Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Test subject 17-3. Name: MumboJumbo. He's apart of the rival company, Sahara, along with Grian and Iskall. I'll be recording my findings as I test new potions that ConCorp has made. Subject 17-3 will be given our latest custom potion, while I study his transformation. 

It could take between a few hours to a few weeks to take full effect, on test subject's physical and mental state."

Cub's voice sounded muffled, but that could have been because of the ringing in Mumbo's ears. The last thing he remembered was getting blown up at the shopping district, while everything else was a haze in Mumbo's mind.

He tried to move his arms, but there were tight leather straps around his wrists, forcing Mumbo to stay still. His eyes slowly fluttered open, though Mumbo's vision was blurry and unclear.

"Subject has returned to consciousness. He seems unaware of his current surroundings. So far he has not shown any signs of aggression."

"Mmm...Cub?" Mumbo groaned sleepily, trying to make out the figure that stood behind a glass wall. "Wha...where am I...?"

"Subject is slowly becoming aware." The scientist said into a recording device, his pale eyes staring directly into Mumbo's. "The sedative had begun to wear off. He'll most likely fully return to awareness in only a few moments."

"Se....sedative...? Cub, you drugged me?"

Cub shut off his recorder, stuffing the small device into his pocket. A few vexes were flying around in the background, one carrying a clipboard over to the scientist. It was clear that Mumbo was somewhere on ConCorp property.

"All in the name of science, of course." He said, writing down a few notes on his subject. Mumbo tried to move any part of his body, but he was completely restrained.

"Wha—? What happened, then?"

"You were knocked back by a creeper, Scar and I found you drifting in and out of consciousness. Perfect timing, too, since Scar was getting tired of testing our new potions on mobs. He's been eager to start human testing."

"T-testing?" He stuttered as Cub swiped a keycard, the glass barrier opening with a hiss. His eyes had a cold gleam, which made Mumbo instantly nervous.

Cub leaned back the table that Mumbo was strapped to. He used to be able to see the glass wall and the hallway filled with cells and tests, but now all Mumbo could see was the ceiling.

He heard the scientist rustle around in his pockets, pulling out his recorder while hitting the button. "Subject is in a state of shock, however, he is not fighting in his restraints. He'll be perfect for our latest breakthrough here at ConCorp."

As Cub spoke, he pushed a bit of hair away from Mumbo's neck, studying it as he placed the recorder onto a small cart next to the table. He reached for a syringe and a potion that was filled with a silver liquid.

"I'll be sedating subject 17-3 once more before finalizing our latest potion with Scar. He's been incredibly excited for the test. Once the potion has been injected, subject 17-3 will be relocated to a new environment to study his behavior. The test will begin in two days."

"Wh—" Mumbo whimpered before a needle was stuck into his neck, Cub injecting the tranquilizer into his bloodstream.

As Cub shut off his recording device, he glanced back at Mumbo, a sly smile across the scientist's face as he notice that the test subject was already begin to slip back into unconscious.

"Don't worry," Cub said, his voice faint as Mumbo's consciousness was fleeting. "These tests will be perfectly safe. All you need to do is get some rest."

And with that, Mumbo passed out, unable to fight the sleeping drug that he had been given.

•••

The next time Mumbo woke up, he was groggy and disoriented. Maybe it was from the sedative that Cub had given him, but everything felt blurred, to the point where the confused hermit could barely remember why he was here.

"Right on cue!" Scar's voice called, Mumbo sitting up on the table that he had been laying on, no longer retrained by leather straps.

"Cub, he's awake!" He called from behind the glass barrier, the scientist quickly rushing into view while holding his clipboard and pen.

"Perfect!" He said happily before pressing a button on the keypad that could open the glass door, the speakers in the ceiling crackling as they turned on.

"Mumbo, all you need to do is drink that potion." Cub's voice said clearly through the speakers, a shimmering green potion sitting on the cart that was beside the cot that he was sitting on.

"Then I'll get to leave, right?" Mumbo asked while raising an eyebrow. Cub and Scar shared a look before nodding.

The test subject let out a groan, uncorking the bottle. Mumbo took in a deep breath before drinking the potion, trying to ignore the bitter flavor that rested on his tongue. Once he was finished, he set down the bottle.

Cub hit the speaker button once again. "Well? How do you feel?"

Mumbo blinked. That was a very good question, although he wasn't sure. "Um, tingly, I guess? And tired?"

Cub wrote something down on his notes, muttering something underneath his breath that Mumbo couldn't quite catch.

"We'll have to run a few more tests before you could leave, if you could follow me please." Cub said over the speaker as the glass barrier opened, a wave of ice cold air hitting him square in the face. It was probably from the vex magic that flowed through the labs.

Mumbo twiddled his thumbs nervously, following the two ConVex through some kind of testing area filled with the same glass cells that he had been trapped in. 

Vexes flew through the air, carrying materials or helping out around the lab, following Cub and Scar's every command. Mumbo found it rather intimidating, as the mobs could kill him instantly if Cub or Scar wanted.

He followed the two to the end of the hall, where there was a simple door. Cub swiped a keycard, pushing it open while gesturing for Mumbo to head inside. He followed the scientist's instructions nervously, the door sliding shut as he entered.

The room was simple, a bed tucked away in the corner, a mirror the length of the wall (which Mumbo suspected was a one-way mirror), along with a bucket. Maybe dying would have been better than this, then Mumbo would at least respawn in his own bed.

He noticed a few cat toys scattered through the room, which caused Mumbo to frown. "Um, Scar? I think you may have left some of Jellie's toys here!" He said, hoping that someone could hear him. There was no response.

Mumbo sighed as he walked over to the bed, laying down against the mattress while staring at the wall. He had a bad feeling that he was going to be here for a while.

Chapter Text

Mumbo wasn't sure how long he had been trapped in ConCorp, all he knew was that he hated every second of it.

He laid in bed, unmotivated and bored out of his mind. Mumbo suspected that it had only been a couple days since he drank the potion, but nothing had happened. He was tired more often, but that was about it.

The sound of a light bell echoed through the speakers, which caused for Mumbo to sit up while rubbing his exhausted eyes. That bell was stuck in his head, it rung every hour for a couple moments before going dead-silent again. 

Although, it wouldn't stop ringing in his head. Over and over again, the soft bell seemed to rid Mumbo's head of any thoughts. To be frank, it gave him a wretched headache.

Mumbo let out a long and extended groan, grabbing a pillow and using it to cover his head, the soft sound would be relaxing if it wasn't so irritating!

The heavy metal door sliding open let Mumbo think clearly for only a moment, but the ringing of the bell continued to chime in the back of his head. 

Mumbo moved the pillow off his head as he sat up, Scar carrying in a tray of food. A few golden carrots and a water bottle. He set it down on the edge of Mumbo's bed, before quickly exiting his room.

He took a carrot of the tray, biting into it with a quiet groan underneath his breath. Mumbo wasn't stupid, he knew that the carrots were laced with the bitter potion that he had drank a few days ago. 

The food tasted disgusting, but Mumbo was so hungry that he had no choice but to eat. They only fed him twice a day, and it was never enough to be considered a full meal, not to mention that there was no schedule, they just dropped off the food whenever they felt like it.

