian had finished the fifteenth rustic house, he felt more like a robot than NPC ever did. All he did was build. Eventually NPC was forced to make him stop periodically to rest. “Can’t have you dying on me!” He would laugh.

He placed another staircase along the roof. He was barely paying attention now. Everything had become dull and grey, and overall he just felt numb. He heard NPC sigh behind him.

“You’ve placed it wrong. Again.” He groaned.

Grian simply removed the block and replaced it. “M’Sorry.” he muttered quietly.

NPC teleported beside him. “You know what? I don’t think this is working.” He chirped, but it felt forced. “You don’t need building, you need a project!”

“Like what?” Grian muttered.

“Like...a village! Yeah, a rustic village! You’ve already built the first street!”

Grian looked at the row of empty rustic houses. “A village? Who exactly is gonna live in it?” He deadpanned.

“That question never stopped you before.” NPC replied. “Maybe seeing a build come to completion will make you feel better!”

Grian stared at him and then back at the houses. Having an actual goal would be better than just endless building. “...Why not a rustic Kingdom?” He offered. A kingdom would certainly take more time than a village.

“What a wonderful idea!” NPC cheered. “I can play different people! We’ll have our own little adventures!”

Was it childish or insane to play make-believe while he was in solitary confinement? He looked at NPC who was babbling away with his own ideas. It’s not like I can get a second opinion. He thought grimly. He looked down at the mark on his hand and narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers into it. Fuck it. He’d play make believe if he wanted to. If this mark was going to haunt him forever, so be it. He was going to have fun with or without it.

“Hey NPC?” He asked.

“Yes?” The robot chirped.

“I call dibs on the king.”

The kingdom steadily grew with every rustic house. NPC began to set up various armor stands to mimic real people. The king tried not to think about how Cleo or Stress could do it better. It wasn’t like they’d ever see it anyways. He kept going, fuelled by spite. He was a good builder, he would build the best damn rustic kingdom there ever was.

He stepped back from his throne, staring up at all of its ornate details. It was almost perfect. All it needed was a few more details and then he would move onto another house in the never-ending town.

“Wow!” The sudden loud voice behind him made him jump and slam himself into the throne. NPC had teleported behind him.

“NPC! Don’t-!” He panted. “Don’t do that!”

“This looks great!” NPC ignored him. “Now then, I’ve got a present for the king! Delivered straight from the smith!” The robot chirped, holding up an ornate golden crown riddled with various jewels.

Grian gently took it in his hands. A crown. This...This is what he wanted. To be the ruler of a kingdom with no subjects and no future. A King of nothing, and a crown to prove it. “It’s...It’s beautiful.”

“I’ll be sure to tell the-!”

MumboJumbo has joined the game

Cubfan135 has joined the game

The both stopped dead in their tracks as the message popped up. Grian’s heart had completely stopped.

NPC’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “No.” He snarled lowly, his voice shifting to a low deep growl.

“M-Mumbo-?” Grian whispered. Mumbo was here, but how? Why? Did it matter? They were here, in his world! They were here! His feet suddenly began moving but NPC shoved a hand against his chest.

“Stay here.” He muttered, and suddenly the NPC that haunted his memories was back. The one that spat threats and made him feel horribly unsafe.

“But-!” Grian shouted with panic, but NPC had already teleported away. The crown dropped to the floor with a clatter, and Grian felt overwhelmed by a whirlwind of emotions.

Chapter Text

Cub gripped his sword handle tightly as the bootlegged version of their friend blinked at them. His painted smile and rosy cheeks beamed at them, red eyes scanning them up and down. He glanced at Mumbo, who took a deep breath and stepped forward. 

“H-Hello?” He greeted tentatively. “Uh, are you-?”

“Mumbo Jumbo, correct?” The thing interrupted. Cub cringed slightly at his voice. It was Grian’s alright, but the delivery felt stilted and cold. It might’ve been his voice, but it certainly wasn’t Grian talking. 

Mumbo blinked in surprise. “I, uh, yeah, that’s correct-”

The robot nodded and directed his attention to Cub. “Excellent. You are Cub Fan, yes?” It interrupted again. 

Cub nodded. He wouldn’t grace this thing with manners. The red in the robot’s eyes seemed to glow brighter as it wheeled towards them. What was this thing? Did Grian build it? How?

“Wonderful.” It chirped, clapping its wooden, mannequin-like hands together. “My name is NPC_Grian!”

Mumbo looked at Cub with worry creasing his brow. “Um, I’d introduce myself, but it seems there’s no need.” He laughed nervously, his hands wringing around his tie. 

“Of course there isn’t. I know everything about you two!” NPC replied happily before its hands clenched together. Its eyes were wide and dark as it continued. “Everything.” It repeated, it’s voice slower and laced with venom. 

It must’ve realized how intimidating it had come across because it suddenly blinked and straightened itself out. Cub didn’t take his eyes off of it, but Mumbo could see the way his grip flexed over the sword’s handle.

“Oh, but enough of that.” It giggled. “Why have you come here?” The thing asked, tilting its head to the side.

Mumbo shared a glance with Cub. “We need to speak with Grian. I assume you know him, considering you look identical to him.” He replied cautiously. 

“Oh, I know where he is! He’s in the castle, presumably having a panic attack.” It smiled as if it had just read off a restaurant’s specials and not that their friend was alone in a castle struggling to breathe. 

“What?!” Mumbo cried. “C-Can you take us to him?!”

It hummed, wheeling beside them. “Hmmm… I could, but he might get angry with me.” It sighed. “I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s not every day that your worst enemies waltz back into your life, completely uninvited!” 

Mumbo felt his blood run cold at the title. “His what?” He whispered. 

Cub placed a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing himself in front of Mumbo. “What do you mean?”

“Are you not his enemies?”

“N-No!” Mumbo cried. That painted smile did nothing to hide the venomous gleam in its eyes. 

“You don’t sound so sure, Mr. Jumbo.” It sneered. 

“He’s pissed off at us, we get it. He has every right to be, but right now-” Cub interrupted, but then the thing began giggling. 

“Pissed off? That’s quite the understatement!” It laughed cruelly. “If someone had come in and ruined your life forever, would you be just ‘pissed off?’ Of course not.” NPC locked eyes with Mumbo. “I sincerely doubt you’d ever  forgive them. And who would blame you, really?”

“Hey!” Cub snapped. The robot blinked at him. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but we have to speak with him. Either you take us there, or we’ll find our own way!” 

