Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wels was on his way home after a semi-successful transaction when he spotted it: a perfect circle of mushrooms growing at the base of a young oak tree.

What are those called again? Mumbo, Grian, and Scar had tried to teach him about those a few times, but he didn’t really care enough to listen. He had been fine walking into them so far, so what was the harm? He didn’t know much about them, but he did know that every time he stepped into one of the circles in the woods he had a good time, which was why he found himself strolling right into this new one.

The second his foot crossed the line of mushrooms, (One thing he did remember was to always step over the mushrooms, not on them) a completely different scene popped up around him. He was in a small alcove, beyond which was a courtyard ringed by intertwining trees, twisting together and blocking whatever was beyond from view. Up above was a canopy of leaves filled with tiny dots of light, a contrast against the open night sky. A sweet smell wafted from somewhere out of view, and Wels saw fairies everywhere. They danced in circles and ate strange looking food, constantly flitting from one group to another. One fairy in particular took notice of Wels and approached him carefully, a glint in her eyes that Wels couldn’t quite decipher.

“Oh my, what do we have here?” She scanned Wels’ appearance, quickly pulling her hand back and scowling after poking at his iron chestplate. “Are you a friend or a foe?” She looked Wels in the eyes, her brows suddenly drawn together in suspicion.

“Uh, friend, I think.” It was sort of difficult to think at the moment, what with all the… he wasn’t actually sure why it was hard to think, but that wasn’t really important.

The fairy’s disposition changed completely; she clapped her hands together and flew a few feet up in the air before sinking down again. “Excellent! You can join our party then, are you any good at dancing?”

Dancing sounded like a lot of fun, but… “Well not really, I’m a pretty good singer though!” Wels hoped she wasn’t offended, he wouldn’t want to upset his new friend. However, it seemed he was safe, as her ears perked up and she clapped again. That strange look in her eyes was back.

“Even better! We haven’t had a canary in quite some time, I’m sure you’ll be a hit around here!” She extended a hand to the knight, a sharp grin spread across her face. “Would you like to party with us for a while?”

“Absolutely! Thanks for inviting me.”

Wels took the fairy’s hand, and she dragged him away into the festivities.

Chapter Text

Wels was missing for five days before anyone noticed.

It’s not like his friends didn’t care, it just wasn’t odd for a hermit to go a long time without communicating, especially for more ambitious hermits like Wels who often spent days at a time caving or endbusting. It had only been about twenty four hours in the fairy realm (travellers will find that time is often malleable between worlds), but after five days on the hermitcraft server, one particular hermit was growing worried.

Five days after Wels had left, Impulse sent out a concerning message to his fellow hermits.

impulseSV: anybody seen Wels? I’ve been trying to find him for a couple days...
impulseSV: we were supposed to have a meeting yesterday
Grian: where are you impulse?
impulseSV: at the spawn egg
MumboJumbo: On our way

Grian (and presumably Mumbo) abandoned his newest build and hurriedly made his way to the world spawn. After all, there were really only two reasons for Wels to go missing like this without telling anyone. The first was that Hels had concocted some sort of scheme that kept the knight distracted for a while. The second (and much more likely, no offense to Hels) was that he had walked into yet another fairy ring despite the countless warnings he’d received.

Grian touched down at the spawn egg, where Impulse was pacing in a circle and fidgeting with his hands.

“Hey Impulse, what’s going on?”

“Hi Grian.” The demon stopped his pacing and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, I was supposed to meet with Wels at the village yesterday to talk about our new club, but he never showed. I figured he might have been running late, but then he didn’t show up at all, and I can’t find him anywhere.”

“And he isn’t on his island? Or with another hermit?”

“Not that I can tell, and there’s nothing weird at his base either. I sent that message in chat to see if he was with anyone, but now… do you think he went into a fairy ring again?”

Grian brought a hand to his chin, weighing the options. There was always the possibility that this was the doing of Wels’ counterpart and had nothing to do with fairies, but due to the nature of his magic Wels tended to leave a distinct mark on the world when he fought, especially with Hels. “I think that’s the most likely option, unfortunately.”

“What’s going on? What happened to Wels?”

Mumbo landed roughly next to the pair, covered head to toe in redstone dust and looking concerned.

Grian dusted some red off of Mumbo’s shoulder (not that it really made a dent in the mess) as Impulse explained. “We… we think he’s wandered into a fairy circle again.”

Both fairies sighed at that. Whenever Wels joined a party with the fae, Mumbo and Grian always ended up having to spend hours, sometimes days untangling the newest web their friend had found himself in. Grian didn’t regret it, but he would much rather avoid it if possible.

Mumbo flapped his dragonfly wings, pulling himself a few feet off the ground. “Well I suppose we’d better go find that ring before it disappears on us.”

Grian took off as well, as Impulse did his best to encourage them from the ground. “Good luck you guys!” His words were accompanied by an uncertain smile. It wasn’t a lot, but it was the thought that counted. Sort of.

-

After a thorough search of the rocky island(and a shower and change of clothes for Mumbo), Grian came to the conclusion that the fairy ring wasn’t anywhere near Wels’ base.

Grian threw himself onto the dry grass outside Wels’ front door in defeat, his arms laid out on either side. “Well this was a dead end.”

Mumbo sat down next to Grian much more gracefully. “I suppose now we need to retrace his steps. Maybe we can ask Xisuma when he was last active?” Grian still didn’t feel particularly inclined to do anything, so eventually Mumbo pulled his own communicator from inside his blazer.

After a significant amount of buzzing, Grian checked on the conversation out of curiosity.

MumboJumbo: Hey X, can you check when wels was last active on the server?
Xisuma: sure can
Xisuma: 5 days ago at 8pm
GeminiTay: I saw him around then, what’s wrong?

Grian’s eyes lit up upon reading Gem’s message. He grabbed Mumbo’s arm and excitedly shook the poor man. “We’ve got a lead! What are we sitting around for Mumbo, let’s go find Wels!”

While Mumbo recovered (Grian was stronger than he looked), Grian hastily typed a message before flying off in the direction of Gem’s base, leaving Mumbo to put away his communicator and follow.

Grian: ge meet s at your base qyckly
GeminiTay: ok??

-

“Last I saw him was right over there.” Gem pointed in the direction of the setting sun, at a path into the forest around her cottage. “I assumed he was heading home, but from what you two are saying it seems like he didn’t make it there?”

Grian nodded. “That’s our current theory. We think he found a fairy ring somewhere between your base and his. Do the trees know anything?”

She made a face. “Man, I hate those things.” She made vague, angry gestures while continuing her mini rant. “I mean, it’s not that hard to keep your weird fairy magic just a little bit away from the trees!” Grian raised his hands as a gesture of innocence while Mumbo did the same behind him. It was probably a good thing she didn’t know about their little tree war. The dryad’s distaste passed quickly, and she tilted her head to the side, listening for… something. Grian didn’t really understand how the trees communicated, but after a few seconds Gem straightened her head, an excited light in her eyes. “I got something!”

She led the pair down the path Wels had followed a few nights ago, stopping after a few minutes and pointing further down the road. “It should be just a little further that way, you can’t miss it. I don’t want to go anywhere near the thing, so I’m sure you two can handle it from here!” And with that she patted the two on the shoulders, then turned and walked briskly back home.

“Well, I guess it’s our job now.” Grian started down the path, scanning the base of every tree along the sides.

Mumbo followed, giving very helpful input such as: “Oh that looks like a nice spot for a circle! Oh nevermind, there’s a squirrel living here.”

Eventually they found the ring: an unassuming circle of red and white spotted mushrooms next to a (presumably very annoyed) oak. “After you, your highness.” Grian gestured towards the portal with exaggerated grandeur. Mumbo half-heartedly shoved at Grian’s shoulder with a nervous smile before stepping cautiously over the line of mushrooms. He stood inside for a moment, transfixed by something, before stepping out the other side, disappearing from view.