Overhead, the bell chimed over the speakers once again. 'That was odd,' Mumbo thought as he bit into another carrot. Normally the bell rang once an hour. Regardless, it got stuck in Mumbo's head. It was hard to think about anything other than the bell. 

After he finished eating, Mumbo flopped back down onto his pillow, staring up at the ceiling. The speakers turned on once again, but this time, the bell didn't stop. Over and over again, the soft ringing echoed through the room.

Mumbo shut his eyes, relaxing against the mattress as the ringing in his head continued.

•••

"The progress is slower than I expected. Test subject has not shown any signs of transformation, despite increased dose of the potion that I've been putting in his food. The only strange occurrence is his reaction to the bell, which the test subject seems to react negatively towards."

Mumbo was unable to register Cub's voice. He could no longer tell if the ringing was coming from the speakers, or just his head.

He barely noticed that the metal door slid open, Scar waking into Mumbo's room with his arms full of random supplies.

"Hey, Mumbo!" Scar chipped with a happy tone, his voice almost cleansing. For a brief moment, it stopped the ringing, which Mumbo was more than relived about. Scar seemed to notice how his shoulders relaxed for a moment, a smile beginning to curl on his face.

He handed Mumbo a potion, the same one that he had drunk a few days ago. "Drink that," Scar said, and with no hesitation, Mumbo did as he was told. It was odd, but it was like Mumbo was hanging on Scar's every word.

Maybe it was from the potion, or maybe it was to clear Mumbo's head of the constant ringing, but all he wanted to do was to listen to Scar's voice. It was quite nice, actually.

As the potion began to settle, Mumbo felt his head growing fizzy, like static fuzz. He couldn't think, the only thing in his head was the faint ringing bell. 

He groaned softly, trying to piece together something that sounded like words, but the haze in his mind made it difficult. That was weird, this hadn't happened the first time Mumbo drank the potion.

Scar snapped his fingers a few times in front of Mumbo's face, but he seemed to be a bit lost, his eyes foggy and glazed over as he stared at nothing in particular. 

When he was certain that Mumbo wasn't paying attention, Scar looked at the one-way mirror, giving a nod to Cub on the other side of the wall.

Echoing through the speakers was another ding from the bell, which pulled Mumbo from the blank nothingness in his mind. Sure, there was still the ringing of bell in the back of his head, but it wasn't as loud as before.

"S-sorry, I guess I zoned out for a moment." Mumbo chuckled awkwardly.

Scar set down the cardboard box that he had been holding, standing up as he moved towards the door.

"It's okay," he said while the metal door slid open, "we'll just need you to do a few more things, and then you can leave. Just a couple more days here, is that alright?”

For some strange reason, despite the fact that Scar and Cub kidnapped and tested on Mumbo, he trusted Scar. His words seemed so honestly, sinking into Mumbo's head.

Yeah, he trusted Scar and Cub. Whatever they were doing, it seemed like they were doing it to be helpful. Mumbo's mind hazed over as he relaxed against his bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

It was like you could see his resistance bending slightly as Mumbo's worry lessened. A part of him trusted Scar and Cub completely, but something was clinging to him, telling him that things weren't as they seemed.

Mumbo ignored the concerned thoughts as he went to sleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Mumbo woke up with yawn and a long stretch. He stood up, walking over to check his appearance in the mirror.

Mumbo's green eyes had more of an emerald glow, as well as sharp, cat-like pupils. His teeth were a bit sharper, and his mustached seemed more wild and feral, a few strands poking out of his facial hair, almost resembling whiskers.

Somehow, he didn't notice. In fact, Mumbo thought the look was natural, like nothing was odd. He turned away from the mirror while rubbing his eye. Despite just having woken up, Mumbo felt like he could fall asleep instantly.

The iron door slid open, Mumbo's attention pulled towards the doorway, his sharp pupils turning round with curiosity. Scar entered the room, carrying a tray. Mumbo could smell whatever was on the tray, his stomach growling at the delicious scent.

Scar set down the tray onto the ground, which was odd, but Mumbo was too hungry to notice. He sat down in front of the tray, snatching a raw cod. 

He could taste the same bitterness from the potion, but it wasn't as strong, making the raw fish one of the best things that Mumbo had eaten in a while.

"Just enjoy," Scar cooed softly as he placed his hand on Mumbo's head, stroking it back and forth. Mumbo seemed to melt at his touch, the strange sensation of being pet much better than he ever imagined. It was probably because he'd been alone for most of his time at ConCorp. 

Yeah, that was it.

Mumbo listened to Scar, eating the fish happily as the top of his head began to tingle, as well as the tips of his ears. He didn't think much of it, eating as much fish as he could handle. 

Gosh, was this weird?

It didn't feel that strange, but something in the back of Mumbo's head told him that something wasn't right. He set down the cod that he was originally planning on eating, a bit of a nervous frown coming across his face.

"What's wrong, Mumbo?" Cub's voice crackled over the speaker, which slightly startled him.

"I-I just...something feels wrong-?" He said, a bit confused. 

There was silence from the speakers for a moment, then the familiar chime of a bell. One of Mumbo's eyelids slightly drooped, goodness, that was odd. It was like his mind went blank all of a sudden, Mumbo forgetting what he was doing a few moment prior.

He blinked a few times before noticing the cod in front of him. It definitely seemed more appetizing than golden carrots. 'Well,' Mumbo thought, picking up the fish, 'better not let this go to waste.'

Mumbo enjoyed the remainder of his fish without a worry in his carefree mind. It made him feel a bit funny on the inside, ticklish even.

The speaker came to life again, causing Mumbo to glance towards the source of the sound. "How was it?" Scar asked with a slight giggle in his voice.

"Great! It's been awhile since I've eaten anything other than those carrots. They tasted rather odd." He remarked, Scar's lighthearted giggle echoing in the room.

"I'm glad. Now, could you tell me how you feel? For the experiment." 

Mumbo thought for a moment. "Tired," he yawned, exposing his sharpened teeth.

Scar turned off the speaker button, looking to his partner, who held his recording device in his hand. Cub hit the button, starting a recording.

"Subject needs more food and rest to help the transformation. The more he transforms, the more tired he seems. 

The progress was slow in the beginning, it could have been from the subject's resistance against the potion. Animalistic instincts should begin to appear soon, along with more animalistic physical features.

We may need further evidence of this transformation on new subjects to see how they react."

He shut off the device, handing it to a vex that floated beside him. "More subjects? Who were you thinking?" Scar asked while his eyes glistened with excitement, Cub chuckling slightly as he scribbled down a few more notes on his clipboard.

"Xisuma would be a good choice," he thought aloud while tapping the end of his pen against his chin. "that would stop him from banning us because of our experiments. Or maybe Grian and Iskall, it would stop Sahara completely while we're at it."

"I could send a few vexes to bring them here!" Scar suggested, though his partner shook his head.

"Not yet. I want to further examine Mumbo, but if Xisuma starts getting too curious for his own good, then go right ahead."

"I'll start prepping his cell!" Scar tittered excitedly, running out of the viewing room with a small group of vexes following close behind. Cub rolled his eyes and got back to work.