The robot seemed to consider this. “...Very well, Mr. Cub. I’ll lead the way, then.” It sighed, wheeling past him. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

Cub glared at it from behind. The fact that Grian was trapped with that… that thing for any length of time frightened him. He looked over at Mumbo, who looked like he was waiting for the floor to swallow him whole. 

“Are you okay?” Cub asked in a low voice as they followed behind NPC at a distance. 

Mumbo sighed. “I mean, it didn’t say anything I didn’t know already.” He whispered back. 

“Stop that.” Cub huffed. Mumbo lifted his eyes and crooked his brow.

“What do you-?”

“Mumbo, that thing was trying to manipulate you.” The bearded man sighed. “It told you all the things you didn’t need to hear in a sweet voice, just so you would get cold feet and abandon the mission. That thing doesn’t want us to find Grian.”

Mumbo blinked, his mouth dropping. “I...I didn’t even realize-!”

“That’s manipulation for you.” Cub sighed. “Don’t sweat it, I bet that thing can get under anyone’s skin.”

Mumbo pursed his lips, fidgeting nervously with his tie. “The fact that Grian has been stuck with that thing is...concerning, to say the least.”

“No kidding. I just want to know where it came from and why it looks like him.” The other man muttered. “Did he build it?”

“It’s impolite to whisper about people.” The thing called. 

“S-Sorry.” Mumbo cringed, rubbing the small of his arm. “U-Uh, how do you know Grian?”

“Oh, Grian found me one day when he was younger!” NPC replied happily. 

Cub coughed roughly. “Wait, wait, wait! He found you?! But you look identical to him!” 

NPC chuckled. “I didn’t always have this body! I used to be such a mess, hiding in the dark so people wouldn’t see me. Grian gave me the armor stand and a shoddy bit of Redstone, and well, we’ve been together ever since.”

“T-That’s sweet of him.” Mumbo tried to offer. 

NPC’s eyes twitched slightly. “Yes, I suppose it is. He wanted someone to help him build. A friend. And though we might argue at times, in the end, he always comes crawling back to me.” It said, its voice lowering into a deep snarl. 

Cub and Mumbo shared a worried glance with each other. “What a lovely and totally healthy friendship.” Cub replied in a dry tone. 

NPC didn’t acknowledge him as it wheeled along. The two began looking around as they walked down the detailed pathways. The identical buildings were empty and hollow. It was such a beautiful town, but the silence that haunted it ruined any kind of comfort you might get from such charming builds. Cub shuddered. 

“How long has he been here? It’s only been a few days!” Cub mused, staring at the empty shells of buildings. 

NPC’s head spun around quickly, the springs buried in him clicking from the force.

Mumbo cringed. “Ugh-!”

“Allow me to answer!” It chirped. “Grian has been here for approximately three weeks!”

“Three weeks?!” Mumbo and Cub repeated in shock. 

“But it’s only been a few days for us!” Mumbo cried. 

NPC’s head spun back around, completing the 360-degree rotation. “Oh, I hope Grian knows the time difference. It’d be a shame if he thought you had abandoned him for a month.”

Mumbo made a choked sound as his hands wrung around his tie and his shoulders hunched. Cub sighed nervously and looked around. “...Still, this is an incredible amount of work for three weeks.” He tried to offer. 

“Bitterness is a great motivator!” NPC chirped. Mumbo’s confidence sank like a stone as NPC's words stung into him.

The castle they entered was...rickety. It wasn’t Grian’s normal style of building; this was sloppy and rushed. The walls were slightly crooked, and entire sections of the wall were made of concrete powder while others had been hardened. Mumbo would’ve liked to say it was a stylistic choice, but he had always been taught not to lie. He shared a worried glance with Cub. 

“We’re almost to the throne room!” NPC chirped, startling him. “Have you figured out what you’re gonna say to him?”

Cub glanced at Mumbo. “...I think you should do most of the talking.” He muttered. “I sincerely doubt he’ll listen to anything I have to say.” 

Mumbo winced slightly. “Cub, you were-”

NPC hummed. “For the best. But what makes you think Mumbo will be any better?” He interrupted. 

Mumbo glared at the motorized mannequin. He was really starting to dislike NPC Grian. The robot continued. “I mean, your loyalty to him was about as thin and soggy as a wet tissue!”

It turned to them. The sickening crunch of springs as it twisted its head 180-degrees was enough to make anyone cringe. “What makes you think he’ll even want to speak to someone like you?” NPC questioned, his painted smile feeling more like a mockery than a comfort. 

“I thought I told you to keep your creepy opinions to yourself.” Cub snarled. 

It laughed. “You didn’t tell me anything other than to bring you to the castle. That’s what I’m doing, isn’t it?” 

“Well, I’m telling you now. Can it.” The bearded man snarled.

“As you wish.” NPC hummed. “But I haven’t told you anything you haven’t thought of yourself, right?”

Cub opened his mouth to fire back at it, but the words seemed to die in his throat. In the end, he only huffed, his coal eyes glaring forward. Mumbo wished he could have a similar resolve, but NPC’s words hit harder than he would’ve liked. They’d only been with this manipulative, wooden doll for a few hours. How the hell had Grian managed to endure it for three weeks?! He wasn’t sure he would like the answer. 

They soon approached a large wooden door. The detail work was half-hearted in some areas and expertly detailed in others. A recurring theme in the tiny, empty town it seemed. NPC paused in front of it, swiveling his body to look at them.

“Here it is, the throne room!” He exclaimed. “Are you ready?”

“Maybe we should come up with a plan,” Mumbo said cautiously. “I mean, this is going to be difficult-”

NPC threw open the doors, not paying Mumbo’s wishes any attention. Mumbo sighed. He really, really didn’t like NPC Grian. The throne room was large, but despite the sloppy stained glass and the large supportive beams, the entire room felt empty and hollow. Grian was nowhere to be found. Mumbo felt Cub tense beside him. Despite the steely look in his eyes, he could feel the hesitation and nervousness radiating off of Cub. 

NPC sighed. “Grian! Come out now, it’s rude to keep your guests waiting!” He scolded. 

Mumbo glared at him. How dare he? Grian could come out when he was ready to face them! He opened his mouth to say as such, but the creak of a floorboard sent his thoughts to the space near the throne. A figure stepped out from behind the grand chair, his shoulders hunched and using every opportunity to make himself smaller. 

“Grian…?” Mumbo whispered as if he was unsure that this was really his friend. Grian replied with a harsh flinch.