Grian suddenly became uneasy, and sent one last message in chat then, before he lost his confidence, followed his companion into the circle.

Grian: heading in now
Xisuma: good luck, bring wels back safe

This had happened before, everything would be fine, they could handle whatever happened in there. Everything would be okay.

Hopefully.

Chapter Text

The first thing Mumbo noticed was his wings materializing. No matter how many times he entered the fairy realm, the involuntary change startled him.

The second thing he noticed was an eerily familiar courtyard. He had been to a few courts in his time (Contrary to popular belief, there were more than two), but he knew this particular one well. And looking over at Grian, he assumed the familiarity wasn’t imagined.

The twisted branch walls stretching ten meters into the air, the jars filled with fireflies that hung from the leaf canopy, the lingering smell of nectar from the most recent celebration. He and Grian had grown up here. They were back home.

Grian spoke with his teeth gritted, scanning the area for any familiar faces. “Mumbo, we really shouldn’t be here.”

Mumbo stepped out of the alcove with caution, but the courtyard was thankfully empty, standard for mornings. “Well we don’t have much of a choice, do we? We’ve got to find Wels first.” Grian grumbled a bit, but followed Mumbo through an archway and down a set of corridors lined with those same wooden walls, the branches on either side twisting together to form an arched roof. They made their way through the palace, peeking around every corner in the maze-like halls.

The pair had been searching for five minutes when they heard a voice coming around the corner only a few meters away. Seeing no way out, they did their best to act natural. Mumbo wasn’t sure how convincing he was with his alarmingly fast heart rate, but he hoped it was good enough.

“And if you look out the window to your right you can see my favourite willow tree! I’ve spent countless afternoons just- oh, hello!”

The fairy paused her speech to turn the corner, her long hair flipping dramatically over her shoulder and her eyes landing on the unexpected company. Despite their earlier worries, Mumbo and Grian paid her no mind. They were more focused on something, or rather someone, behind her. Still staring out the window was Wels, miraculously looking okay.

Mumbo couldn’t believe their luck! Usually they spent at least a day looking for Wels, and had to talk to at least ten other fairies to find him. But here he was, crossing their path by pure coincidence.

Grian recovered first, strolling confidently towards the strange fairy and Wels, looking much more comfortable than Mumbo felt. “Hi there, we’re new here. We heard there was a party happening tonight, and wanted to join in on the fun.”

Wels perked up at the sounds of Grian’s voice, and turned to greet his friends as Mumbo picked his jaw up off the floor and came to stand timidly behind Grian.

“Hey guys!”

The fairy looked surprised, which Mumbo supposed was understandable. “Do you two know my new pet?” Mumbo tried in vain to suppress a grimace. This fairy, though she may have meant well, was exactly what Mumbo wanted to move past. However, she seemed to take a different meaning from his change in expression, as she suddenly looked quite embarrassed. “Oh no, is he yours? He didn’t have any markings so I assumed he was wild, but you can have him back!”

Mumbo didn’t trust himself to speak. Grian was a lot better at talking under pressure than he was anyways. Grian was also tense, but played along with her. “Yeah, uh, he’s ours. He got out last week, we’re -uh, so glad you found him.” Grian did his best to look grateful while Mumbo tried to silently communicate to Wels to just please, stay quiet.

It didn’t work.

“What do you mean, Grian? We’re friends- oh wait, is this a prank? Sorry, that’s totally my bad.” Wels looked sheepish, but the damage was already done.

The fairy’s eyes narrowed as Mumbo put together exactly what had set her off, and Grian did his best to put some distance between himself and the now furious woman staring directly at him.

“Grian, as in the fugitive who kidnapped prince Mumbo?”

This was surprising to all three hermits present. Wels had no idea that Grian was a fugitive or that Mumbo was fairy royalty, Grian was confused as to why he was being blamed for a kidnapping that never happened, and Mumbo was surprised that his family cared enough to call it a kidnapping.

In hindsight, an infamous thief disappearing from the realm at the same time as one of the princes may have been a little incriminating.

Taking Grian’s stunned silence as a confession, she pulled a bell from one of her pockets and rang it, playing a single, clear note. Instantly, two very intimidating fairies appeared, each one wearing gloves and wielding an iron sword.

“He’s here! That one is Grian, the one who took the prince!” She pointed an accusing finger at Grian, whose face had gone paper white. Ok, this is bad.

The guards whirled on Grian, who started to look like a caged animal. They pointed their swords at him as Grian slowly backed up until he hit the rough wall.

Grian and Mumbo both looked desperately for an escape, but it was hopeless. Grian could almost certainly outfly the guards, but he would leave Mumbo and Wels to fend for themselves. There was no way they could fight their way out, and if Mumbo tried to defend Grian he would only get them both in trouble.

Mumbo saw Wels lower into a fighting stance out of the corner of his eye, but that wouldn’t work when reinforcements could be summoned with the ring of a bell. As Wels reached for his sword, Mumbo grabbed his hand with a tight grip. By some miracle, this time Wels understood the silent communication and backed down, still looking angry and deeply confused.

Grian was out of options. He gave Mumbo a look that said It’s up to you now (or at least Mumbo hoped that’s what it meant, because otherwise he was clueless) as he raised his hands in surrender. The guards surged forward, each grabbing one of Grian’s arms and disappearing with their prisoner just as fast as they had arrived.

A heavy silence hung in the air for a few moments.

“My, what a nasty fellow!” The fairy dusted her hands off, her hostility rapidly dissipating. “Did you have any clue what he did?” She turned to Mumbo, completely ignoring Wels’ presence.

Mumbo just shook his head, still rattled by the whirl of events that had just played out. This had very severely complicated things.

He and Wels had to go find Grian before anything happened to him, but they couldn’t afford raising anyone’s suspicions, especially now. They had to play along for a little while more, just long enough to free Grian and get all three of them home safe.

Mumbo just hoped he was able to pull it off.

Chapter Text

Wels was furious.

He thought this lady had been his friend; they’d spent all of last night hanging out with her friends, she kept offering him food (he wasn’t really hungry though), and she even offered to let him stay in her quarters! But then out of nowhere she had Grian arrested and taken off to who knows where, talking some nonsense about a prince - who was apparently Mumbo?

And then something changed, a fog lifted. The fairy, who even after what she did had seemed so friendly, now looked malicious and angry. Thinking back on the previous night, Wels realized she was never as friendly as she seemed. She had messed with his head, but now he was back in full force.

He had half a mind to take her down right now, see how tough she was without her big strong friends around. His hand drifted toward his sword’s hilt once more, as he maneuvered himself behind the fairy (who was rambling about something, Wels didn’t like her enough to listen). He was in her blind spot now, she wouldn’t even be able to-

Don’t! Please.

...Wels didn’t think that. Why was he hearing Mumbo’s voice in his thoughts?

That’s because I am Mumbo. I really hate to use this, but I’m running low on options.

Hate to use what? This was officially getting freaky.

Dude this has been freaky right from the start. And as for your other question, I hate to use your name; that’s how you’re hearing me.

That cleared up literally nothing. How could Mumbo use his name? It was Wels’ name, not Mumbo’s, and that still didn’t explain the telepathy. Standing across from him, Mumbo audibly sighed before his voice returned to Wels’ head.

I can use your name because I know it. We’ve told you this before, remember?

… To be fair, those lessons were boring. Mumbo rubbed the bridge of his nose, which he often did during the lessons.

If a fairy has someone’s true name, they can control their actions. I don’t have your name, but I do know it, so I can influence your thoughts. That’s how we’re hearing each other. I don’t much like using names because it’s a bit of a privacy violation, but this is a… unique situation.

Alright, so what was the game plan? He and Mumbo needed to get all three hermits home, but Wels had no idea where they had zapped Grian off to.

I know this place well, don’t worry. I can get us to Grian, but for now we need to lie low. The last thing Grian needs is for one of us to get arrested by making a scene.