Scar was too excited for his own good, but Cub couldn't blame him. He'd wanted to do this for who knows how long, and now, he finally got the chance. Cub was simply experimenting and testing for the purpose of science, while Scar was doing it for his own entertainment.

Cub could see how drained Mumbo was becoming from his physical and metal transformation, the scientist setting down his clipboard as he turned towards a few vexes that were hovering around him.

"Start preparing Mumbo's next meal, he needs as much energy as he can get." He commanded with the snap of his fingers, the vexes quickly flying off.

He turned back to the one-way mirror, studying Mumbo with curiosity. A half smile grew across his face as he noticed Mumbo rubbing the top of his head against the wall, in an animalistic sort of way.

Cub scribbled down a few more notes, noticing how Mumbo's ears began to shift and change while his hair turned fluffier. He noticed the cat-like ears peaking out, which caused for Cub to smile at his experiment's progress.

Oh, Scar will be so pleased once Mumbo is ready. It shouldn't be long now, and Cub knew his partner will be thrilled to see the progress that Mumbo had made.

Chapter Text

Scar hummed to himself while carrying a shulker through the streets of the shopping district, preparing to head back to ConCorp with supplies for Cub and Mumbo.

He noticed a familiar red sweater out of the corner of his eye, Scar turning to see Iskall and Grian chatting with one another a bit further away. They both wore the same worried expression.

"We should go to X. Maybe he could track down wherever Mumbo ran off to?" Scar could hear Iskall suggest to their fellow architect, while the blonde builder gave a nod in agreement.

That made Scar grin, looks like Xisuma would be visiting the ConVex shortly. He began to open his elytra, planning on flying off and back to ConCorp, though Scar paused as he heard his name being called.

"Scar! Hey! Wait up!" Grian called while running towards the member of ConVex, Iskall chasing after the builder.

"Oh, hey guys! What's up?" Scar asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Mu—..." Grian couldn't even make it through the full sentence before his eye began to water, the Swedish hermit placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Mumbo is missing," Iskall finished for their fellow architect, while Grian nodded quietly while his eyes filled with tears. "we wanted to know if you have seen him anywhere."

"I haven't, but I bet he's perfectly fine, you'll find him." Scar promised with a warm smile, but clearly that wasn't good enough for Grian, who wiped his tears on his sleeve.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Iskall assured while rubbing Grian's back to calm him down. "let's go talk to Xisuma. He can get Mumbo's coords and track him down."

"Good luck, I'll keep my eyes open for him!" Scar said with a wave goodbye, although a sinister grin spread across his face as he turned his back on the two architects. 

Opening his elytra, Scar shot a rocket and flew back to ConCorp with a shulker box of supplies tucked underneath his arm. It was a quick journey to the front gates, Scar landing gracefully as the faint tingle of magic rested in the air. He passed the evoker at the front gate with ease, simply giving a nod to the violent mob as he passed.

With light blue sparkles escaping his fingers, Scar lazily waved a hand through the air. The ground beneath him opened up with a rumble, without the use of pistons or redstone.

He walked down the stairs, the cold air giving Scar a rush of well-needed energy. After a few minutes of heading deeper underground, the ConVex reached the secret lab, entering a long hallway with glass cells, the same that Mumbo was originally held in.

"I'm back from my little shopping trip!" Scar giggled as he entered the viewing room where Cub had been spending most his time, the scientist looking up from his work to greet his partner with a warm smile.

"Finally, I've been waiting for you to get back here. You gotta see Mumbo's progress!" Cub said excitedly, his arm gesturing towards the one-way mirror.

At first, Scar couldn't spot Mumbo. However, upon closer examination, he spotted a fluffy cat ear poking out from inside the cardboard box that he had left in Mumbo's room.

"The animalistic instincts began to kick in, not to mention his new ears." Cub chortled, his arms crossed as he studied his subject, who was fast asleep in the cardboard box.

"But besides that," Cub smiled, turning to his desk that was filled with brewing stands and books on how to create custom potions, along with notes on changes he wanted to make after studying Mumbo's behavior. 

"I've been working out a few problems with the potion, not to mention experimenting with other types of animals, other than cats. Version 2.0 should be ready soon!"

"Well, it would be best if you could finish it. We may be getting an unwanted visitor soon.." Scar said with a growl, his voice turning cold before he let out an innocent giggle. Cub was glad that he was on Scar's side, as he was much more threatening than most realized.

Scar then turned to the vexes that floated around, carrying documents or helping with Cub's work. He extended his hand towards the small creature, which caused for one of them to land on his finger like a bird.

"Go ahead and spy on Xisuma for me, let us know when we can expect his arrival." He whispered in a calm voice to the vex, Scar's eyes flashing blue as he commanded the magical creature.

The vex nodded, flying off to fulfill its commands, Scar walking back over to Cub's desk, that was littered with potions.

"Xisuma you say? Well, which potion should we use?" The scientist asked, his partner picking up a bright yellow bottle while studying the label, slightly smiling as he handed it to Cub.

"That one looks perfect for him." He smiled, Cub giving a laugh as he studied the animal.

"Oh yes, this one looks great." He turned to a few more vexes. "Prep a cell for Xisuma. I want everything ready to start experimentation immediately!"

The vexes flew off with no hesitation, Scar and Cub turning back to the one way mirror to study their almost-successful subject. 

"I bought a few things for Mumbo, I bet he'd love to have a cat tower once he's more on the primal side!" Scar tittered as he walked towards the exit of the viewing room, Cub laughing underneath his breath while shaking his head. Scar was already enjoying this a little too much, though the scientist didn't mind.

Scar entered Mumbo's room, the metal door sliding open waking up the cat hybrid. His ear twitched, Mumbo lazily cracking open one of his emerald eyes to study who had entered.

He crawled out of the box with a yawn, standing up and stretching his arms while his ear twitched. Scar grinned as he noticed Mumbo's tail, which was slowly beginning to grow.

"I brought a few toys for you," Scar cooed as Mumbo walked over, tilting his head a bit. 

Despite the fact that Mumbo's instincts were beginning to take over, it was basically unnoticeable for the cat. He barely even recognized it at this point, it was all mindless behavior. The ConVex took a seat on the ground, Mumbo copying his action, sitting down next to Scar. 

"But before I show you all the goodies I brought you, I'd love to examine your new features.." Scar said quietly, placing his hands softly on Mumbo's new ears, which made the cat flinch before melting at his touch once again.

Scar massaged behind Mumbo's new, cat-like ears, which sent a tingle of euphoria down his spine. "O-oh my," he stuttered, Mumbo's voice almost a purr as he spoke. "tha...that feels...incredible..."

"That's good.. Just relax.." Scar cooed with a grin spreading across the ends of his face, gently running his hands through Mumbo's fluffy hair, making it harder for him to stay awake. 

The cat hybrid would softly purr at the sensation that was Scar's touch. Every time he was pet, it felt like sparks shocked through his body, which Mumbo was strangely in love with. He was almost obsessed, never wanted it to stop.

Mumbo tried to stutter our something that sounded like words, anything really, but it felt like he was floating on a cloud, and the only noise that the cat was a soft purr.

His voice was beginning to turn less and less useful. Why would he need to talk when he could mindlessly meow and purr? It felt so hard to speak, so much effort.