The bright smile that always reminded Mumbo of a warm, sunny day was nowhere to be found. It was replaced by a nervous and thin line that seemed incapable of doing anything other than betraying Grian’s own nerves. The familiar red sweater was gone, and in its place was a dull grey crew neck tee shirt that had seen better days. The collar was mangled. Constant chewing and tugging that had left it crumpled and shapeless. Finally, there was his hair. Grian’s hair had always been a mess. It was filled with wheat-colored locks that seemed to choose a new direction to spring towards every day. Those locks had become greasy and had grown much longer now, messily falling towards his shoulders and clinging stubbornly to his forehead. He had never looked so broken before. 

Mumbo looked at the shell of his friend, resisting every urge to run over to him and embrace him. To hold him close and whisper every apology he could muster, even though he knew they would never come close to making up for what he did. Grian hesitantly walked forward, gripping himself tightly as he watched Mumbo and Cub with a wounded expression. They stood in silence for a few seconds, Mumbo looking deep into his friend’s pained eyes.

“Well? Say something.” The shell of his old friend begged with a voice akin to sandpaper. 

“Grian…” Mumbo whispered, his throat suddenly becoming dry. “I-I...I’m so, so sorry.” He whispered. 

Grian flinched as if he had been stung. “That’s it? You came all this way to apologize?” He hissed. NPC’s smile felt all the crueler behind him. 

“N-no!” Mumbo replied quickly, too quickly. “No, I-I mean, yes, but no. I mean-!” He fumbled over his words. His tongue felt like it was led. He took a deep breath and tried again.

“That isn’t just why we’re here.” Mumbo settled on. “We found the griefer.”

“...Who?” His voice was quiet. 

“Does it really matter?” NPC hissed from behind. “They still betrayed you.”

Mumbo really, really, really hated NPC Grian. 

“Of course it matters,” Cub muttered. Grian’s gaze turned to him, and suddenly the cold and broken look in his eyes was replaced with rage. 

“Why the hell is he here?” Grian snarled. “Are you here to accuse me of something else?” He hissed. 

Cub didn’t reply, keeping his gaze locked firmly into the ground. “I wouldn’t put it past him.” NPC hummed helpfully. 

“Grian, the griefer wasn’t any of us,” Mumbo said, stepping in.

“What do you mean?”

 “It...It’s a little hard to explain.” 

“Try harder then,” Grian replied icily. 

Mumbo winced and took a deep breath, doing his best to recall the events of the past few days to Grian. The task felt far more difficult than it had been. Every vowel felt like stepping over a landmine. Watching Grian’s face flicker with buried emotions felt like a stab to the gut every time. NPC watched with unreadable eyes. 

“That’s where we are now.” Mumbo finished awkwardly. Grian’s face was a tangled web of emotions as he stared at the ground.

NPC hummed. “So. This ‘Evil Xisuma’ wanted to see if your little family would fall apart and betray each other, hm?” He said.

“Yes, I think that’s right,” Mumbo replied hesitantly. He didn’t like where this was headed. 

“Well, I’d say he succeeded.” The mannequin replied. “I mean, that’s exactly what happened, isn’t it?” 

“We were tricked,” Cub muttered guiltily. “And we lashed out because of it. We didn’t fall apart, someone cut the seams while we were distracted.”

“It must have been some pretty weak seams. How long did it take you to turn your back on Grian, again?” 

Cub recoiled slightly. “I-I…” The words died on his tongue. He gripped the small of his arms and looked at the floor.

“Grian, I’m sorry. We’re sorry.” Mumbo whispered, hesitantly extending his hand. “Please, let us make it right.” 

Grian stared at the offered hand before suddenly narrowing his eyes. “You really think it’ll be that easy?” He muttered, glaring at the hand.

“I certainly would like it to be,” Mumbo replied half-jokingly. The look in Grian’s eyes made him regret the words almost instantaneously. 

“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?” Grian muttered. “I mean, it was only the worst experience of my life.”

Mumbo cringed. “Grian-” 

“No. I’m talking.” The man interrupted, slapping his hand away. “I-I was abandoned, Mumbo. Everyone turned on me, they left me to drown! You left me to drown!”

Mumbo was mortified to see tears forming in Grian’s eyes. “I-I didn’t-!” He tried but cowered away as Grian shouted over him. 

“You said that all you needed was my word! And I believed you! You convinced me that I was going to be okay, t-that I was still loved! T-That as long as we had each other, we could handle whatever they threw at us! A-AND YOU LEFT ME!” Grian screamed, tears running down his face. “I-I don’t want your stupid box! I don’t want your pity! I-I never want to feel the way I felt in that god damned courtroom ever again!”

“G-Grian…” Mumbo felt like he had been shot. Everything Grian said was true, and that’s what hurt the most. He had abandoned Grian. 

"You want to make it right!? THEN LEAVE ME ALONE!" Grian screamed, his voice rattling off of the cold empty walls. His voice died into loud and ugly sobs.

Mumbo wanted to say something, anything to calm his friend- but he had never seen Grian cry like this. He'd never seen anyone cry like this, and the fact that he was the cause felt like a noose around his neck.

"Well! I think that's quite enough." NPC chirped happily.

Cub seemed to lurch from his own stupor. "W-Wait, at least let us-!" He tried, but NPC's grip on their shoulders was rigid and painful. Mumbo didn't seem to even notice he was being dragged away, staring at Grian with a slack jaw and tears in his eyes.

"I think you two have done quite enough, wouldn't you say?" It smiled, and suddenly the two felt themselves being teleported away. The ground finally materialized underneath them as they reappeared in the middle of the clearing they had appeared in.

Cub grunted as they were slung to the grassy floor. NPC's painted smile glared down at them.

"Thank you for your visit, but please- don't come back," NPC said coldly before disappearing with a whoosh.

"Wait-!" Cub tried, but it was already gone. He cursed under his breath and pushed himself up. "Mumbo, come on! Whether he wants to see us or not, we have to get rid of that mark! Mumbo, are you even-?!" Cub snapped, turning around and faltering at the sight.

Mumbo was on his knees, hunched over and gripping the grass under his fingers. Tears were racing down his face and rolling to the green carpet below him.

Cub blinked and lowered his voice. "Mumbo?"

"Y-You heard him." Mumbo croaked. "We ruined his life. He never wants to see me again."

The bearded man eyed Mumbo for a second. "So what? You're just giving up?" He asked. 

Mumbo turned to glare at him. "What do you want me to do?! He hates us!"