Mumbo looked pointedly at Wels’ hand, which still rested on the pommel of his sword. Wels guessed he shouldn’t stab this fairy in the back then.

Yes, please don’t. Just go along with what I say, and try not to offend anyone. Oh, and if you haven’t realized yet, I’m the one they think Grian kidnapped, please don’t mention it until we’re alone.

Oh. That hadn’t occurred to Wels, but he realized that it would indeed be a bad idea to mention that bit of information in front of Rose.

I’m ending the spell now, I’m so sorry for using it in the first place.

It was like a switch flipped off that Wels hadn’t noticed flipping on. Mumbo was out of his head, and now both hermits were focused on the fairy, not that she would have noticed. She was somehow still talking, lamenting the disappearance of the prince - Mumbo.

“It’s only been a year since we lost our beloved prince, nobody imagined the thief would return to the palace so soon!” She turned to face the other two, completely oblivious to the conversation that just occurred. “Oh, but you don’t want to hear about our tragedies. After all that trouble I insist you both stay with me for a few days to recover.”

She did that thing again, where her demeanor suddenly flipped. One second she was like a grieving widow, the next she was a grateful host. “We should get acquainted with each other if you’re to be staying here, may I have your names?”

Despite his grudge against her, Wels supposed they should at the very least introduce themselves. “Oh sure, mine is-”

“You may call him- uh- Knight. And you may call me Oliver.” Mumbo frantically placed one hand over Wels’ mouth and extended the other for a handshake as Wels remembered the conversation they just had about names. Man, that was close. Ok, maybe it was a good idea to let Mumbo do the talking here.

The fairy’s expression soured a little, but she took Mumbo’s offered hand and shook it. “Wonderful, you may call me Rose.”

After introductions were made, Rose continued her tour. Despite the dangerous mission he and Mumbo now had, Wels still found himself mesmerized by this unfamiliar world. He hadn’t actually seen anything outside the palace, only courtyards and endless hallways. Maybe the palace was all there was? He knew other realms could be weird like that. The walls and floor were the same everywhere: those twisting branch walls he had seen when he first arrived, and a floor of solid bark, like they were walking on top of an unfathomably large tree branch. Some of the hallways had doors leading to an endless variety of rooms, some had windows or arches that opened out into areas like the one he’d arrived in.

Every door they walked past, Wels wondered if Grian was tucked away somewhere behind it. Wels knew he was responsible for this mess; anything they did to Grian was his fault, and that made his heart ache. But it was already done, he couldn’t change his actions so there was no use dwelling on it. All he could do now was wait, and unleash hell upon these fairies when the time came.

At the mention of Grian’s name, Wels tuned back into the conversation.

“...Grian? What’s going to happen to him?”

Rose laid a sympathetic hand on Mumbo’s shoulder (which was quite comical, she had to fly up to even reach him), her voice sickly sweet. “Oh honey, you don’t need to worry about that traitor, and you should probably avoid saying his name too.” She put a hand next to her face and stage whispered, “People around here don’t exactly like that name right now. Understandably so, it’s still only been a year since… you know.”

That struck Wels as odd. She had said something similar earlier, but...“What do you mean it’s only been a year? I met Gr- uh- him, three years ago, and I don’t think he came here to kidnap anyone during that time.”

She looked at Wels like he was a little kid trying to join in on the adults’ conversation. He didn’t like it. “Aw, how cute! Well you see, time passes differently here than in most worlds.” She apparently didn’t feel the need to explain further, so Mumbo continued where she left off.

“One year in this court is eight years back home. So when you met... him, it wouldn’t have been very long since he left here, but it had been five years in the overworld.”

That was confusing. “Wait, eight years? Wasn’t that when you-” A Look from Mumbo cut Wels off. Right, don’t go around connecting Mumbo to the disappearance.

Mumbo turned back to Rose. “I would still like to know what they’ll do to him. Please.” Rose gave Mumbo an odd look; somewhere between annoyance and pity. “I know he’s a- a bad guy, but he’s- was my friend.”

Mumbo struggled with those words, and Wels didn’t blame him at all. Those two were insanely close. They had been through so much together in their time on hermitcraft, and apparently even before then too. They had helped to keep each other (and Wels a fair bit too) safe from people who would do them harm. The two had been inseparable ever since they reunited in season six, Wels couldn’t imagine how much it must have hurt Mumbo to talk about Grian like he was a criminal, even if it was an act.

Rose gave in, her wings and ears drooping. “If you insist. But to be honest, I really don’t know what’ll happen to him. It’s up to the royal family, and they’re still so devastated over the loss of their son, as we all are. I imagine whatever it is will be a punishment worse than death.” She shrugged it off and continued walking, not noticing she had left her guests behind.

That answered nothing, and was also highly concerning. Given Mumbo’s look of horror, Wels guessed that Rose was telling the truth about the ‘worse than death’ thing. Torture? Something magical and even more awful? Wels didn’t want to know, which made it that much more important to find Grian before his fate was decided.

-

After Rose concluded her tour, she left the two hermits to their own devices after giving Mumbo directions to the party being held that night. Both of them had completely forgotten the ruse Grian used earlier, but apparently Rose hadn’t. Of course, they didn’t intend on actually going, but it was a useful opportunity. It would make their little prison break a whole lot easier if everyone was distracted by a party.

As soon as Rose was gone, Mumbo’s neutral expression dropped to reveal one that looked unnatural on the normally pleasant fairy’s face. Mumbo was enraged, and it scared Wels a little bit. He had seen other hermits get mad; Bdubs, Doc, even Grian once, but never Mumbo, not in five years. Rose’s careless words about Grian must have done a number on him.

Without saying a word, Mumbo stormed through the halls with a familiarity he’d kept hidden from Rose, his red spotted wings twitching as if they were ready for a fight. After following Mumbo through twists and turns and stairwells and passageways, and finally through an unremarkable oak door, Wels stepped out into another courtyard.

It was peaceful. Unlike the other courtyards, it looked untouched and pristine. A stream flowed from a hole in the wall ten feet in the air, and emptied out into a pond at the base of the opposite wall. Wels thought he heard a frog croaking. There were a few trees scattered about, and the grass under their feet was soft and lush. Once again, Wels could see the open sky, now painted in bright pinks and oranges.

Mumbo sat on the grass, his knees pulled to his chest and his back up against a tree with his wings carefully spread to the sides. He hid his face without saying a word, and Wels hesitantly sat down a few feet away, soon opting to fidget with the grip of his sword. Best to give him some space right now. The grass around Mumbo started to grow, presumably aided by magic, and wrapped itself around his shoes. After the black was almost entirely blocked out by green, it began working its way up his legs too. Mumbo didn’t seem to care, or really notice at all.

As the anger slowly dissipated from Mumbo’s face the grass halted its advances, the highest blades reaching around his knees. A few minutes passed with only the gurgling of the stream to fill the silence. Wels started to wonder if Mumbo had somehow fallen asleep when he finally spoke again, his voice quiet, further muffled by his arms.

“Y’know, this used to be my favourite spot in the palace.”

“Yeah, I can see why. It’s very pretty.” It really was. Wels wouldn’t even mind staying here for a while if it weren’t for more pressing matters.

“It’s not just that.” Mumbo raised his head, resting it on the tree trunk. His eyes were closed. “It’s private: there’s no windows, and this part of the palace is nearly deserted.” A quick glance around at the walls proved Mumbo right. Wels thought such a wonderful place would demand attention, but it did the exact opposite. There was only the one entrance, and its plain door gave no hint of the beauty behind it.

“I used to meet Grian here. Back before we left, that is.”

Wels didn’t want to interrupt this monologue, despite the looming time limit. This place seemed to bring Mumbo peace, something he desperately needed right now. Something they both needed right now. Just a few more minutes.

“I knew he stole from us, but he didn’t seem like that bad of a guy when I saw him. So I snuck into the dungeon and talked for a while, then let him go. It was the first rebellious thing I ever did.”