Plus, what was the use of his voice anymore? Scar and Cub were pampering Mumbo to his hearts content, he didn't need to speak for the two to take care of him.

"Now, let's see if your training worked.." Scar said to Mumbo, who was confused for a moment. Training? What exactly was he talking abo—

Scar pulled out a small bell, the sound of the chime echoing in Mumbo's mind as his pupils turned round and wide. It was like Scar had flipped off a switch in the cat's head, all his human thoughts melting into oblivion. 

His mind was pulled into a haze, you could almost physically see his will to resist slipping away as Mumbo's head emptied out completely. The only thing left was his animalistic instincts and urges, he couldn't think for himself, he could only act like a typical house cat now.

"Awe. That's a good kitty." Scar cooed while scratching behind Mumbo's ear, which made him mindlessly purr while falling over from delight.

Scar opened the shulker box, pulling out a red pet collar with a bell attached to it. Mumbo sat up in curiosity (mainly because Scar had stopped petting him) which let the member of ConVex easily undo his tie and replace it with the collar around the cat's neck.

"There we go," He giggled, gently tapping the bell, which pulled Mumbo back to a conscious state-of-mind, with Mumbo completely unaware of his mindless animal behavior.

"Did I fall asleep?" He asked with a purr in his voice, Mumbo lazily relaxing against the floor as his tail grew to full length. Scar gave another giggle, opening the box filled with building supplies.

"Yep, but that's okay. You don't need to worry about a thing! Just let Cub and I take care of you!"

The cat could feel himself purr as his eyelids became heavy. That sounded nice. He didn't need to worry about a thing, and Mumbo seemed to love it.

All previous hesitation and worry about Cub and Scar had been burned out of Mumbo's head for days, making it easier and easier for the cat to relax and trust the two members of ConVex.

To Mumbo, they could do no wrong.

Chapter Text

"Don't worry, Iskall! I'm almost to Mumbo's coordinates. I'll call you back once I find him."

Xisuma hung up on the Swedish hermit, looking down at the coordinates for Mumbo on his communicator. It looked like he was somewhere underground, but the admin knew he was close.

He glanced up at the large ConCorp gates. 'That's...odd...' Xisuma thought as he continued to follow the coords, walking past the evoker that simply stared at him. 

After walking a bit further into ConCorp, Xisuma stood right over where Mumbo's coordinates said he was. The admin reached for his pickaxe, planning on digging down to find him, but he froze when he heard a voice.

"Hey, X!" Cub called as he glided down from the skies, landing in front of the admin.

"Oh, Cub! You startled me for a second." Xisuma laughed while rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

"What brings you to ConCorp grounds?"

"Oh, I'm looking for Mumbo. He's been missing, and his coordinates brought me here."

Cub smiled. "Well, you're in luck! Scar found him, so we brought him down to our lab to fix him up. I can take you to him."

"That's great! Thank you, Cub!" Xisuma said, while the scientist just gave a simple nod.

His hand glowed with light blue magic, Cub snapping his fingers to reveal a secret staircase that led underground. Xisuma looked at him, clearly impressed by his magic, before heading down into the lab.

Cub led the way, the two walking in silence for a few moments before reaching the main hall, empty cells all along the walls.

Xisuma studied all the vexes that flew above as he followed Cub to the end of the hall. He pulled out a keycard, which unlocked the metal door, Cub gesturing for Xisuma to enter.

"Scar? Mumbo?" The admin called as he entered the dark room, spotting the second member of ConVex working on some kind of cat tower in the room.

"Oh, hey Xisuma!" Scar greeted as he finished off the cat tower, putting away the remainder of his materials.

"I'm here for Mumbo, Iskall and Grian are really worried, where exactly is he?" Xisuma asked while glancing around the room, he didn't see the British redstoner anywhere.

"Here, let me get him for you." Scar said while pulling out a little bell, the chime echoing in the room. Before Xisuma could asked about the bell, Mumbo poked his head out of the cat tower, the admin's eyes widening in fear.

As Mumbo trotted to Scar's side, Xisuma could see that something was wrong. Besides his obvious cat-like traits, he seemed a bit shorter now. He was still taller than Scar, but it was clear that he had shrunk.

The cat-hybrid rubbed his head against Scar's leg, purring as he tried to gain the ConVex's attention. Scar giggled, placing a hand on his head to stroke the cat's soft ears.

"Wha- what did you do to him?!" Xisuma yelled as he glanced from Mumbo to Scar.

"The same thing we're going to do to you!"

Before Xisuma could react, something sharp was stabbed into his neck, Cub injecting some kind of tranquilizer that made the admin's head go fuzzy.

He tried his best to stay awake and fight the sleeping drug, but Xisuma collapsed against the ground, his mind slipping away as Cub and Scar smiled down at him.

"Sweet dreams, Xisuma."

•••

Cub whistled to himself in the darkened cell, using an old rag to clean off the tip of the needle. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed Xisuma beginning to stir in his sleep, before the admin's eyes fluttered open from behind his helmet.

He let out a quiet groan, Xisuma strapped onto a metal table with his wrists and ankles restrained by metal cuffs. His vision was shaky and blurred, the admin barely able to make out Cub's figure. Whatever sedative Xisuma had been given, it was making it hard to think and see.

"Finally, we can start our latest test.." The scientist grinned, though Xisuma groggily shook his head, it was the most that he could do. Cub let out a chuckle at his weak attempt at trying to free himself.

As Cub uncorked the potion bottle, Scar's grin spread to the ends of his face. He stood on the other side of the glass, gently scratching behind Mumbo's ear, which caused for the cat to let out a pleased purr.

"It'll be nice once Xisuma is out of our way," Scar giggled to his partner, who was beginning to fill the syringe with the yellow potion. "then we can do whatever we want!"

"Yrhggg...y'll nver...g-gt awy.." Xisuma slurred, shaking his head as he tried to fight with his restraints, although it was clearly useless.

Scar opened the glass barrier, stepping into the cell, with Mumbo following close behind. He giggled while studying the groggy admin. "I wonder who's going to be next," he thought aloud while his partner prepared for the experiment.

"What about the rest of Sahara?" Cub asked as he studied the spot on Xisuma's neck where he would inject the potion. "I bet Iskall would look great as a wolf hybrid. We could turn Grian into part-fox, too. Ooh! Or maybe part parrot! He would look good with a nice pair of red wings!"

"Hmm..I'm not sure," he glanced to Xisuma. "What do you think, X?"

"I-I think you're crazy..." he groaned, Xisuma's voice much clearer now. Scar giggled, as if it was a compliment.

"You won't think that much longer!" Scar said, looking away from the admin and towards his partner. "So Cub, what changes did you make to the potion?"

"The animalistic features and instincts should appear nearly instantly instead of taking a few weeks to complete." The scientist said as he stuck the needle into Xisuma's neck, smiling as he injected the yellow potion.

"But besides that, it'll be easier to train him. He'll be more responsive to our voices and commands."

"When I-I get out of t-this, y-you both are ge-getting b-banned!" Xisuma stuttered in response as Cub removed the syringe, setting it down before taking a step back to watch the potion work.

