Chapter Text
It was a beautiful morning. The sun had just begun to rise as Bdubs flew into the Shopping District. He took a moment to admire the unique shops the Hermits had built that dotted the island. The Hermits had truly created this into something wonderful together - this was home.
Bdubs landed gracefully outside the Town Hall’s grand entrance and felt his heart beating just a little faster as he entered the spacious main room. Scar was sitting high up on his throne made of diamond blocks, Jellie curled up and sleeping comfortably in his lap.
“Good morning, Mayor Scar! You’re looking great this fine morning. Is that a new monocle I see?,” Bdubs greeted with a charming smile as he bowed slightly at the waist to show respect to his mayor. Scar cracked a small smile as he stood up, depositing Jellie who meowed to show her displeasure at this interruption of her nap onto the seat.
As Scar descended the ladder from his throne, Bdubs recalled how hard the past two weeks had been for the two of them. Right after he’d made sure Grian would not get in his way ever again, Bdubs had immediately gone to Scar with the recording of Grian confessing to forging Bdubs’s handwriting and planting the journal. He’d thought that would solve everything but Scar had still remained...cold and distant to him.
“Good morning, Bdubs. If you’ll follow me?,” Scar said before abruptly exiting the building. Bdubs quickly followed as they descended the staircase, passing by the trees whose leaves were dotted with teardrop-shaped diamonds before stopping outside the HMS GGG, a floating emporium that had been constructed by Grian. Before Scar even said anything, Bdubs could see why he had been summoned. The lush green grass surrounding the entrance of the barge had been replaced by mycelium.
Bdubs looked around for any other sign of mycelium growth and sure enough, the entire area surrounding the HMS GGG was dotted with the disgusting grey fungus. The first task Scar had undertaken when he’d been elected mayor was to transform the island by eradicating all the mycelium and replacing it with the much prettier grass. So, why was there mycelium spreading now?
Scar nervously clasped his hands together, his eyes scanning the mycelium with a look of disgust on his face. “I...I don’t know what’s happening. I was here just yesterday and this...mess wasn’t here but I came by this morning and the mycelium, how is it back? Why is it happening here?” Scar said as he gestured at the HMS GGG. He looked to Bdubs, his eyes desperately searching for answers in his face but Bdubs had none.
Bdubs tried to focus on the problem at hand but he couldn’t help his mind straying to a question that was beginning to annoy him. Why was Scar visiting the HMS GGG so often? When Grian failed to show up for the weekly Hermit meeting two weeks ago, Scar had enquired as to his whereabouts and Bdubs had hinted that maybe Grian was hiding or had decided to leave, plagued by his guilt. Bdubs couldn’t understand why Scar was still so fixated on Grian even though he now knew Grian was a horrible person who had schemed and manipulated for his own selfish desires.
Scar was looking up at the barge now, his well-featured face bathed in the warm glow from the sun that was shining high above them. Numerous scars lined his face, acting as a constant reminder of his clumsy nature and the hardships he’d been through. Bdubs took a moment to admire how handsome Scar was to him before clearing his throat and saying cheerfully “I’ll get to the bottom of this, Mayor Scar. Don’t you worry about a thing! I’ll also call HEP in to clear up this mess before anyone sees.”
“Thank you, Bdubs. I’ll leave it to you then,” Scar said, the faintest of smiles gracing his lips. He then murmured something about having to see to the construction of a new building in his base back in the jungles and after putting on his Elytra, shot off into the sky with the help of rockets.
Once Scar had disappeared amongst the clouds, Bdubs turned to walk back to the Town Hall. He needed a moment to think about everything that was going on and his quiet little nook under the stairs there was the perfect place for it. As he was climbing the steps, Bdubs suddenly heard someone calling him from behind and turned around to find Cub hurrying towards him.
Cub was dressed in his usual Pharaoh attire, befitting his home that he’d built in the desert biome to resemble The Great Pyramid of Giza. He looked a bit out of breath, his face dotted with sweat as if he’d just completed a 5 km marathon. “Hey, Bdubs! I was just wondering if you’d seen Grian anywhere or when the last time you saw him was?,” Cub asked as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his costume.
Bdubs’s eyes widened in surprise. As far as he knew, no one had a clue what had happened between Grian, Scar and himself so he really had no reason to be worried. His heart still beat just a little faster as he pictured Grian tied up in an underground cave he’d left him in. “Umm, no. I think the last time I saw him was maybe two to three weeks ago? Why?,” Bdubs asked.
Cub glanced around nervously to make sure no one was eavesdropping before answering “I’m not supposed to say ‘cause it might cause some panic so don’t go repeating this to any of the other Hermits but Mayor Scar said he thinks Grian’s gone missing and as the Enforcer, he wants me to find him.”
Bdubs immediately felt the anger rising inside him and had to remind himself mentally to not give anything away just because he was getting jealous. “That sounds awful. I hope he’s okay,” Bdubs forced a concerned frown onto his face. Cub seemed to buy his feigned concern and agreed profusely. “Anyway, I gotta go. Got some important stuff to do for the mayor too - all that mycelium’s back, you know? Let me know if you need my help finding Grian, yeah?”
Cub looked surprised at the mention of mycelium and bade Bdubs goodbye, wishing him luck. Bdubs thanked him with a warm smile before continuing his ascent up the stairs. He didn’t know what Scar was doing but it was no matter. Grian wasn’t in the picture anymore and Scar would just have to accept that sooner or later whether he liked it or not.
He just had to make sure no one ever found Grian.