"Yeah, because we were awful to him! We've been over this in painstaking detail!" Cub growled. "He has every fucking right to hate us! But we have to do this for him!"

"He doesn't want us to, Cub!" Mumbo snapped. "He would rather sit in this empty kingdom with that armor-stand freak than look at us! At me! A-And I-I pushed him to this point!" He took a shuddering breath. "I-I abandoned him, Cub. After I promised that I would look after him, that I would protect him! I'm a horrible friend, and selfish to think I could redeem myself in his eyes!" 

"No, you aren't selfish for wanting to save him, but you know what does make you selfish?! Sitting here in the fucking grass instead of getting up and trying again!" Cub snarled.

"I'm sure you'd know all about selfishness, huh?!" Mumbo shouted, shooting up from his spot and using every in of his height to tower over Cub.

The bearded man glared at Mumbo. "Yeah. I do. I know all about what a prick I am. I don't need that condescending piece of scrap wood to call me a monster, I can say that to myself."

Mumbo's eyes softened slightly as he backed off. "Cub, I'm sorry-" he started but was quickly interrupted.

"But you know what I do to make it better? I don't give up on trying to fix it." Cub snapped. "If Grian wants us gone, fine, but I'm not going to let him self-destruct because of my stupid choices."

"But Grian hates us now!" Mumbo cried.

"And he might never stop hating us. But you know what I say? Too bad. He's still our family, and I'll be damned if I let him stay here with that lunatic." Cub replied, turning towards the castle. "We're getting rid of that mark one way or another."

"Even if he doesn't want us to?"

Cub turned to face Mumbo. "Do you honestly think Grian wants to be alone in a castle for the rest of his life? With that thing breathing down his neck?"

Mumbo winced, wringing his hands around his tie. "N-No. I can't imagine anyone would." He admitted. 

Cub took a deep breath and placed a hand on Mumbo's arm. "Grian is hurt and angry, and that thing isn't making anything better. But we owe it to him to fix this. We can sulk about it later, but right now, he needs us. And I don't know about you, but I don't feel like abandoning him twice."

Mumbo bit his lip, staring at the castle as the moon began to stretch over it. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. 

"Okay." He whispered, determination building within him. "Let's do this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grian rubbed his forehead tiredly as he stared at the mug of tea NPC had set down. His mind was a mess of thoughts. He had said everything he wanted to say to them. He had spat out every bit of venom that he could muster before bursting into tears. He had told Cub off like he had wanted to.

So why did he feel so empty?

"I can't believe they thought they could just fix everything," NPC muttered. 

Grian didn't reply, staring out of the large window that sat behind the couch. The flames of the fireplace danced off of the glass. He stared at them dully. He didn't know why he lashed out. He hadn't meant to.

"I mean, the nerve." NPC bristled. He had been going like this for a while, and Grian knew he was hoping to garner some kind of response. An angry outburst? More tears? Grian didn't know, and he didn't care. All he could think about was the horrified look on Mumbo's face when Grian screamed at him.

Good. He deserves it. He thought bitterly. Mumbo broke his heart. Why shouldn't Grian return the favor? He stared down at the mug in his hands, his reflection looking back at him.

"...Why do I feel this way?" Grian mumbled.

"Hmm?" NPC chirped. "Anger is only natural after what happened."

"But I'm not angry." He admitted. "I'm a lot of things- bitter, upset, unhappy… but I'm not angry."

NPC eyed him as if he were scanning Grian. "They messed with your head. You aren't thinking straight." He replied in a calm voice. "You should just relax."

"I'm thinking fine, NPC." Grian snapped. "I'd be even better if you stopped telling me that what I'm feeling is wrong in some way." 

NPC narrowed his gaze. "Are you going to lash out at me too?"

Grian glared at him but didn't reply. He turned back towards the window. "...I shouldn't have yelled at them." He whispered.

"What? They were awful to you!" NPC replied in shock. Something in his voice seemed...off. Grian couldn't place an emotion with it, but it felt very cold.

"Yeah, but they were trying to apologize," Grian replied. "They hurt me, but they wanted to make it better."

"So what, they could just hurt you again?" NPC scoffed. "Don't be sentimental. They hurt you, remember?" 

"Well, so did you, but here we are," Grian replied. "You hurt me a lot."

NPC's eyes flickered with something dark. "Did I? Strange. I can't seem to remember. All I can remember is the dark closet you trapped me in."

Grian winced. "...Regardless, I-I think I should try to talk to them again." He said, moving to get up. "They want to make amends. I should at least hear them out."

NPC quickly moved in front of him. "They've already left, Grian." He replied quickly.

Grian stepped back slightly, studying the robot in front of him. "...No, they haven't. I would've seen the message." NPC's eye twitched, something dark swimming in those red eyes of his. 

"Why are you lying to me?" Grian asked cautiously. "I thought you wanted what was best for me."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again, Grian," NPC replied, but it felt forced. It was a lie and Grian knew it. 

"I can handle myself, now move out of the way," Grian said, pushing past the robot. "I'm going to see my friends."

The warm atmosphere had turned icy as the robot stared at him with that painted on smile. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He said as Grian’s hand wrapped around the door handle. 

Grian turned to him, eyes wide. “Did you just...threaten me?” He whispered. 

NPC shook his head. “No, I would never threaten a friend!” Liar. “I’m simply offering advice.” He chirped. 

“Advice?” Grian parroted. “What exactly would you know? You aren’t exactly being a good friend!”

NPC tilted his head. “Really? What makes you so sure, Grian? And besides, what makes them any better?”

Grian froze. The door handle felt colder than it had before. “It was a misunderstanding. That’s what they said, remember?”

NPC chuckled. An honest to god chuckle. “A misunderstanding? Don’t be so naive, Grian! A misunderstanding doesn’t involve a punch to the face and that mark on your hand. A misunderstanding doesn’t make the admin drag you out by the hair to be banned forever.” 

His words stung as they cut deeper into the wound that Grian had tried to forget was there.  Grian turned around, glaring at the robot. “Maybe if you would let me hear them out again-!"

“And what? Listen to a bunch of excuses?” NPC interrupted. “Forgive me Grian, I was under the impression you hated wasting time. What exactly would they say? We’re so sorry for ruining your life!”

Grian’s heart stopped as NPC spoke in Mumbo’s voice. “I thought we said no voice emulation.” He whispered. 

NPC ignored him. “ We’re sorry for treating you like a criminal with no evidence! We’re sorry for turning our backs on you in an instant! It was just so easy to blame you!” 