Mumbo chuckled, now staring at the water rushing past him. “He hated me at first. Thought I was just there to mess with his head before he was executed. But he realized pretty quickly that I wasn’t smart enough to do that.”

He pointed at the door. “That’s where we met for the second time. He showed me this place and we made plans to meet again.” he pointed at two smooth, flat rocks next to the pond. “That’s where he told me about a man named Xisuma, who could keep me safe if I decided to leave.”

“Why did you leave? I mean, this place seems pretty chill.” Wels paused. “Other than their super strict punishments, but that wasn’t really your problem, being a prince and all.”

The fairy scowled. “Mostly because I was worthless to them. They’re mourning now that I’m gone, but they never actually cared while I was here. All I was to them was a decoration, something to sit and look pretty. I wanted to learn redstone and engineering. I would’ve even liked to know magic, but all they taught me was how to look elegant, how to sit and act and dress and-” He was growing agitated, but he took a deep breath to calm himself once again. “So I left. I joined the hermits, and Grian went his own way. I didn’t even realize it was him the next time we met.”

Wels was stunned. “Wow. That’s… that’s a lot, man. Are you… okay?”

Mumbo shot Wels a feeble smile. “That’s all in the past now. Man, meeting Grian was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Then the memories faded, and reality set in once more. Mumbo looked panicked and sat up straight, putting his hands flat on the ground. “Wels, what if we can’t save him? He’s saved me twice now, what if I can’t even return the favour this one time? I haven’t known what I’m doing since I got here, how can I-”

“Hey, stop that.”

Wels placed a hand over Mumbo’s, taking care not to brush the fairy with his armour. “You have a plan, right?”

“Well of course I have a plan, and I made a couple backup plans during the tour as well, but-” Mumbo tried to pull his hand away, but Wels tightened his grip.

“Planning is like, your whole thing man. If you have a plan, we’ll get out of here for sure.” Wels stood up, extending a hand to pull his friend out of the grass. “Between your brains and my general aura of awesomeness, we’ll be back home in time for breakfast tomorrow.”

Mumbo smiled, taking Wels’ hand and allowing the bard to pull him to his feet, the grass blades that were covering him pulling away. “Right, thanks a lot Wels. Let’s get cracking on plan A. That party should be well underway by now, and the dungeons aren’t too far from here.”

“Nice, there’s the Mumbo I’m talking about! So, what’s this plan of yours?”

“Well, first we’ll need to see what kind of state Grian is in, and how easy it will be to sneak him out. Then we’ll smooth out the details.” Mumbo already looked more like himself, straightening out his blazer and talking about a new idea.

“Sounds good to me.”

Mumbo and Wels left the safe haven together, prepared for whatever came next.

Chapter Text

It had been… well Grian wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting alone, in an iron cage with nobody else in sight and nothing to do. With no windows and nobody else in the surrounding room, he had no way of telling if it had been minutes or hours. It had to have been less than a day, Mumbo surely would have come back for him by then.

...Unless he got caught too. All it would have taken was another slip from Wels- no, it wouldn’t do him any good to think about worst case scenarios, or to place blame on Wels even if it was a little bit deserved.

He landed on the floor with a sigh, having given up on finding a way out for the time being. He had gone through this a few times already, but there really wasn’t much else to do. The grid of iron wires (yes, he had tested to see if it actually was iron. Now his fingers stung.) that surrounded him didn’t have any gaps narrow enough for even his smaller form to squeeze through, and he couldn’t find any places where he might be able to break the tainted metal.

Grian decided someone would have to show up sooner or later, whether to rescue him or take him to face the wrath of the court.

He started humming quietly just to keep his boredom at bay. After a period of time, (How long had it been? Grian didn’t want to think about it.) a rough voice came from the doorway behind Grian. “Are you that bored already?”

Grian scrambled to stand up, not wanting to show any sign of weakness in front of this newcomer. He had long silver hair, and wore nearly the same uniform as the guards that had seized Grian earlier. The only difference was a few shiny bits of gold to reflect his higher standing. Stupid fairies and their stupid social standings.

He looked Grian up and down, face full of contempt. “Pathetic. You disappear for a year, leaving our court in shambles, and now you’re back- for what? Here to take more of our royals from us? Not that it matters much anyways.”

The guard had shoved his face within a few centimeters of the cage, sneering at Grian, so naturally Grian did it right back at him. “No. If you must know, I was here to retrieve my friend when I was rudely arrested.”

The guard laughed. A booming laugh that would have been contagious in any other circumstance. “That’s cute. If they were your friends before, that’s only because they didn’t know any better. They’re not your friends, just a couple of fools that you managed to trick into liking you.”

Grian knew for certain that wasn’t true. After all, he’d spent weeks battling with himself over the very same thing. But now he knew without a doubt that the hermits loved him, even knowing his flaws and mistakes. They were a family, and nothing anyone else said would change that. Of course, this asshole had no right to hear his inner turmoil, so Grian went for the simplified version. “I know they’re my friends.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “You can believe what you want. I’ve got something more important to talk to you about.”

Uh oh. Grian had expected the banter to go on much longer, but it seemed he really was in trouble this time. Grian backed up from the cage wall and crossed his arms, still glaring.

“Your actions have left the king and queen - and therefore the entire court - in a fragile state.” This little speech sounded rehearsed. It seemed like people had spent a lot of time and effort preparing for Grian’s return. “Taking their beloved son from them-”

“Oh please.” Grian wasn’t in much of a position to interrupt, but the other fairy really was laying it on thick. Mumbo had told Grian how little his parents cared, and he doubted that had changed. It probably took them at least a week to even notice he was gone in the first place.

“Excuse me?” The other fairy seemed offended, which was a nice change from his sneering and air of superiority.

Grian continued. “Nobody cared about Mumbo, he told me so. I did him a favour, brought him someplace far away from you all where he has friends who actually love him. Everybody here acts like I took someone they cared about, but I bet you they’re just mad they lost their fancy party decoration.”

Wow, that felt good. After eight years, all of Grian’s anger towards his home had bubbled up to the surface, and now he had someone to direct it at. The guard continued to look baffled for a moment, but his expression swiftly returned to the smugness from earlier.

Fine, you want to know the truth?” The guard’s voice was hardly a whisper compared to Grian’s outburst. “You’re right, nobody in the royal family cared when you ran off with Mumbo. He would never be considered as heir, and he didn’t have valuable enough skills to matter otherwise. So no, they didn’t care, and they still don’t.”

Grian had been expecting a lot of responses, but not that.

Grian wasn’t really surprised. He knew Mumbo wouldn’t have been either, but all the same he was glad his friend wasn’t here. Hearing something like that can cut deep, and Mumbo didn’t need any more pain.

“Do you know why they convinced everyone otherwise? Why they’ve made sure the population stayed angry about his disappearance, even after an entire year?”

Grian didn’t really want to know, but keeping up the conversation was better than the alternative, so he humoured the man. “Why?”

“Because of you.”

Man, this guard kept throwing curveballs. “Because you tricked them, stole from them, time and time again, and they wanted to make sure you paid.” His voice was dripping with venom, his face pushed close to the cage again. “So they played up their grief and spread your name everywhere. Ensured that if you ever dared to return, they could have their way with you. And now, here you are.” He gestured grandly at Grian like he was some sort of prize.

Grian was at a loss for words, which was an incredibly rare occurrence. They did all this work for him? They didn’t even care about the crime, or about Mumbo, they were just mad Grian had gotten away with it. Well, up until now he had. Unfortunately, it seemed his luck had run out.

“I suppose you’re dying to know what sort of torment they’ve planned for you.”

Grian relaxed his shoulders, forcing a smile despite the fact that his legs were threatening to collapse beneath him. “No, I’m alright. I like to live in the moment, take things as they come, that sort of thing.”

Despite Grian’s attempted bravado, the guard just sneered. “Nice try, I can see you shaking like a leaf.” He pointed a condescending gloved finger at Grian’s legs, which were feeling more and more like jelly by the second.