"We'll see about that," Scar said while stroking Mumbo's head, Xisuma's hands balling into fists as the tips of his ears began to tingle. It was already starting.

Xisuma shook his head, trying to fight and resist the potion that was flowing through his blood. His ears began to burn, the admin letting out a yelp in pain as it felt like his helmet was slowly crushing him.

"G-get it off! GET IT OFF ME!" Xisuma screamed in pain, Scar giving a nod to his partner. Cub hit a button on the side of the metal cot, which released the admin's limbs from the metal straps.

He fumbled to sit up, Xisuma ripping off his helmet before throwing it against the wall, watching it shatter into hundreds of pieces. One moment, everything had been fine. But the next, it felt like he was slowly being crushed by his helmet while his ears burned.

Both Scar and Cub looked ecstatic as they studied the admin's new appearance, Xisuma taking a moment to steady his panicked breathing. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing up at the two ConVex with fear in his eyes.

"W-what did you do to me?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Cub said with a grin, handing the admin a mirror to study his new appearance.

Rabbit ears.

He had rabbit ears.

Both Cub and Scar smiled at the admin's new appearance, while Xisuma's eyes widened in fear. He was shocked, the chestnut color of his new ears matching perfectly with his hair.

"Look, Cub! He even has a little cotton tail!" Scar pointed out with a giggle, Xisuma's face heating up with embarrassment. Was this all some kind of twisted joke to the ConVex?

"T-turn me back, NOW!" He demanded, gripping the handle of the mirror like a weapon while Cub and Scar laughed.

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Scar said while petting his new rabbit ears, scratching at the base of them.

Xisuma reacted immediately, leaning into the sensation, his leg thumping at the floor at the physical affection. That...actually felt really nice.

He shook his head, n-no! He shouldn’t fall for this!

"T-then I'll ban you both! This is insane! I-I can't let you do this!" Xisuma said while opening an admin panel, both Cub and Scar rather calm about the admin's threat.

He pulled up the command screen, about to type /ban, but Xisuma slowly realized that his hands were shaking, and they wouldn't move. He couldn't type a thing, which caused the admin to glance up from his screen and towards the two ConVex.

"W-why can't I type anything?" He snapped the question, jumping off the metal cot while storming over to Scar. Xisuma noticed his shift in height, he was now shorter than Scar, but he didn't bring it up.

"Awww, poor bunny. You can't type anything because you don't want to ban us." Scar cooed to his pet, softly running his hand along Xisuma's sensitive ears. The strange blue glow in his eyes caused Xisuma to pause, questioning for a moment.

"I....I don't..?" The admin asked, unsure, confused, as his resistance began to bend.

"Of course not," Cub chimed in, his voice making Xisuma's head feel dumb and funny. His mind became shrouded in confusion and doubt, his thoughts turning hazy as he listened to the two ConVex. "I mean, you should be thanking us for what we've done for you!"

"You work so hard, X. You do such a great job pleasing everyone on the server. But why not relax? You could just be a silly little bunny, and you'll never have to worry about anything ever again. You could just let all your worries slip away.." Scar said while placing his hands on Xisuma's shoulders, his words sinking into the admin's mind.

The praise sends him swooning, almost causing Xisuma to almost lose his balance. He did a good job. He did good. He was finally being rewarded for all his hard work. "I...I guess it wouldn't hurt." He said while Scar scratched his ear, Xisuma feeling himself get pleasantly spaced out.

"That's good," Cub said softly, his voice making Xisuma ever-so-sleepy. Had he always been this tired?

"Just let us take care of the server, you don't need to worry about a thing." Scar promised as he pulled out a purple collar, placing it around the bunny's neck. 

"mmm...okay.." he mumbled sleepily, Xisuma's eyes beginning to darken while they seemed to have a vacant look. Scar gave a smile, tapping the little bell attached to Xisuma's new collar. 

The sound echoed in his ears, making the admin's eyelids become heavier and heavier. Cub scooped up the bunny in his arms, which made Xisuma drift off to sleep without any worries.

The two ConVex shared the same evil grin. Now that Xisuma was out of the way, they could do whatever they wanted.

Chapter Text

Mumbo and Xisuma followed behind Scar as they wandered through the shopping district, the bells on their collars jingling as they carried an armful of diamonds from the ConCorp shops.

Now that Xisuma was no longer a threat, Scar and Cub didn't have to hide their experiments. So what if the hermits found out about the tests? They practically owned the server, along with its admin. 

As for the two animal-hybrids, they were blissfully unaware of almost everything. Scar liked to keep them ignorant, it prevent questions from arising in their simple minds. The less they knew, the better.

Scar set down his shulker of rare materials, taking the diamonds from Mumbo and Xisuma before lazily throwing them into the box. The ConVex sat down onto the box, while the bunny nudged his hand to try and get a few head scratches.

He was very affectionate (not to mention clingy), much more than Mumbo, and much more than Scar expected. The vex giggled as he scratched the base of the rabbit's ears, which made Xisuma melt to his touch.

Suddenly Xisuma paused, his nose slightly twitching as his attention turned towards Sahara, the admin cocking his head with confusion. He watched two unfamiliar figures walk out of the store, clearly worried as they talked to one another.

Scar rolled his eyes at the remaining two architects, maybe Cub could turn them into animal hybrids so that he could actually tolerate them. He picked up his shulker box, tucking it underneath his arm as he looked to the two hermit hybrids.

Mumbo seemed curious, clearly interested by Grian and Iskall. He began to try and walk over to the architects, which Scar narrowed his eyes at. The ConVex pulled out a little bell, which caused the cat's ear to twitch as Scar rung the chime.

"Come on, Mumbo. Let's go back home, shall we?" He cooed, the cat walking over to Scar to run his head against the ConVex's arm to show his loyalty, Mumbo purring softly.

Maybe it was the three hermits standing in the middle of the streets, or maybe it was the bell that Scar had rung, but Iskall's attention was pulled towards the small group. They instantly recognized Mumbo, although they didn't seem to notice his new cat features.

"Iskall? You oka-" Grian paused as he spotted what the Swedish hermit had been staring at, his eyes watering as the builder ran towards the cat.

"MUMBO!" He cried happily, wrapping his arms around the mustached hermit, which caused for the cat to let out a rather curious 'mew?' in response, cocking his head to study the blonde haired Brit.

Grian looked up upon the cat sound, his eyes widening as he noticed Mumbo's new appearance, the builder stumbling backwards. Scar giggled, placing a hand on the cat's shoulder, his eyes a light shade of blue.

"You like what you see?" He asked tauntingly, Iskall running over to Grian's side as Scar spoke. 

Xisuma bounced over, nuzzling against the ConVex, his transformation even more shocking than Mumbo.

The admin was short, almost as short as Grian at this point! If you included Xisuma's ears when they stood straight in the air, he would be his old height. Not to mention his cottontail and his dark, vacant eyes.

"W-what the hell, Scar?! What did you do to them?"

"Awe, I made them my pets. Aren't they adorable?" He asked while flicking the bell attached to Mumbo's collar, which made the cat purr in response.

"This is crazy! Xisuma, do something!" Iskall chimed in, though the rabbit tilted his head. He didn't know what Iskall wanted him to do, which made Scar laugh.