“Stop it!” Grian shouted, clamping his hands over his ears. “A-And you’re one to talk! You’ve made it your sole purpose to make my life hell!”

NPC tilted his head. “Have I?” He asked in a tone that was too sweet, like icing trying to hide a poor cake. “That’s funny, I was under the impression that you had built me.”

“What are you on about?” Grian snapped. 

“Well, if you were the one that built me, then you were the one that gave me that purpose, right?” He replied. His voice was calm, and yet Grian could help but feel the frost covering his words. 

“I-I never told you to do that! You were just supposed to help me with building and be my friend! You’re the one that flew off the handle!” Grian shouted. 

“How so?” NPC replied. “I was simply following my directive, what you taught me.”

“Stop acting so high and mighty! Like I-I wanted you to treat me horribly!” Grian snapped.

NPC’s painted smile beamed at him. “But didn’t you?” He chirped. 

“W-What are you talking about?! Y-You trapped me here f-for years! Why would I want that?!” What the hell was going on?! He could feel NPC’s words sticking to him, but he didn’t understand why. He never wanted NPC to act like this, he never wanted NPC to scream and hurt him. He never wanted to sit at the corner of his room, gripping the sword and a wound on his shoulder while NPC pounded on the closet door. 

He grunted as the whiplash of buried memories began resurfacing. “Y-You trapped me here! You wouldn’t let me leave!” He said, clenching his fists.

NPC chuckled. “Oh, don’t be silly, Grian! You trapped yourself!”

Grian blinked, disgust and horror filling him at NPC’s words. “How…! How dare you!” He shouted.

NPC only laughed again, cruel and cold. “That’s the only explanation. I mean, if you wanted to leave so badly, why didn't you destroy me?” 

Grian felt disgusted at his words. “Are you kidding m-me?! I-I didn't know how-!” He shouted. 

The robot tsked at him. “You're lying~!”  He sang. 

“I-I’m not lying!” Grian cried. “You kept coming back!”

The robot, no, the demon just laughed at him. “ You kept rebuilding my body. You never had to keep me in your closet, and you did!”

Grian could feel his defenses getting weaker. The anger and disgust were quickly morphing into doubt. “I-I had to keep an eye on you.” He tried to defend himself. 

NPC’s painted on smile continued to mock him. “You could've muted me. But you didn't. You let me talk down to you, you let me hurt you.”

His words were choking him, wrapping around his limbs and heart, and making him wish for the ground to swallow him. He felt small and even though he knew NPC’s tricks and his constant barrage of horrible words, he couldn’t help but feel the words stick to him. He hugged himself tightly. “S-Stop.” He whimpered.

His request went unheard. “Why did you never stop me, Grian?” NPC asked, feigning curiosity and innocence. “Is it because you wanted someone to yell at? Someone to trap? Because you wanted to be in control?”

Grian’s hands wouldn’t stop trembling. There was a sharp and horrible pain burning in his throat. “Stop!” He cried, turning away from the monster he created. 

NPC suddenly grabbed his shoulder, digging the wooden fingers deep into the skin. “Or maybe you need an excuse to be pathetic.” The beast snarled in his ear. Grian let out a cry but made no move to fight back. " NPC makes me build these houses! NPC limits my creativity! I have to build the same thing over and over because NPC forced me to!" The robot mocked. “Not at all because you lack any original thought, or because your talents are mediocre at best.”

Grian could feel tears racing down his face as his entire body trembled. “S-Stop it…!” The hand softened, no longer digging into his shoulder. It would be comforting if it weren’t the bruises starting to form. 

“Or maybe it's because deep down, you know you deserve to be here.” It whispers gently to him. “You deserve to be trapped here. You aren't good enough to survive out there, just look at yourself. You made yourself the king of nothing. Because you know that's all you're worth, Grian.”

Grian looks at the door. He remembers how desperate Mumbo looked. How he reached out his hand and begged for his forgiveness. He remembers the relief and shame in Cub’s eyes when they had locked gazes with each other. 

“T-They… they came back for me.” He whispers, hesitant, and trembling fingers grazing against the door handle.

The robot only sighed and hugged him gently. “Oh, Grian, they only came back out of obligation.”

His hand trembled. He had nothing to say to the robot in retaliation. He was being so sweet now as if the bruises in his shoulder didn’t exist and the conversation they had just had didn’t happen. 

“Let go of the door handle, Grian. You deserve to be here.” NPC’s voice reminded him gently. 

His hand slowly fell from the door handle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cub and Mumbo raced up the rickety stairs. As beautiful as Grian’s architecture was, it didn’t feel nearly as stable as it usually was. He felt as nervous as he had been when he was standing on Grian’s build-off house.  Exhaustion and frustration had caused Grian to take more than a few liberties with the safety of the whole thing, and it looked like this castle was no different. 

“Come on, I think the throne room was this way!” Cub shouted as they raced towards the large oak doors that they had once stood in front of. Mumbo stared up at them and sighed.

“Should we come up with a game plan?” He asked, stopping in front of them. 

Cub regarded them with a shrug. “I think we’ve done all the damage we can do.”

Mumbo winced, his hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I suppose you’re right.” He muttered. 

Cub smiled gently. “Remember, he’s our family-”

“And families don’t give up on each other,” Mumbo replied firmly. He took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.” 

They pushed open the door, and the throne room greeted them once again. However this time, it was cold and dark. A few of the large chandeliers had completely gone out, casting the room in dark shadows. There was a figure hunched on the throne, but it looked more like a corpse than anything else. Mumbo squinted at it and realized that it wasn’t the robotic counterpart.

“Grian?!” Mumbo cried, his feet moving faster. 

Grian didn’t move, still slumped over the throne like a rag doll as he stared at the floor with glazed eyes. Mumbo froze slightly. He had only ever seen Grian like this a few times before, and Grian tried to avoid the topic when it came up. It was a nasty depressive episode that took a few days for Grian to recover from, but even then he was at least semi-responsive. Now, he truly looked like a corpse.  

Mumbo walked to the throne, reaching his hand out. “Gri…?” He whispered gently, taking the same tone he had taken back then. 

Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his hand as something teleported in front of him and slapped his hand away. He hissed and stepped back, NPC glaring his eyes down at him and greeting him with that cold painted smile. 

“What do you think you’re doing?! I told you to leave!” NPC hissed at them. Mumbo cried out and stumbled back to where Cub was standing with his sword drawn. NPC seemed...different. More unhinged. 

