Chapter Text
Looking up at the almighty goat Doc frowns slightly as he gets an unexpected message from Mumbo. Looking down at his communicator, he flicks his stubby tail as he reads the message, “Hey, Doc can we meet up to talk about the meteor,” he muses out loud to himself considering the message as he replies asking to meet in the shopping district.
Mumbo agrees to this and Doc heads over to the meteor’s island to grab some of his notes. As he lands outside of town hall Mumbo walks over and they head over to a meeting room within the hall to discuss the meteor.
“You wanted to talk,” Doc starts as he leans forward and arranges his papers.
“Yes, you guys said that the meteor never actually affected me? I don’t know what that means? I’m probably just being a spoon,” He admits, “When the meteor actually affects me what’s going to happen, is it going to do something completely different or is it going to build off the Redstone thing?”
Doc raises an eyebrow, “Now that’s an interesting question. When the meteor shard hit you it didn’t have much information about you so it wouldn’t be able to fully affect you. You became powered by redstone if it had hit Grian he probably would have gained his Head feathers and his legs probably would have changed. So it will probably build off of the already existing redstone thing.”
Mumbo nods, “That makes a lot more sense. So I’ll get more like a redstone machine when it ’officially‘ affects me?”
“Yes, I’m not sure how,” Doc hisses, happy that Mumbo was interested in what was happening, “Do you have more questions?”
“Um, Yes. So, you said that the meteor has information about us? How does that work?”
“That we got from the Vex legend, the hero had a friend who learned how to read people’s minds. It would only work when he was in contact with the other person. After the hero snapped after the vex curse he took his friends' magic. He’s been using it as he affects us, he learns more about us and affects us accordingly.”
Mumbo slumps down in his seat blinking rapidly, “Oh, gosh, that’s horrifying.”
Doc nods in agreement, “When he was turned into the rock he lost most of that ability and he can’t go deep into people's minds.”
“That’s good, Mumbo mutters as Doc flips a book open, “Can it affect other words? It followed us to this one.”
“It’s following the most potent source of Vex magic it can and Cub and Scar are the only people who have managed to communicate with them in hundreds of years.”
Mumbo nods slowly then grins, “Is that why it makes The sensors go crazy when Scar is there? It can sense the Vex magic and wants to attack it?”
Doc inhales sharply, “That’s probably it, I never thought of that but it would make sense.”
“Oh,” Mumbo mutters as he folds his hands together.
Doc grins, “Thanks, do you have any more questions?”
”How does it choose what happens?”
“Well, take Scar, he's a member of the ConVex. The meteor recognized this and made him all Vex like. For Grian, we all consider him the best flyer of the server the meteor picked up on this and now he’s a bird. With Beef it was playing off his name.”
“Ohhh, that’s what happens,” Mumbo nods as he rubs at some redstone residue that was left on his hand.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“Ok, let me know if you have any more questions,” With that Doc collects his things and sweeps out of the room.
Mumbo looks over at the door then follows him outside, he steps through the nether portal and flys over to his industrial district.
………..
As Mumbo lands in his industrial district after flying through the opening in the storage room, he sets down his communicator on a table as he prepares to make a new farm. It’s a fairly hot day so he takes his suit jacket off and places it carefully on top of the device.
He gathers a few Shulkers worth of redstone supplies and gets started on a nether tree farm. As the hours slowly drag on the contraption starts to come together. Looking skeptically at the design Mumbo carefully adds some last remaining pistons that he hadn’t placed in.
Up in the Storage area Mumbo’s com beeps, it’s a message from Grian and Iskall who are leaving for the championships. When Mumbo doesn’t reply they laugh it off as he’s probably working again. A few hours later his communicator beeps with an emergency alert. It’s from Doc and as expected it’s the meteor.
Mumbo doesn’t notice this as he’s working in a different area. It’s about an hour later when he decides to take a break and head up to the storage area. He takes a moment to wash the remains redstone dust off his hands and notices something that’s slightly off. His fingertips look almost like they're covered in iron. The blood drains from his face and he feels light-headed.
Confused he stumbles into the storage area and nearly makes it to the desk before he passes out.
A few days pass and no one has noticed any changes from the meteor so Doc makes an announcement.
DocM77: Can those who haven’t been affected meet me in the shopping district?
DocM77: I might have a way to see who’s affected
StressMonster: I’ll be right over
TinfoilChef: Give me a few minutes, I’ll be there
JoeHillTSD: I’ll come over.
Hypno: I’m coming
One by one the rest of the unaffected hermits respond saying they’ll meet up in the shopping district, except for Mumbo who hasn’t answered.
DocM77: Mumbo, we need you as well if you could come as well.
A few minutes pass
DocM77: Mumbo can you answer
By now everyone who is reading the chat is getting a bit concerned for the mustached man.
Tango Tek: He’s probably AFK at a farm
Xbcrafted: He normally still chats though
DocM77: Xisuma can you find his Communicator?