"Xisuma isn't going to do anything unless I tell him to. All he has to do is be a good little bunny, while Cub and I run the server in his place." Scar said while cooing his pet, stroking the admin's ears.

Iskall looked into Mumbo's emerald eyes, pleading as he spoke. "Mumbo, please, we're friends. You can't seriously be going along with this!"

"Mreow..?" He purred, Scar giggled while he pet the cat's head.

"See? Cub and I have trained them completely! They don't recognize anyone other than us!"

"What's the point of this, Scar?" Grian snapped, while the vex's eyes turned cold and ruthless as he glared at the builder with a grin of insanity spreading across his face.

"It's fun!" He giggled, "having these pets, their mindless obedience, the testing and training, it's all so entertaining! Plus, I find that Mumbo and Xisuma are quite beautiful in this new form!"

"Whatever! Come on, Mumbo, let's go fix you!" Grian snapped while grabbing the cat's wrist, which caused Mumbo to let out a loud hiss as he pulled away, clinging to Scar's side.

Iskall placed a hand on Grian's shoulder as he noticed the rage in the builder's eyes. "It's no use, we should go. We'll find a way to get Mumbo back soon, okay?"

Grian ignored the Swede's desperate attempt to try and escape the situation, charging at Scar, about to draw his sword, before he was tackled to the ground.

Scar grinned as Xisuma pounced on the British hermit, pinning Grian to the ground. Despite being small, the admin seemed to have some kind of increased strength. Probably Cub's doing.

"You know," Scar began, placing down his shulker box filled with valuables, pulling out a syringe filled with an orange liquid. "Cub gave me this in case I ran into trouble. I'm glad he did, now I can turn you into a pet, just like Mumbo and Xisuma!"

Iskall was frozen in place, watching in horror as the Vex shoved a needle into Grian's neck, the builder shrieking in pain. 

His scream quickly shifted into a more animalistic howl as a pair of red, furry ears sprouted from his hair. Iskall stepped back, horrified as Xisuma backed away from Grian, allowing for his animal transformation to take full effect.

A fluffy tail ripped out of his pants, his teeth sharpening, the hybrid letting out a few yips as the look in his eyes turned dark and vacant. You could see the last remaining bits of Grian's human nature slip away as his animal instincts took hold of his mind.

Scar giggled as he scratched behind one of Grian's new fox ears, which caused for the hybrid to yip happily, his tail wagging. He barely even fought with the potion or the transformation that he had just gone through.

Scar looked up from the hybrid to study Iskall, who was now gone, flying off in fear of being turned into a mindless animal. That caused Grian to let out a whine, only to be silenced as the vex continued to pet his head.

"Aw, it's okay. We'll get them soon enough." He cooed, glancing up at the sky as a smile grew across his face.

"But for now, we have more important matters to attend to."

Chapter Text

Grian yipped happily as he chased Xisuma and Mumbo around the lab, the rabbit jumping onto one of the higher shelves to escape the energetic fox. He tackled Mumbo to the ground playfully, tail wagging at the hissing cat. Scar giggled at his pets as he watched the animals mindlessly play with one another.

"So, you're not even letting them have human consciousness anymore?" Cub asked as he set down his fork, the two ConVex enjoying some cake to celebrate the successful tests of their animal potions.

"Nope! Why would they need it? They're our pets, plus, I like them better this way." Scar commented as he happily bit into a sweet piece of cake, Cub shrugging it off as he continued to enjoy his dessert.

Scar turned his attention back to the playing animals. Xisuma was now asleep on one of the higher shelves, while Grian played with Mumbo's tail. The cat looked bothered, but overall didn't seem to be that upset.

"So, did you finish?" The ConVex asked his partner as he looked away from the animals, Cub nodding as he stood up, putting on his lab coat.

"Yep, all we need to do now is deliver this little 'presents' to each of the hermits. Once the hermits open the shulker boxes, they'll find an array of potions and food, all of them laced with our animalistic potions."

"Perfect! Oh, this is so much fun!" Scar giggled as he leaned back in his chair, Mumbo wandering over to rub his head against the terraformer's leg.

"Our only main problem is Iskall. They could tell the other hermits about our little experiments, so we should hurry and take care of them."

Scar nodded, gently petting the cat's head. Xisuma quickly got jealous, jumping off the shelf to run over to the ConVex, pushing Mumbo aside to gain Scar's affection. Grian ran over too, yipping and whining for attention.

This was how it should have been.

They were fighting for his affection, his love. They would do anything for him. Oh, once the whole server were his pets, it would be perfect. 

"Scar? Scar! Are you even listening to me?" Cub asked, a tad annoyed at his partner, who was zoning out. He blinked, giving a quick nod to his partner.

"Of course! I was just thinking about how beautiful the other hermits will be as hybrids."

"Well, you take care of the gift boxes to the other hermits. I'll find Iskall."

"Sounds good to me!" Scar said, standing up to head out of the lab. He gave each of the animals a quick pet before tucking away around twenty shulker boxes, leaving to deliver the gifts.

Cub stood up, walking over to his desk, lifting up a syringe filled with a bubbling red potion. He smile, glancing to the three animals.

"Don't worry, Iskall and the others will be join you soon," he cooed softly to the animals, who were all blissfully ignorant about what was about to happen. 

They were mindless, ignorant, and obedient. And Scar loved it.

-

Bdubs and Keralis had finally returned to the server.

They were happy to be back, to see the new builds and catch up with one another. They were relaxing at the construction site of Bdubs' diorite castle, which had barely been started.

Sitting atop a few shulker boxes, the two were chatting as the sound of fireworks could be heard in the distance. They glanced towards the sky, noticing a familiar figure that swooped down, landing in front of the two.

"Hey Bdubs, hey Keralis! It's nice to have you guys back on the server!" Scar said, two white shulkers tucked safely underneath his arms.

"Heh, good to see you too, Scar." Bdubs said with a stretch, while the terraformer placed each of the boxes in front of the two.

"I thought I'd stop by and leave a few gifts for you." He said, Bdubs opening the box, his mouth almost instantly watering at the scent of warm chocolate and sweets. Cake, cookies, golden carrots, pie, almost anything that he could imagine. It reminded the builder that he still hadn't eaten anything all day.

"Shpank you, Mr. Goodtimes!" Keralis said with a wide grin, Scar giving a nod before flying off.

Bdubs snatched a cookie off the pile of food, quickly biting into the dessert, the warm chocolate melting on his tongue. "Dang," he muttered between bites, "that's good. Scar knows how to bake. You going to try some, Keralis?"

"Nah, I just ate." He said, "But maybe when I get hungry. I'd like to try some cake!"

Bdubs continued to enjoy his cookie. Then another. And another. And one more. Okay, maybe not one more, but just a few more. It was hard to stop, the melting chocolate chips in his mouth seemed to melt his thoughts, he was so distracted that he didn't notice Keralis' expression of concern.

"B-Bubbles, maybe you should stop?" He suggested, but the builder wasn't responsive to his voice. It was like he didn't even hear Keralis' voice.

The Polish builder was suddenly drawn to the sound of ripping fabric, glancing towards Bdubs' lower back. A tail ripped through his pants, wagging back and forth excitedly.