“Hate to disappoint you, but Grian could’ve told you that we’re bad at following directions.” Cub snarled at it. Mumbo looked at Grian for any sign of life but was disappointed to find nothing. 

NPC growled, low and animalistic. “Haven’t you two done enough to ruin things?!” It snapped. It didn’t seem to be talking about Grian though, with the way its eyes flashed. 

“We aren’t leaving Grian behind,” Mumbo replied. “I know he’s angry, and he has every reason to be, but… He’s our family. We aren’t going to leave him behind in this world. Not again.” He said, his voice becoming braver by the second. He looked back at the limp being on the throne, who had finally turned his head to face them. They locked eyes, cold and lifeless grey eyes meeting determined charcoal. Mumbo gave him a brave smile.

The robot twitched. “What would you know about family?!” It snarled. That painted smile felt all the more mocking. 

“Enough to see that Grian isn’t happy here, you psycho.” Cub replied. “You’re keeping him trapped here!” 

It laughed, no, cackled was a more accurate term. “Oh, I’m not doing anything! He wants to be here! Because he knows he deserves to be trapped here!” NPC shouted, turning to the body on the throne and watching in glee as it shrank under his gaze. 

“Don’t talk to him like that!” Mumbo cried out. “If he feels that way, it’s your fault for manipulating him!”

“And you-!” NPC snarled, spinning its head around in that sickening way he loved to do. “You two have interrupted everything! And I’ve tried to be patient, to let you three self destruct on each other, but I’m getting really, really, angry. ” It snapped, its voice dropping several octaves as its red eyes twitched. 

“So, I’ll say it one more time; Leave, and don’t come back.” It hissed. “Or I might just go i-insane!” 

Cub’s grip became tighter on the sword as he glared at the monster before them. “No.” He growled.

“I’m not leaving him,” Mumbo said, unsheathing his own sword. “Not again.”

The robot twitched. “Fine.” Its voice was clipped, and rigid. “I warned you.” 

The robot suddenly twitched, its eyes blazing red as a black oil-like substance began pouring from his eyes. Its face began splintering, a horrible Cheshire grin splitting into the wood as it began laughing maniacally. Mumbo and Cub began to step back as dark and slimy tendrils began crawling out of the cracks and orifices of its body.

Mumbo gagged slightly. “Oh my god, what the hell is that?!” He gagged. 

“The real monster hiding inside that thing,” Cub answered in a voice that sure must’ve been braver than either of them felt as the thing spread out to every corner of the room. Pieces of NPC’s mannequin form clung to the tendrils, while large pieces of intricate machinery clung around vital parts of it like armor. Mumbo couldn’t see Grian anymore, only the horrible, sticky, slimy, mechanical monstrosity that awaited him. 

“W-What are you?” Mumbo shouted. 

The mockery of Grian’s face that sat above the monster grinned down at them. “I’m Grian’s best friend!” It cackled madly. “HIs best and ONLY FRIEND!”

A large tendril raced out and gripped Mumbo by the leg, flinging him into the back wall. He cried out in pain as his back slammed into the wall, knocking any and all air out of him. He coughed roughly, forcing himself to his feet. Thank god the command block is indestructible. Mumbo thought to himself as he pulled himself up, grabbing the sword that fell beside him. 

Cub dodged one of the tendrils that swatted down at him, crushing the floorboards in its wake. He panted, looking up at the monster. “Mumbo, get back over here!” Cub shouted. 

“W-What are we gonna do?!” Mumbo cried, narrowly dodging another flailing tendril, by flinging his tall and lanky body to the floor. 

Cub rolled underneath under attack, slashing at it as he popped back up. The tendril fell to the ground as the creature shrieked, but it didn’t seem too upset about the loss of a limb, attacking with another soon after. “W-We need to go after the mechanical bits! It’s protecting itself!”

“How?!” Mumbo shrieked as one of the tendrils came right for him. In a blind panic, he ducked behind one of the large and ornate pillars that decorated the room. The mechanical monstrosity slammed the appendage into it. The pillar groaned loudly before it fell, crashing onto the beast.

The mechanical monstrosity screamed in anger and pain as pieces of its armor fell away, revealing a lighter shade of slimy flesh. Cub’s eyes widened as he saw it, sprinting over and jamming his sword into the weak point. The beast screamed and began to thrash in pain, punching out walls and stained glass. 

Mumbo grinned at the small victory, but the grin faded when he heard a loud groan in the roof. “Uh, Cub?”

Cub grunted as he slid across the ground. “Kind of busy here, Mumbo! Keep doing exactly what you just did!”

“But it’s gonna bring the whole place down!” Mumbo shouted, squeaking as he saw another tendril aimed for him. 

Cub grinned, leaping up to cut another tendril off. “That’s what I’m counting on!”  

They continued with the battle, Mumbo weaving in and out of pillars in an attempt to goad NPC into knocking one of them down. With every pillar that was knocked down, NPC would trash and cause even more damage to itself while Cub ran to hack and slash at the weak points. Mumbo would scream in horror if Cub got hit, Xisuma’s warning about respawning weighing heavily on each of their minds, but they had to keep going. This thing, this monster, it would never let Grian go. 

Grian!

In the chaos in the panic, Mumbo had completely lost sight of Grian. Where was he?! Was he okay? Was he-

Mumbo cried out as he was thrown against the back wall, the room shaking. “Mumbo!” Cub shouted. Mumbo paid him little attention, forcing himself to stand. He was low on health and Xisuma’s words about respawning echoed in his head like an unhelpful parrot. He looked at the rubbled remains of the throne room, his head spinning. Where was Grian?

“Y-Y-YOU WON’T HAVE HIM! H-HE’S MINE! MINE! MINE!” NPC shouted, enunciating every word with another slam of tendrils. Cub watched into horror as a large crack began to form around the mechanical monstrosity. The monster didn’t even seem to notice the way the room began to shift and groan under its weight. Suddenly, there was a large splintering crack as the floor began to completely cave in. 

NPC panicked, trying to latch onto something, anything to hold itself up. He grasped at the pillars, but all they did was rip from their pedestals and drag him down further. NPC screamed with a voice that was distorted and horrifying as it fell through the floors of the castle and into the darkness below. 

The building lurched, creaking and groaning as what little support it did have had been completely wiped out. Cub sheathed his sword and ran over to Mumbo, but a large tremor stopped him and made him fling himself to the wall for safety. 