“You are cordially invited to our celebration tomorrow morning, held in the main courtyard. It’ll be a good one, we’ve got a full day of festivities ready.” He rubbed his hands together in excitement. “We’re going to start strong with plucking the wings of a traitor. Then maybe some games and food, but I doubt you’ll be sticking around for that.”

And with those final, mocking words, he turned on his heel and walked back out the door he arrived through.

Grian’s face fell. He dropped to his knees, his crossed arms moving to wrap around himself as he struggled for air.

-

Xisuma was gardening again.

He was pretty sure Joe called it a coping mechanism, but X just called it gardening. Everytime he was stressed Xisuma found himself returning to his greenhouse every few hours. Pruning his plants, keeping persistent weeds away from his crops, sweeping the dirt off of the wooden floor. Anything to keep him grounded, to keep his troubled thoughts from wandering too far.

Mumbo and Grian had been gone for four days now, Wels for nine. He was well aware of the time difference between realms, but he couldn’t help worrying any time one or more of the hermits was off somewhere dangerous.

Those two knew how to deal with fairies better than any other hermit, Xisuma was well aware of that fact. He had no doubt they could handle themselves, but some relentless voice he kept trying to push to the back of his mind kept asking, what if they’ve found something they can’t handle? If something else happened to those two…

So, Xisuma gardened. He finished taming his unruly pumpkin vines for the third time that week, and headed back to the entrance with a sigh. Maybe he should build a farm, that could be pretty distracting. He didn’t dare to go afk, not when he might be needed at a moment’s noti-

“Where did Wels go? I’ve been trying to fight him for like, a week, but he never shows up.”

Xisuma looked up from his inventory, startled. Standing in the doorway of his greenhouse was Helsknight, looking more annoyed than usual. His iron-clad arms were crossed over his chest, and he looked not unlike a toddler who lost his favourite toy, which X supposed was exactly what had happened.

“He’s um… off world at the moment.” Xisuma wasn’t sure how much Hels knew about his counterpart’s unfortunate habit.

“That’s what the stupid wizard said too!” Hels threw his hands in the air. He seemed a tiny bit frustrated. “Do you have any idea how broad the term ‘off world’ is? He could be literally anywhere other than here!”

X sighed. He didn’t see the harm in telling Hels where Wels had gone. If anything, it might get the knight to go bother someone else. “If you must know, he wandered off into a fairy circle. He should be home soon though, Mumbo and Grian went after him.”

“That’s dumb of him.”

“I know.”

Hels crossed his arms again. “Well when is he coming back?”

If only Xisuma knew the answer to that. “I’m… not too sure of that myself. Hopefully in a few days.”

They stood in awkward silence for a bit. Hels had his answer, but now he seemed unsure of what to do with it. After only about thirty seconds, he pulled out his sword and started swinging it around, narrowly missing the leaves that Xisuma had painstakingly placed on the roof.

“Whoah, whoah. Uh, how about you do something that’s not that?” Xisuma didn’t really feel like repairing hours worth of work, but thankfully the knight paused his reckless swinging. “Do you want to...help me build a new farm?”

Hels dropped the sword to his side, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “Why would I do that?”

“Do you have anything else to do while you wait?”

The knight placed a hand on his chin, thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Fair enough, what are we making?”

Despite his anxiety, Xisuma smiled behind his helmet. This was sure to be sufficiently distracting and potentially dangerous. With Hels as his assistant, the hermits would be home before he knew it.

Chapter Text

It turned out Mumbo wasn’t exaggerating about the dungeon being close by. Barely two minutes after leaving the courtyard Wels found himself pressed up against a wall, with Mumbo next to him peering cautiously around a corner. Wels shivered in the cold of the night, feeling far too exposed. He had stashed his armour in his inventory for the sake of stealth, but now he felt unprotected.

“Right, well this is a problem.” Mumbo turned away from the corner, whispering. “There’s a stairwell in there that should lead us to Grian, but it seems they’ve increased the guards since I was last here. One of us might be able to slip past them if the other creates a distraction-”

“Nope, absolutely not. We can’t split up unless it’s the only option.”

“Do we have another option?” Wels took it upon himself to find one, peeking around the corner as well. It was a round chamber, with a stairwell opposite from the doorway leading down and out of sight. There was an armed guard on either side of the stairway, so there was no chance of slipping in normally. But maybe a little magic could help…

Wels turned back to Mumbo, his brows set in determination. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Is it a good one?”

“I’m ignoring that question.” Without looking at his (incredibly rude) companion, Wels started walking back the way they came. “I’ll need to sing, so let’s go a little farther away.”

After going what Wels deemed a sufficient distance, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the lyrics he needed. He tried to remember all the tricks he’d picked up over the years. Keep a steady tone, emphasize the right words. Don’t screw things up again.

"You’re invisible when you’re sad.
Clocks tick and phones still ring.
The world carries on like mad,
but nobody sees a thing."

Wels looked down, relieved and mildly disoriented to find that he could no longer see himself. Mumbo looked a little panicked, wide eyes staring right through where Wels now stood. He grinned, though Mumbo couldn’t see it. “Learned that one from Joe.”

Mumbo jumped, but it seemed he had finally put together what just happened. “Ok so you’re invisible now, that’s cool. Do you have one of those for me?”

“I… don’t think so, but I had something different in mind.”

The fairy looked vaguely in the direction Wels’ voice was coming from, brows drawn together in confusion. “Like what? And stop pausing for dramatic effect, I can’t tell if you’re done talking or not.”

Wels answered the first question, completely ignoring the other request. “I’m glad you asked my friend. I was thinking you could do that thing where you get really tiny,” Wels cupped his hands, forgetting they were invisible. “Then if I hold you in my hands, they shouldn’t be able to see either one of us.”

“That… should work.” Mumbo seemed hesitant, eyes darting everywhere but Wels’ direction.

The invisible knight placed a hand on Mumbo’s shoulder, who startled at the unexpected touch. “Hey, I’ll keep you safe, I promise. You’ll be in my hands the whole time; nobody will even see you except Grian.” Wels was fully aware of the concerns both fairies had about their smaller forms. He knew they felt vulnerable and for good reason, but he reckoned he was more than qualified to protect his small friend.

Mumbo smiled and removed Wels’ hand from his shoulder. “Alright, it sounds like a plan then. We’d better get going before that invisibility wears off.” (They both knew it wouldn’t actually wear off for hours; the bard’s magic was far too potent.)

With a slight rushing of air to fill the empty space, Mumbo’s height changed from over six feet to just six inches. In the smaller form, Mumbo’s worries looked amplified tenfold; a deep frown appearing on his face and his eyebrows drawn up in concern. The poor guy was shaking like a leaf, reminding Wels of the talk the fairies had given the hermits about their emotions being intensified in the smaller state. Wels gently cupped his hands around his friend, trying his best not to startle him, and returned to the chamber with the stairwell.

Just as they had hoped, neither guard took notice of the two hermits. Wels made it across the room without incident and once he was on the stairs and out of sight, the knight opened his cupped hands. In the near complete darkness, Wels noticed the red spots in Mumbo’s wings glowing faintly. However, Mumbo seemed content to stay where he was, so Wels made his way down the cramped stairway with his friend held out in front of him as a dim lantern.

The stairs were deeper than Wels thought, an earthy smell filling the air as he descended. On the bright side, the bottom was well out of earshot of the guards upstairs; one less thing they had to worry about. He exited the stairs into a similar circular room to the one upstairs, this one with dimmer lights and a large iron cage in the center of it. Inside that cage sat Grian with his back to the door. He was nodding in and out of consciousness, but flinched at the sound of footsteps.

Upon seeing Grian, Mumbo took off from Wels’ hands towards the cage, jingling loudly. Grian turned toward the source of the sound, his face lit up as bright as Wels had ever seen it. However, the knight couldn’t help but wince upon seeing his face, and at that moment was glad for his invisibility. Despite his wide grin, Grian’s eyes were red and puffy, and something darker lurked beneath his bright expression that Wels couldn’t quite pin down.