"Bubbles! Stop!" Keralis said, lifting the shulker box off the ground and slamming it shut.

Bdubs looked up at his friend, tilting his head in confusion. His wagging tail stopped, the builder letting out a whine. Keralis could see that the transformation wasn't stopping, something odd poking out of the top of Bdubs' head.

A pair of floppy ears poked through his hair, similar to a chocolate lab's ears. Before Keralis could manage to process the new transformation, he was tackled to the ground by the dog hybrid, Bdubs' tail wagging as his eyes lit up with joy.

"N-no! We aren't playing! Bad! Bad!" He hissed, but Bdubs barely even payed attention to his voice, letting out a bark. Keralis shoved the dog off of him, stumbling to his feet, studying the transformation in horror.

"Was... was this from the cookie?" Keralis asked as he opened his own shulker box, lifting out one of the baked goodies to study. It didn't look or smell off, so was it only Bdubs' food?

Just to be safe, Keralis set down the cookie. He lifted up a small bit of cake, placing it on his tongue to taste the sweet dessert. It didn't taste like anything besides cake.

'Odd..' Keralis thought as he took a bigger piece of cake, biting into the dessert that made his mouth tingle. Gosh, that was better than anything he had ever tasted.

He glanced at Bdubs, then the cake in his shulker. Keralis had control over his own actions, he just thought the cake was good, not because he was addicted! He didn't feel like anything was changing, so he continued to mindlessly enjoyed the sweets that brought his mind into a sugary haze.

Before Keralis knew it, his ears began to tingle, along with the top of his head. Before long, his ears began to shift, while something grew out of his head. Keralis didn't even notice, pulled further and further into the blissed-out trance.

Bdubs' tail wagged as he saw the newly-transformed hybrid, which he saw as a brand new friend. Keralis' eyes turned dark and empty as he glanced towards the dog, the newly turned deer hybrid tilting their head to study the dog.

Keralis had a pair of antlers, along with deer-like ears and a small, fluffy tail. He also had new freckles littered across his nose and cheeks. His lower half had become more animalistic, with his legs more deer-like and his feet turned into hooves.

The deer hybrid laid down against the soft grass, the transformation had taken a lot out of him, Bdubs laying next to his best friend, the sun warming the two as they slowly drifted to sleep.

-

Iskall ran into Stress' castle in a frenzied panic, glancing around for the ice queen herself, terrified for what had happened. They had been hiding out in their base until they were sure that Cub wasn't looking for them, before the Swede came running to try and get some help.

"Stress?! Stress, where are you? I need-" Iskall froze as they stumbled down one of the hallways, easily spotting the brunette.

The ice queen had large, pink parrot wings sprouting out her back. She seemed shorter than normal, her eyes darker and more vacant as well. Iskall ran over, studying the parrot hybrid that flapped her wings excitedly at the Swede.

"Oh Stress, they got to you too? Oh nonono! Who knows if anyone is still themself!" They panicked while pacing back and forth, while Stress flapped her wings impatiently.

She flew up, trying to land on Iskall's shoulder. Despite her height change, it was very clear that she couldn't, which resulted in Stress basically landing on the Swede and upsetting their balance, which caused them to stumble over and fall.

Stress stayed in the air for a bit, flapping her wings before landing beside Iskall. She wasn't very vocal, but she flapped her wings, as if she wanted something. Iskall sat up as she continued to flap impatient, the parrot hybrid cooing softly as she rubbed her head head against the Swede's chest.

"Wha-? What do you want?" They chuckled, stroking a hand through Stress' hair. Iskall thought back to when Grian brought parrots to Sahara, rambling on and on about their mating. 

He found it cute, how they would show affection and love by preening each other's feathers, picking off the excess feathers. Grian always loved birds, which is why he would ramble about them so often. At least it actually came in handy. 

Stress let out something of a squawk, flapping her wings once again as her patience wore thin. Iskall slowly reached out, running a hand through the soft feathers, which caused for the parrot to melt at their touch.

She crawled onto Iskall's lap, folding her wings as she turned her back on the Swede, who began to pick out the excess feathers that were cluttering her otherwise-gorgeous wings. The bird let out a happy coo, flapping her wings with joy.

"You like that?" Iskall chuckled, their cheeks turning flush with color. Maybe all this wasn't that ba-

Before Iskall could finish their thought, something was shoved into their neck.

A needle.

Chapter Text

"There we are," Cub sighed as he finished injecting the cherry-red liquid into Iskall's neck, which caused for their eyes to slowly turn vacant and empty.

He removed the needle, Stress flapping her wings happily as she flew over to the ConVex's side. Cub chuckled, running a hand through her hot pink feathers.

"Yes, you did well distracting Iskall. You're so very obedient, Stress." He praised and cooed the parrot, which made Iskall sick knowing that they were about to be just like her.

"S-so, what am I gonna turn into?" The Swede groaned as they ran a hand across the spot where the needle had been injected, their legs quivering as they managed to stand.

Cub walked over, grabbing Iskall by the chin to study their project up-close. "You'll just have to wait and see," he grinned, noticing the lack of emotion in the Swede's vacant eyes.

The words began to sink into Iskall's mind, which sent a tingle of thrill through their body. There was a flurry of emotions, a mix of fear, excitement, and the feeling of loyalty and obedience that the Swede couldn't bring themself to fight.

The scientist placed a hand on Iskall's head, gently running their fingers through the redstoner's hair. Cub smiled as he noticed the lack of resistance to the touch, Iskall letting the ConVex slowly stroke through their hair without fighting the slowly-spreading tingle of the transformation.

"This isn't a bad thing, Iskall." Cub began as he took a few steps back, a crooked grin spreading to the ends of his face. "The hermits won't have to worry about building or gathering materials, all they have to do is look pretty and listen to Scar and I. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"S-Sahara is getting pretty stressful.." Iskall groaned drowsily, struggling to stay standing as they listened to Cub's words. Mumbo and Xisuma seemed pretty happy as well,which made the idea of being a mindless pet seem alluring.

"So just let yourself go, no need to worry about any of that when Scar and I are in charge." Cub said while stroking a hand through Stress' feathers, which made Iskall feel a hint of jealousy.

"Scar promised me all of this wasn't permanent," Cub said as he calmly smiled at the Swedish hermit. "I swear. We'll start season seven with everyone back to normal, with no memory that any of this ever happened."

The Swedish redstoner could hear the ripping of fabric coming from their lower back, as well as a growing extension of their body. Something was changing, growing, spreading over their skin.

Iskall looked down at their hands, which felt like they had been plunged into lava. Their fingers turned sharp and claw-like, some kind of green scales growing over their hands.

From the sheer pain that they were going through, Iskall fell to their knees, gripping their hair as tears rolled down their face. Cub raised an eyebrow. The transformation wasn't supposed to be painful, not like this, at least.

The scientist took a knee beside the Swede, placing a hand on their shoulder. "Iskall, talk to me. What's happening? How do you feel?"

They opened their eyes to look at Cub, which had turned to a bright shade of yellow, Iskall's pupils turning sharp as well. They let out some kind of animalistic squeak, and the scientist could see that the Swede now had a forked tongue.