“Mumbo!” He called, but Mumbo didn’t pay him any attention as he cried out Grian’s name. Grian, where is Grian?! Did he fall with that- that thing?! Mumbo thought helplessly. 

“Mumbo, we have to go!” Cub shouted, gripping the wall for support as the world rumbled underneath them. “NPC is going to take us down with him!”

Mumbo paid him little attention as he scanned the room. There! He was near the far corner of the room, gripping onto the throne for dear life as the ground around him crumbled away. Mumbo ran to the edge, despite Cub’s shriek of protest. 

“Grian!” Mumbo shouted, making the blonde look up in fear. “Jump! I’ll catch you!” 

Grian made a move, but hesitated, gripping the throne as tears raced down his face. “Y-You let me drop before!” He shouted back, his voice painted with fear.

Mumbo winced but kept his arms outstretched. “I-I know. Believe me, it was the biggest spoon moment of my life!” He shouted back. “But I promise you Grian, I will catch you! And I will never, ever let you go again! You’re my best friend!”

Grian bit his lip. “H-How do I know that when I go back, it’ll be any different?! What if nothing changes?!”

Mumbo sighed. “You can’t know. I can’t promise that it won’t hurt, or that you’ll never be betrayed again. But I can promise that whatever happens, we’ll face it together!”

The building lurched again, causing Mumbo to stumble, but not fall. Grian let out a shriek of terror as more of the floor around him fell. “Grian!” Mumbo shouted, getting the man to look at him. Mumbo smiled. “Trust me!”

Grian blinked away the tears before taking a deep breath. “O-Okay, I-I trust you!” He cried, finally letting go of the throne and taking a deep breath. “Three, t-two-!” The ground shook again, but this time the throne came crashing with it and messing up the running start Grian had taken. He screamed as he fell below the floorboards-

Only to be caught by a terrified Mumbo. Cub was gripping him from behind, keeping the two anchored to the other side of the throne room. With a heave, the two pulled Grian up and over the floor. They fell backward into a pile, Grian landing in Mumbo’s arms. He let out a trembling sob as Mumbo’s long arms wrapped around him tightly.

“I-I’ve got you, Gri...I’ve got you.” Mumbo whispered in return. Cub panted, wiping the sweat off of his brow as he smiled at them.

“This is sweet,” He started, the smile fading as the building creaked and groaned. “But we’re gonna die if we stay here.” 

Mumbo nodded hoisting Grian to his feet. “A-are you okay?” He asked. 

“I-I’ll be okay, let’s just get out of here!” Grian cried, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Mumbo nodded and gripped his hand as they began to sprint down the sprawling wreckage of the castle. 

Entire chunks were missing from the castle, and any that remained barely had the support to hold them. Cub led them down the piles of wreckage, helping them jump over cracks and rubble as they fled down the stairs and dodged falling rafters and pieces of the roof. Finally, they made it to the marble entryway, the large and ornate entrance crumbling under itself, but open nonetheless. 

“Come on!” Cub shouted, dragging them towards the light. Mumbo gripped Grian’s hand tightly as they sprinted through the quickly crumbling door and into the bright morning light of the outside. They ran past the piles of rubble that had already fallen and into one of the streets of the empty town. 

“G-Grian, which house is the most stable?!” Cub asked frantically. 

“T-That one!” Grian quickly pointed at a blacksmith shop that had been made of concrete and stone. 

Cub nodded and pulled the group into it. The building was hollow, clearly meant for an outside aesthetic than anything substantial.  Cub shoved the two of them towards the farthest wall and ripped a decorative shield off the wall. “Duck and cover!” He shouted, tossing the shield to Mumbo. 

“W-What about you!?” Mumbo shouted. 

The ground shook, a violent tremor going through the earth as rubble began crashing over the town. “There’s no time!” Cub shouted, but he was quickly drowned out as the deafening sounds of a castle toppling overfilled the room. Dust and debris blocked any source of sunlight. Mumbo could feel Grian pressing himself into his chest. Trembling hands gripping at his tattered suit jacket and tears leaking into the fabric as he held the shield above them. The sounds of rubble crashing down were practically ear-splitting, and the tremors that ran through the earth would make anyone want to run and cry. 

Finally, it was over. 

The sounds had stopped, and the ringing in Mumbo’s ears slowly began fading. He took a shuddering breath and regretted it almost immediately as he inhaled a handful of dust. He coughed roughly into his shoulder, waiting for the burning to subside. 

A hand gripped his shoulder soothingly. “E-Easy, easy,” Grian whispered beside him. 

He finally regained composure, shoving the shield aside, along with a few rocks that had fallen on top of them. Part of the roof had caved in, but the remained relatively unscathed otherwise. Grian stood shakily before giving his hand to Mumbo and offering a small smile. 

Mumbo looked at the offered hand and grinned as he accepted it, pulling Grian into a tight hug. They separated as a loud groan pierced the air. 

“Cub!” Mumbo shouted, the two running over to the corner where a dazed Cub sat, nursing a wound on his head. “A-Are you okay?!” 

“M’fine, I’m fine,” Cub mumbled. “Just a head wound.” He sighed as blood trickled down his face from a nasty cut along his forehead. 

Mumbo and Grian cringed at the sight of it, but Cub waved away their concerns. “Are you two okay?” He interrupted. 

“My lungs and eyes are burning, but I think I’m okay. “ Mumbo replied shakily. He turned to Grian. “What about you?”

“I-I think I’m going to need a lot of therapy, but other than that, I think I’m fine,” Grian replied, laughing slightly. The other two smiled as Grian looked at them. “T-Thank you. F-For coming back for me.” He whispered. 

Mumbo beamed at him. “You’re a spoon if you think I’m letting you out of my sight ever again.” Grian gave an actual laugh at that. 

Cub looked a bit more guilty. “Grian, I-I’m so sorry-”

Grian shook his head. “You just fought an eldritch horror for me and led us down an actual collapsing castle. I-I forgive you, Cub.”

Cub blinked. “B-But I was the one who started this whole mess!”

The blonde shook his head, a weary smile on his face. “But you came back for me.” He put a hand onto Cub’s. “That’s all that matters. I forgive you, Cub.”

Cub looked surprised but sighed anyways. “Maybe one day I’ll forgive myself, then.” He smiled tiredly. “But for now, I think your forgiveness is enough. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

The three hoisted themselves up and out of the ruined blacksmith shop and into the ruins of the town. Grian let out a trembling sigh as he stood above the wreckage. “I-it’s over. I-It’s finally over.” He whispered. Mumbo put a hand on his shoulder, and Grian accepted it gratefully as they stared at the mangled wreck of the town. It was silent for a few moments.