Xisuma: Give me a moment
Xisuma: it’s offline.
Joe Hills: That’s not good.
DocM77: Scar, are you at your base?
Good Times With Scar: Yeah
DocM77: can you go check his base?
Scar doesn’t answer for a few minutes. When he does it’s not good news.
Good Times With Scar: He’s not there, he might be at his villager area?
CubFan135: I sent a drone over, he’s not there.
Zombie Cleo: He’s got that industrial District he might be over there.
DocM77: Anyone know where that is?
Exy: It’s by Iskall’s.
Xisuma: I don’t think that’s particularly helpful.
Exy: Meh
DocM77: I’ll head south and start looking
Tango Tek: I can go west.
Xisuma: I’ll take East
Welsknight: I can take the north.
Doc takes a deep breath, before opening his elytra and taking off. He flys for about an hour and a half zigzagging and heading in a vaguely southern direction, before landing in a jungle and grabbing some cocoa beans to eat. His communicator buzzes with an alert from Wels, saying he found the industrial District. He gives the coordinates and a few moments later Xisuma teleports all of them to the base of the tower.
“Look around down here by his farms if he’s not down here we go up,” Xisuma instructs his tail flicking wildly.
……..
After a few minutes of searching around the outside of the Storage tower, everyone meets back at the entrance and heads up. The room is dark and there is broken glass littering the floors. Wels exhales releasing a small puff of smoke, he pulls a torch out and lights it.
The room has been torn apart. There are bits of redstone littering the floor and parts of the ceiling seem to be missing some iron bars.
“What could have done this?” Xisuma whispers to himself as he takes a careful step backward.
Doc creeps further into the room and looks around, he spots Mumbo laying on the ground and walks over gasping, “I think I know.”
Spreading his wings Wels steps closer, “What happened?”
“This can probably be explained by looking at him but, when you get affected by the meteor and it gives you new limbs it’s able to use pre-existing bone and muscle. To give wings, tails, and change how the structures are put together. In Mumbo’s case, he wasn't able to do that.”
By this point, Tango and Xisuma have come forward and are looking at the unconscious Mumbo. His jacket was on a nearby table and he had the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. His arms look strange almost like the skin was peeling from a bad sunburn but his skin isn’t burnt. Most of the skin by his fingers had completely flaked away. The lack of skin doesn’t reveal muscle or bone but cold metal and delicate wiring.
“Xisuma, can you teleport him down to the lake? We should try to wash the dead skin off without pulling it,” Doc implores as he carefully pokes one of his fingers.
Xisuma looks like he’s about to pass out but compiles and carefully teleports him next to the lake. Wels gathers Mumbo’s things and follows after. Tango sweeps most of the glass into a pile and heads out. Doc takes a moment to let the others know that they found him and to prepare an area in the shopping district for him.
As they get there Xisuma is struggling to unbutton Mumbo’s shirt and Wels is checking to see if the same has happened to his legs.
“Can anyone here do buttons?” Xisuma asks as he fails to get the button out of the hole.
“Not really,” Wels answers.
Doc shakes his head no.
“Eh, Kinda it’s a pain to do,” Tango responds, flicking his claws out.
“I’m going to cut his shirt off,” Xisuma decides, “We need to see how far the metal goes.”
Wels lets out a low growl, “It’s on his legs too”
Doc hisses, “Let me see his hand again?” He stares intently at the wires for a moment, “He’s got waterproof wires.”
Xisuma nods and finishes getting his shirt off, “It goes up to his shoulders.”
Wels and Tango deal with his pants. It takes a half-hour to get most of the dead skin off but when it’s done his arms and legs are mostly clean bright metal; save for a few stubborn bit’s that wouldn’t come off.
After thoroughly drying him off Xisuma teleports him to the shopping district. Leaving him with Beef and Bdubs for a moment as he teleports back and grabs the others.
They take him to a room in the town hall and set him in a bed. After Doc checks his arms and legs they set a redstone torch down.
When Mumbo wakes to find quite a few people staring directly at him he pulls his head back, “Did something happen?”
Tango falls face-first onto the floor, “You could say that.”
“You’re being affected, and I’m pretty sure it’s turning you into a robot,” Xisuma explains as he lifts up his arm to show him what happened. The iron glinting in the light.
Mumbo shutters at the sensation and his hands spasm slightly.
Doc holds out a stress ball, “Can you hold this?”
“Um sure,” Mumbo replies, as Doc sets the ball in his palm. He’s able to curl his hand gently around the ball for a moment before losing his grip and dropping it to the ground.
Seeing his frown Doc shoos everyone else out of the room, “You want to know something?”
“What?”
“I didn’t have that control over my cybernetics when I got my arm. It took me almost a week to be able to move my fingers at all.”
Mumbo nods his head in understanding then grins up at Doc, “So I’m doing something right?”
Doc nods, “Grian and Iskall should be back tomorrow.”