“It’s good to see you too! It was getting a bit lonely down here all by myself.”

Mumbo jingled a little more and Grian laughed. “I’m okay, see?” He spread his arms out and flapped his wings a little bit to show they were intact. “Is Wels around here somewhere?”

More jingling, then Mumbo pointed vaguely towards the stairs. “Hey Grian. I’m invisible right now, sorry.”

“Nah dude, it’s fine. How have you been? This must all be pretty weird for you.” Somehow Grian looked apologetic, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment as though he was the one at fault here.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question? I’m not the one who’s been all cramped up in here all day.”

Grian chuckled. “Mumbo already asked me that, didn’t you hear-” he paused for a moment. “Hey Mumbo?” After some brief jingling, Grian continued. “Maybe you should change back so Wels can hear you?”

Mumbo looked embarrassed, and jingled loudly before flying off to the side of the chamber, chased by Grian’s laughter.

A minute later Mumbo returned, back to towering over the other two. “Sorry Wels, I got a bit distracted. It happens a lot when I’m… like that.”

“As opposed to your normal laser focus?” Despite his predicament, Grian sat there grinning mischeviously at Mumbo.

“Hey-! That’s it, I’m coming in there to swat you.” It seemed like Mumbo was serious, as he started searching the cage for a door.

Grian guided him to an iron box located on the far side of the cage and Mumbo got to work, taking care not to actually touch it. It seemed like he would take a while, so Wels joined Grian on the ground. They were so far down that the floor was actually dirt, with roots regularly breaking the surface.

“You never actually answered my question before.” Grian tilted his head to the side, looking confused. “How are you holding up? It’s good to see you’re not hurt, but I know we’ve had a rough day, so I can’t imagine how it’s been for you.”

Grian thought for a moment, then let out a long breath, his expression sobering. “To be perfectly honest, not great. Someone came in here today and he-” He took a deep breath, then let it out again, shakier than the first. Tears came to the corners of his eyes. “They want to take my wings.”

Mumbo’s ears shot up in alarm, and he removed his attention from the box to look at Grian with wide, panicked eyes. Wels didn’t think he had even been listening, but life was full of surprises. “They what?! When?”

“Tomorrow morning in the main courtyard, but- it’s okay, right?” Grian put his hands up, trying to calm the other fairy with an uneasy smile. “You can crack that no problem with your genius engineering skills, then we can all go home tonight!”

This did not calm Mumbo. If anything, it seemed to panic him even more. “No! That’s the thing, I can’t!”

The three hermits fell silent for a beat. Yikes.

Grian’s face and shoulders fell as Mumbo explained. “Whoever designed this really wanted to keep people in it. The whole thing’s made of iron, and the locking mechanism is some weird puzzle rather than a key.”

Wels moved behind Mumbo’s shoulder to take a look for himself. Mumbo was right, the interior of the box was a mess of twisting wires and tubes and metal. Wels wouldn’t even know it was a puzzle if Mumbo hadn’t told him. “I could take a crack at it. I mean, you would have to guide me through it but we’ve got time, and I’m the only one who can touch iron.”

“You could, if it weren’t for the alarm.” Upon closer inspection, Wels noticed a weird magical aura around the whole contraption. He assumed it was fae magic, although it wasn’t like anything he had seen from Grian or Mumbo. “If even one part of this is disturbed, I imagine every guard in the palace would come running. I could try to disarm it, but there’s no guarantee that I’ll succeed, and we can’t afford to take risks right now.” Mumbo dragged a hand down the side of his face, mind running a mile a minute to no avail.

All the hope Grian had mustered disappeared, and Wels did his best to salvage the situation. “Well… maybe we can find some other way to get you out of here?” Wels offered Grian a smile before remembering he couldn’t be seen. Stupid invisibility spell. “Did that guy say anything else to you? Maybe there’ll be an opportunity tomorrow-”

“That’s it!” Grian sat up straight, no longer on the verge of tears. His eyebrows drew together as a grin appeared on his face; both typical signs of Grian’s scheming. “Wels, do you think you can create some sort of loud distraction tomorrow morning?”

Wels grinned. “Absolutely I can, noisy and distracting is what I do best!”

“Perfect. I’ve got a plan, boys.”

-

After at least an hour of arguing over details (mostly Mumbo and Grian going back and forth about minor issues) and promising to reunite the next day, Mumbo was overwhelmed with worry once again as he sat in Wels’ hands for the ride up the stairs. He knew that it was only because of this form, but that didn’t stop his mind and heart from racing.

Once they were safely out of sight, Mumbo returned to his full size and silence fell over the pair as they walked back to their rooms.

“So, what’s the deal with the wings?”

Mumbo jumped at the unexpected noise. That invisibility spell had been useful, but he was starting to wish it wore off a little faster. Running a hand through his hair, Mumbo hesitantly answered the question. “Removing a fairy’s wings is- it’s the worst punishment you can get here. It’s reserved for the worst of the worst: traitors and killers and the like.”

Wels just looked more confused. “Okay this might sound really ignorant, but what makes that so bad? I mean, I’ve gone my whole life without wings and I’ve done pretty good.”

Mumbo took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He knew Wels meant no harm, but talking about this was just upsetting him more, and his emotions were still heightened so soon after leaving his smaller form. “It’s… more than just the wings. They’re taken first as a sort of mockery, then-” Mumbo’s lungs felt too small. He couldn’t get enough air, his heart was racing, this was all going to go horribly wrong and it would be his fault-

Calm down.

Another deep breath. “Then the prisoner is killed. Slowly and painfully. The wings are preserved as a trophy.”

“Oh.” Wels’ voice was soft.

Mumbo felt an invisible hand fall on his shoulder, and neither hermit spoke for a few minutes. They walked together like that, a renewed determination shared between the two.

-

The silence was eventually broken when Mumbo spotted a figure out of the corner of his eye. Someone walking through the halls, someone with a shimmering pair of purple wings that he knew all too well.

“Wels.” he hissed, quiet enough so only the knight could hear. “Go back to the rooms, I’ll be right there.”

“Wait, are you sure-”

“I’ll be alright, I just need to check on something.” And with that he took off after the figure, flying just above the ground to avoid making any noise.

This fairy knew her surroundings as well as Mumbo did, making her way towards the center chambers of the palace with ease. After all these years she hadn’t changed a bit, although Mumbo supposed it hadn’t been nearly as much time for her. She still had the same inky black hair down to her waist, still wore a silk dress that flew behind her as she walked. Even now, in the middle of the night with nobody watching (as far as she knew) she moved with an elegance that Mumbo had tried in vain to emulate for years.

He followed her around yet another corner, but found himself hovering in an empty corridor, lined with seventeen identical doors. One looked overgrown, with twigs and leaves moving to fill in the doorway.

Mumbo stood considering for a moment, then sighed, turning around to go catch up with Wels.

It’s probably for the best, he decided. Talking to his sister could wait for another time, right now Mumbo had to save a member of his real family.

Chapter Text

The morning had finally arrived, along with a nervousness that Mumbo couldn’t shake. After all, the fates of himself and his friends were held in his uncomfortably sweaty hands.

He tugged at his collar, already missing his Pacific outfit. He’d changed his clothes for the sake of stealth, now wearing a needlessly fancy (spoken by a man who considers suits to be casual) red suit detailed all over with golden embroidery. It was certainly nice, but combined with this setting it reminded Mumbo too much of growing up.

He forced his attention outward as the pair of hermits neared their destination. He rounded another corner with Wels (who managed to avoid wearing party clothes by convincing Rose that his armour was an exoskeleton) and stopped the knight with a hand on his shoulder.

“Alright, I’m gonna head in. Give me a few minutes to make my way over to Grian, then make your distraction.”

Wels grinned and raised his hand in a mock salute. “You got it boss, I’ll give these people a show they can’t take their eyes off of.”