Suddenly, there was a large shriek of metal. Mumbo immediately put himself in front of Grian, glaring at the rubble with a hatred he had never felt before. Cub's sword pointed at the wreckage of the castle, his large and calloused fingers flexing along with the leather grip as a steel gaze tore into the piles of rubble. Mumbo could feel Grian tense behind him, but it wasn't like before. It wasn't a flinch or a wince. He could feel Grian's fingers tighten against his sleeve, gripping the fabric with white knuckles as he glared at the rubble with a look of hesitant determination.

A hand shot from the rubble, gripping the twisted metal and forcing its host out of it. The wood was chipped and damaged, wires and bits of burned Redstone oozing from its crevices. 

"It's still alive?" Mumbo asked with a sort of horrified awe. What the hell is that thing?

"Get ready," Cub muttered in reply.

The bits of stone finally crumbled away as a voice tore through its prison with a roar. The hand finally produced a body, and Mumbo could help but step back at the sight. NPC Grian, or what was left of him, crawled out of the wreckage and locked eyes with the group as it panted and twitched. The circuits inside him sparked as that painted smile had smeared across his chipped and shattered face. 

"Y-You… " He snarled, his voice clipping and distorting as malice dripped from every syllable. " Y-You r-really think-?" Another wheeze as it tried to hoist itself up. " Y-y-you r-rea-really think they'll just-just take you back?!" 

The fingers on his sleeve tightened even more. He gently placed his hand over the tightly wound fists. "Don't listen to him, Grian," Mumbo muttered.

" Don't-! Don't b-be stupid!" NPC cackled. " T-They'll just turn-t-turn on you again… h-how long will it take? M-Months? Days? H-hours?" The robot wheezed as it wrenched its other hand out of the rubble with a cry. 

It chuckled lowly, the laughter overlapping the clicking of metal imitating joints. "H-How long b-before they-?"

"No." 

Mumbo and Cub turned to Grian, who glared at the mechanical monstrosity. The fingers slowly let go of Mumbo's sleeve and fell to his side. Grian took a shaky step forward.

NPC faltered. " N-No-?!"

Grian shook his head. "You're wrong. You always have been. Wrong about me, about my friends and my choices." He snarled out. 

" Oh-oh, a-am I?" It laughed, yanking itself further.

"Yes. You are." Grian snapped. "A-And I listened to you. I listened to every horrible thing you said because you left me with no strength to fight back. I-I didn't rebuild you because I-I thought that I deserved to be abused and manipulated, because I didn't! I rebuilt you because I-I kept thinking and hoping one day you would finally apologize. I-I thought I could change you."

Mumbo put a firm hand on his shoulder, smiling at him. Finally. Finally, that fire was starting to return.  Cub offered him a confident grin as he gave the sword to Grian. The sandy blonde took it with trembling hands and gulped as his resolve strengthened.

"You keep saying that I need you. But that isn't true is it?" Grian asked, stepping forward. The robot gurgled out a response, but it went unheard. "I never needed you. Leaving you was the best decision I've ever made. I-I made new friends, I grew my own talents, I became somebody, and you?" Grian laughed slightly, his steps becoming large and his footing more confident. "You never changed. I don't need you. You need me. "

NPC twitched and growled slowly. " Y-you made me like this-!"

Grian shook his head. "No. I didn't. You chose to become this way." He raised the sword above NPC's head. "You made your choice. Now live with it." The sword came down quickly, NPC flinching and preparing itself for the end as the tip plunged downwards-

And buried itself into the singed wood of the ruined castle.

NPC stared at the blade, the only sound coming from him being the buzzes of broken circuitry. Cub blinked. Grian glared down at the robot.

"Y-You're...you're sparing me…?" The robot buzzed, malice replaced with shock.

"Regardless of how much I hate what you put me through, I can't kill you," Grian muttered. "I won't kill you." His gaze hardened. "I hope you get a life, NPC Grian, and stay the hell away from mine." 

He turned from the robot, towards the two other hermits. Grian wiped his face with the back of his hands. "C-Can we please go home now?"

Cub blinked in confusion, but Mumbo only smiled gently. "Of course." The mustached man replied, offering his hand. 

Grian looked at it before a small, hesitant smile broke across his face as he placed his hand into Mumbo's. 

The walk back to spawn was slow as they passed through the empty town. Cub's face was twisted with confusion as they walked down the empty path. Grian stayed close to Mumbo, steaking a glance at Cub every now and then. Mumbo looked up from the command block interface. He saw Cub's expression and frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked cautiously.

Cub bit his lip. "I'm just...confused." He admitted.

"About?" 

The bearded man regarded Grian with caution and confusion. "...why did you spare him? He hurt you for years, he made you suffer and hate yourself, he took everything from you! Why did you spare him?!” There was an unspoken question, Grian could see it in his and Mumbo’s faces. 

Why did you spare us?

Grian shrugged as he kicked a pebble now the path. “...I don’t know.” He answered honestly. He had every reason to kill that robot and the scars to show for it. “It isn’t because I forgive him for what he did, because I don’t. Not yet.”

“Then why spare him?” Cub repeated. 

Grian looked back at the rubble, at the empty world he was going to leave behind. “I think...I think deep down, I still want him to change. I don’t want Evil Xisuma to be right about people, that we’re all just horrible people deep down inside. I don’t want that to be true.” He looked back at the duo. “Even though he hurt me, I still think NPC can change. But I’m certainly not the one who’s going to do it.” He sighed. “I’m simply giving him the chance. I wish him the best, but I hope he stays the hell away from me.”

Cub bit his lip before nodding. “I think I understand.” He finally replied. 

They reached the grassy clearing that Cub and Mumbo had first spawned in and pulled out the tiny command block. They each placed their hands on it. Mumbo looked at the ruined town.

“Any last words?” He asked Grian. 

Grian bit his lip, humming slightly. “...I never want to build a rustic house again.” He decided. 

“I never want to see a rustic house again,” Mumbo muttered. 

“Glad we’re all in agreement.” Cub sighed tiredly. “Now let’s get the hell out of here. Ready?” He asked as the thing whirled to life. “Three…”

“Two…” Mumbo said, smiling brightly at Grian. 

Grian smiled back, and for the first time in a long time, he felt content. “One.” He said, slamming his hand on the button.

And with a flash, they were gone.