The knight headed off, presumably to make preparations for his ‘show,’ and Mumbo turned the final corner, mentally preparing himself for the familiar sight he knew would greet him.

The courtyard was the same one he and Grian had entered yesterday, but transformed for the festivities. There were long tables laden with every type of food and drink imaginable, and banners hung just about everywhere decorated with the royal crest. A small band played covers of pop songs (Green Day at that moment) in the corner while fairies milled about, conversing in circles and constantly darting from place to place.

But Mumbo had seen all that before at countless parties he’d endured before he left. His attention was drawn more to the opposite end of the courtyard. Sitting on a raised stage, in juxtaposition to the festive mood around him, was Grian, still in the same cage as last night. Fortunately he didn’t look as bad as before; now he was glaring daggers and lunging at any party guest who came too close. At least he isn’t about to cry anymore.

Looking for a spot close to Grian where he could wait without drawing attention to himself, Mumbo saw her once again. His sister, standing just a few metres in front of him, entertaining a group with words he couldn’t quite make out. He could only see her back, but her voice was unmistakable.

Jocelyn, second oldest of the royal children, second heir to the throne. She was one of the only people that had ever gone out of their way to be nice to Mumbo, not ignoring him like everyone else. She had served as a beacon of hope for him: hope that he wouldn’t turn out like the rest of his family, that being snobbish and ruthless and awful didn’t have to be his future.

Mumbo found himself drawn to her just like he was before he left, drifting closer and eventually hovering (not literally) at the edge of the circle. Just listening to her voice made him feel like a child again, more of a blessing than a curse at that moment.

He looked at her eyes, too lost in thought and memories to pay attention to anything else. They were a startling red, the same as his. Without warning, those eyes turned to look back at him. Mumbo made eye contact with her briefly before realizing his mistake.

What am I doing? She might have recognized him, and she had no way to know his true purpose in being there. She could report him to the guard, or worse: their parents.

She made no move to do either of those, so Mumbo flew away from the circle. He landed close to Grian, hoping Wels would start his distraction soon.

As it turned out, the knight’s timing was impeccable. As soon as Mumbo had shared a reassuring glance with Grian, he heard a loud bang to his left, followed by a courtyard full of awed gasps. Looks like it’s time for me to get to work.

-

Wels idly walked back and forth in the hallway outside the courtyard, working out the details of his distraction. He was pretty sure he could pull it off regardless, but it never hurt to be prepared. Fairies kept walking past him on their way to the party, but none of them paid Wels any mind. The benefit of being human here, he supposed.

He was, however, more than a little disturbed at the amount of fairies he saw entering the courtyard. For the five minutes he had been waiting, it was a near constant stream. He understood that people had a weird sort of fascination with death, but Wels still didn’t like that they were this excited about his friend’s execution.

His musing over which pyrotechnics he could use somewhat safely were interrupted when someone cleared their throat behind him. He whirled around, his hand flying to his sword’s hilt, but was surprised to see his own face in front of him.

Standing before Wels, for some reason, was Helsknight, looking rather annoyed.

“What- What do you want? How are you even here right now?”

Hels just sighed, as if the answer was obvious. “Well I couldn’t find you on your pathetic server so I hung out with your admin for a while, but you took too long to come back so I expertly convinced him to tell me where you went.”

“In other words, you annoyed X until he sent you off to find me?” Wels smirked at his clone, who just stuck his tongue out in return. The fairies had mostly cleared out of the hall by then, and the stragglers didn’t seem to notice the knights.

“And as for why I’m here, I thought that would be pretty obvious. I wanna fight you.”

All Wels could do was blink in disbelief. His clone had tracked him down in another dimension just because he wanted to fight? Again? “Dude, I’m a little busy here. We’re in the middle of a jailbreak, I don’t have time to-” Wels was suddenly struck with a genius idea for his distraction. “Y’know what, sure. I’ll fight you.”

A look of childish glee appeared on the other knight’s face. “You really mean it? Oh this is gonna be great, I’ve been waiting like, a whole week for this!”

Wels pointed a finger at his clone. “But! There are a few conditions this time.”

“Always with the conditions.” Hels grumbled. “Fine, I won’t turn any hermits into tropical fish this time.”

“That’s… not what I was referring to.” Wels let his hand drop. “We need to create a distraction, so this has to be the flashiest, most eye-catching fight those fairies have ever seen. And, we need to leave as soon as Mumbo’s busted Grian out of prison.”

Hels looked excited at the idea of an unnecessarily dramatic fight, but visibly deflated at the last part. “What? That’s not even a proper fight!” He seemed to weigh the pros and cons for a few seconds, then stuck his hand out towards Wels. “I’ll do it, as long as we get to have another proper duel back on your server.”

“Deal.” Wels shook the hand of his counterpart, who immediately took off in excitement. “And also, the fish thing still applies.”

Hels was already halfway down the hall by then. He threw his head back and groaned dramatically. “Fine! God, why do you have to suck the fun out of everything?”

-

Mumbo glanced at the source of the noise he heard out of curiosity and a fair bit of self preservation, and saw- Helsknight? He hoped there would be time to explain later, right now he had his own job to do.

“Hey there Grian, told you we would come back.” The other fairy definitely looked more like himself now: grinning ear to ear at the duel playing out in front of him.

“I never doubted it for a second.” Grian turned away from Mumbo to watch Wels and Hels fire ridiculous and very noisy spells at each other in perfect rhythm, almost as though they’d rehearsed. “Man, Wels wasn’t kidding when he said distracting is his specialty.”

Mumbo smiled, then returned his focus to the dreadful box in front of him. So far everything was going according to plan: no eyes were on him since all the guards were too focused on either watching the fight or trying fruitlessly to stop it. One of them ran into the fray with a spear, but turned into a tropical fish before they were able to reach either combatant.

Mumbo’s first job was silencing the alarm. He placed a magical barrier around the box, cringing as the sound of a dozen warning bells hit his ears. Of course it would detect his interference, but after an excruciating fraction of a second the barrier took effect, blocking the signal and making the rest of this jailbreak a lot easier.

The next step wouldn’t be nearly that simple, and Mumbo grimaced in anticipation. “Mumbo, that was brilliant! I don’t think anybody- … what are you making that face for?”

The hermit in question shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Now that I’ve silenced the alarm, I need to open the lock. Which is made of solid iron.”

Understanding and dread dawned on Grian’s face. “Wait, Mumbo don’t! We can- we can find you some gloves or something, don’t just touch that thing with your bare hands!”

“They would have to be perfectly tailored, and we don’t have time for that.” Without looking up from the puzzle, Mumbo flexed his hands, tried to steady their shaking before he started his agonizing task.

Grian looked more distressed than Mumbo felt. He had always been overprotective like that. “Well then we’ll find another solution, don’t just-” Mumbo appreciated his friend’s efforts, but he’d run this scenario through his head hundreds of times last night. Grian’s pleas faded into the background along with everything else, as Mumbo placed his hands on that cursed metal.

It hurt.

It burned, but not like fire or lava. It was worse. Like a horrible combination of lightning and acid and something else vague and unidentifiable. It was an awful sensation that permeated his entire being, that violated his very nature.

Joe gave Mumbo an interesting book once, about how science and magic interacted. It had been a really thoughtful birthday gift. Mumbo had taken particular interest in a page about fairies: it said that when in contact with iron, the fae created a unique chemical and magical reaction, one that made Mumbo feel like he had poison flowing through his veins.

Just focus on the box. He could ignore the pain if he focused on the box. He moved wires and twisted gears. He kept going for fear that if he stopped he wouldn’t be able to continue. On to the next step in the puzzle, then to the one after that. Move that rod to the left. Focus on the box. Twist this gear a few degrees clockwise. Focus. Stop shaking.

After what felt like an eternity but was probably closer to five minutes, Mumbo was overwhelmed with relief as he felt the whole puzzle click into place. With a light pull, the door swung soundlessly outward.

Mumbo stood frozen, partially due to the sudden lack of adrenaline and partly because he didn’t completely expect to have made it this far. Despite all his worrying last night, he never planned past this moment. Fortunately, Grian was restless and ready.

He popped out of the cage like a loaded spring, grabbing Mumbo by the wrist. The fairy was thankful for that; although the pain in his body died down the second he took his hands off the iron, now he was left with a strange aching feeling in his hands. On top of that, his palms felt wrong, unfamiliar to his fingertips. He kept running and didn’t look down, not ready to face those repercussions yet.

With Grian leading the way, the two runaway fairies weaved their way through the crowd, which was still captivated by the duelling knights. Reaching the other side of the courtyard, they took shelter in the alcove housing the mushroom ring. Mumbo leaned against the wall while Grian peered out at the knights, probably trying to communicate with them somehow. Mumbo was too exhausted to pay attention. Hels and Wels arrived in the alcove about a minute later, and the four of them disappeared before any of the fairies could decipher what they’d done.

Chapter Text

The second they all appeared back in Gem’s forest, Grian destroyed the circle, kicking over every last mushroom and scattering their pieces on the grass. He pulled out his communicator while Wels expressed his concern for Mumbo and Hels pretended to be indifferent, throwing not so subtle glances at the injured hermit.

Grian: we’re all back. Scar meet us at your wagon
Grian: and stress we need pots, mumbo got a bad iron burn
GoodTimeWithScar: I’ll meet you there
Stressmonster101: be right there, don’t let him put water on it

It took nearly two hours for things to calm down after arriving back at the village. Despite Stress’ talents with potions and healing, she explained that five straight minutes of contact with iron would definitely leave a mark. But she bandaged Mumbo up to the best of her ability and, after tending to a few minor scrapes and bruises on the knights (as well as a stern talking to about playing too rough), left the group so they could have some peace.

The same could not be said for Xisuma and Iskall. They both showed up almost immediately, and wouldn’t leave until a million questions had been answered and reassurances given. Fortunately, Scar managed to convince them to come back later after everyone had rested, leaving five hungry hermits left in the wagon.

Scar and Jellie went all out creating a breakfast for the six of them. Jellie was quite pleased with a few sausages, and the rest were provided with pancakes and waffles and pretty much every other staple breakfast food Scar could think of.

After they’d all settled in with their food, Grian was the first one to speak up, deciding it was far too quiet. “So. That just happened.”

“Yeah, it sure did.” Wels looked uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact with the others and barely touching his concerningly large pile of bacon. “Listen guys, I’m sorry. About- all of this.” He gestured at Mumbo’s hands, one of which was struggling to hold a fork, and at Grian, who looked at Wels with wide eyes. “You told me over and over that this stuff is dangerous, and then you both paid the price for me being stupid.”

Grian was stunned. He, Mumbo, and Scar had given Wels countless warnings since the rings started popping up in early season seven, but the knight had always been so flippant about it. Grian had never expected him to own up like this, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt again so if you’re still willing, I would love to hear all of your lectures again. This time, I promise I’ll pay attention.”

Wels looked hopefully at the two hermits across from him as they considered his request. Grian was once again the first to speak. “Well I can’t speak for Mumbo,” the aforementioned hermit seemed pulled out of thought at the mention of his name, “but I would love to help teach you as long as you’re willing to learn. That should make things a lot easier for all of us.” He offered Wels a grin before shoving a forkful of syrup-soaked pancake into his mouth.

“Yeah mate, keeping you out of those rings sounds like a great idea.” Mumbo looked distracted, acting just like Wels had a minute ago. “And uh, speaking of apologies, I have one of my own.”

Grian furrowed his brow. What did Mumbo have to apologize for? What exactly had happened while Grian was gone? Looking over, it seemed Wels had no idea what Mumbo was talking about either.

“I shouldn’t have used your name back there.” Oh. “It was wrong of me to use that spell in the first place, I should’ve found some other way to talk to you but I panicked and-”

“Dude, it’s okay.” Understanding had dawned on Wels’ face as Mumbo spoke, and now he looked at the fairy with a reassuring smile. “I was about to make everything ten times worse and you stopped that.”

Mumbo just looked confused, as though he hadn’t expected Wels to forgive him, which Grian supposed he probably hadn’t. Using someone’s name was a big deal back home, and as far as the two of them could tell, an even bigger deal amongst non-fairies. Every bit of folklore Grian had stumbled across on his travels made it clear that a fairy knowing your name was to be avoided at all costs, for fear that they might use it. Both he and Mumbo had been terrified of accidentally using one of their friends’ names ever since they had joined the server, and now that nightmare had come true.

“But- I violated your trust! A fairy using your name is like, the worst thing that can happen, and it happened! Aren’t you worried that I might - I don’t know, do something...bad with it?” Mumbo’s hands seemed unsure of what to do as he tried to get Wels to understand what exactly he had done.

The knight just kept smiling. “Nope! I trust you, you’ve known me for years and haven’t done anything ‘bad,’ why would that change now?”

Both fairies took a few moments to absorb what Wels had just said. Grian knew that the other hermits trusted him and Mumbo, but he supposed he had never really internalized it. He avoided discussing his true nature if he could, worried that reminding the hermits he was a fae would drive them away somehow. But there it was in simple terms: the hermits trusted them because neither of them had ever done anything to them with ill intent.

“O- Oh. Alright then. Thanks Wels, it means a lot.” Mumbo returned to his food, looking more content than he had since they’d noticed Wels was missing in the first place.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Hels piped up. Honestly, he had been so quiet Grian forgot he was even there. “Is everybody done apologizing now?” With no response except for a few confused looks, he continued. “Cool, then I have a few questions for you two.” He pointed his fork back and forth between the two fairies.

“Okay, what about?” What questions could he possibly have? Grian thought Iskall and X had already interrogated them thoroughly about the past few days, what more could Hels want to know?

“How do fairies… work? Like, what’s the deal with the wings? And your magic, and the size changing?” Met with silence and twin looks of confusion, Hels sighed. “I’ve never properly met a fairy before, and my curiosity has been driving me nuts all morning.”

Grian and Mumbo spent the rest of the morning explaining (and demonstrating, to Hels’ delight) their various abilities. Wels was already making good on his promise, paying attention to every word they said and asking just as many questions as his counterpart. Their eagerness to learn was actually quite endearing. After everyone was done with the food (seriously, how did Wels manage to eat so much bacon? Was he okay?), they all did their part to help clean up, then sat around talking about anything and everything, reluctant to separate so soon.

It was peaceful, a stark contrast to the emotional rollercoaster of the past 24 hours. The resolution they had reached wasn’t ideal, but it certainly wasn’t the worst case scenario. Wels was home, and Mumbo was home, and Grian was alive, and they were going to be alright, at least for the foreseeable future.

-

The sun had risen fully long before Mumbo left Scar’s wagon. The hermits (and Hels) had spent hours just enjoying each other’s company, but they were all exhausted and eventually agreed to go home and rest.

Mumbo flexed his hands slowly, still wrapped neatly in white bandages. The pain was gone by now, but he was left with slightly shaky hands from the residual adrenaline and, if Stress was right (which she almost always was), permanent scarring. Still, it was a small price to pay for Grian’s life.

He opened the door to his bus, eager to finally get some sleep-

Someone was there. Someone was there, sat in his bus with pristine purple wings and long black hair braided down her back.

Jocelyn sat on Mumbo’s couch, looking elegant as always. She looked at Mumbo and he knew she recognized him. Despite how his appearance had changed over the years, she still knew him, and had somehow followed him back to the server.

Mumbo started to slowly back away when her hand shot out, her eyes wide. “No! Please, stay. Nobody else knows I’m here, I swear.”

After pausing for a few seconds Mumbo hesitantly sat down next to her, still keeping a bit of distance. She took a moment to compose herself, then smiled up at her brother. “I think we need to talk about a couple things.”