The green scales only seemed to cover Iskall's new tail and their hands, but it was clear that they were a lizard hybrid now. The transformation takes a lot of energy, so the Swedish hermit almost instantly passed out once it ended.

Cub lifted the unconscious hermit in his arms, carrying Iskall down the hall, with Stress following close behind. He carried the Swede into a spare bedroom, setting them down onto the bed to get some rest.

Stress flew onto the bed, landing next to the sleeping hybrid. She curled one of her pink wings around the Swedish redstoner, relaxing on the mattress as she drifted off to sleep as well.

Cub tucked his hands into his lab coat pockets, turning away to leave the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He would come back once they got some rest, but for now, he needed to head back to Scar. 

The scientist equip his elytra as he left the castle, flying off to ConCorp with a hint of guilt twisting his stomach into a knot. He would need to check the potion recipe that he had given Iskall, it was odd that it would hurt him.

If this was hurting the hermits, Cub didn't know how much longer he was on board with this experiment.

-

Cub threw his lab coat on the ground as he trudged down the stairs into the hidden ConCorp underground facility. The scientist stretched as he walked towards his lab, where he expected to find his partner waiting.

He opened the door, the dimly lit room flooding with light. Cub spotted Grian, Mumbo, and Xisuma asleep in some kind of cuddle pile on the couch, they must have played until exhaustion with one another.

The scientist glanced towards the figure that stood in the dark, raising an eyebrow at his partner. "Erm, Scar? Why are you standing in the dark? You alright?"

"Finally, you're back!" Scar smiled as he turned around to greet the scientist, completely ignoring Cub's question. He looked like he had been running on vex magic and coffee all day.

"Scar...what is this..?" Cub asked as he walked past Scar to see what his partner had been working on, over to a bulletin board, different color sting connecting photos of hermits to animals, along with notes of behavior and routines, certain hermits like Mumbo and Grian having a large red 'X' drawn over their faces.

The ConVex giggled. "Just something to keep things organized! And we can plan out which hermits we'll turn into what animals, since I haven't finished delivering all the shulker boxes yet!"

There was a glint of insanity that had shone through Scar's green eyes. Cub had seen it before, but now it was more apparent than ever. "Hey, have you slept lately?" The scientist asked softly, placing his hands on Scar's shoulders.

"Why would I need sleep? I'd rather finish this first!"

"Come on, maybe we should take a break. I'm getting a bit tired of working all day and night, anyway." Cub suggested, though his partner pulled away.

"No can do, Cubby! Too much work needs to get done. Speaking of which, did you take care of Iskall?"

The scientist glanced towards the floor, giving a half-hearted nod in response. After watching Iskall in pain, it was hard to feel good. Plus, he didn't like seeing Scar so obsessed with this project. Scar uncapped a red marker, drawing a red 'X' across the Swede's picture as he giggled.

"Oh, this is too much fun! Why haven't we done this sooner?"

Cub sat down at his desk, ignoring the question until Scar shot an angry glare towards his partner. "I don't know," the scientist grumbled as he pinched the beige of his nose.

"Something tells me you aren't having that much fun with this." Scar said with a frown, while his fellow ConVex shrugged.

"I mean, the research was fun. Being able to alter someone's mental and physical state is incredible! But, I mean, we better start thinking about making an antidote soon enough, right?"

Scar gave a nervous and confused laugh. "Antidote? Cub, you think we're turning them back?"

The scientist shot up from his chair, eyes widening at his partner. "That's the only reason I agreed to this! I mean, it's fun to run the server and mess with the hermits, but you said after a couple weeks-"

"I lied. I thought if I showed you how much fun that this is, you'd want to keep them like this!"

"Nononono. Scar, that isn't ethical! This-" he gestured to the room filled with bubbling potions, along with the hermit hybrids that were asleep on the couch. "-isn't right. Sure, I admit, it was pretty fun to test all this out. But I really want my friends back. Not some mindless animals."

"But these are better versions of our friends!" Scar argued, pouting a bit while Cub shook his head.

"This wasn't the plan. We were going to keep them like this for a couple months, then we'd bring them to season seven with no memory of what happened! You promised!"

"Come on, this is way more fun. We could train the hermits to do anything we want! We'll be the kings of the server once everyone is turned!"

"I'm working on an antidote. You're not stopping me." Cub decided as he folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.

Scar let out a sigh, turning back towards his board, pulling another picture out of his pocket, staring down at the photo of him and Cub together from season five.

"If you were anyone else, I'd turn you into an animal just like the other hermits. But you're...you. I can't do that to my best friend."

Cub let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Scar."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to let you turn the hermits back. I like my pets." The ConVex grinned as he snapped his fingers, Mumbo's ears perking up. The cat jumped off his perch, walking over on all fours to Scar.

As the terraformer stroked a hand through Mumbo's hair, Cub shook his head. "You can't stop me. We can turn the other hermits, but I'm going to change them all back soon enough."

Scar stuck out his tongue. "Since when are you so boring?" He asked with a groan, Cub rolling his eyes as he turned to his desk.

"I've been boring ever since you've been crazy."

"Oh, since before hermitcraft? That explains a lot!"

Cub sat down, ignoring Scar's giggles. He began to work, writing down the ingredient list for the antidote. His partner may have gotten a bit carried away, and sure, Cub had too. 

But the hermits wouldn't remember a thing once this whole experience was washed away with a bit of magic. It would all seem like a distant memory or a dream.

Scar wasn't really crazy. He didn't really want to keep the hermits like this!

That's what Cub was telling himself, anyway.

Chapter Text

Cub was getting sick of the animal hermits.

"H-hey! No! Stop!" The scientist yelled at Mumbo, holding Grian and Xisuma underneath his arms to prevent the animals from fighting. The cat's eyes were wide with curiosity, pawing at the beaker filled with a gold liquid. It was Cub's only beta test of the antidote he'd been working on.

Mumbo knocked the glass off the desk, watching as it shattered against the ground before locking eyes with Cub. He stuck out his tongue, as if the cat was taunting the Vex.

"Oh you little.." he grumbled, Cub watching as Mumbo continued to knock over beakers of important potions and ingredients. He groaned, setting Grian down onto the couch, while still holding Xisuma underneath one arm.

They were making it really hard to turn them back to normal.

Right as Cub thought things couldn't get worse, Scar came in giggling, four new animals trailing behind the Vex. Grian hopped off the couch to greet the new animals, tail wagging as he excitedly ran around in circles while yipping.

"S-Scar! You can't keep bringing the animals into my work place!" Cub scolded his partner, while Xisuma hopped out of his arms to run over and greet the terraformer.

"Awe, it's only a few more. Pretty please?"

"No, go and lock them into the cells in the hall." He said sternly, the tension in the room clearly apparent.

"They won't cause any trouble." Scar promised, although Bdubs was already running wild, chasing after Grian to try and play with the fox.

"J-just..keep them out of my lab. Go build some kind of enclosure or something."

His partner frowned, crossing his arms. "Someone seems upset."

"Of course I'm upset, Scar!" Cub snapped, "My friends are mindless animals, and you don't want to turn them back! I'm fine with testing things, but I didn't want any of this to be permanent!"

"Well, too bad." He grinned, Scar's emerald eyes glimmering at his partner. "You know I won't let you turn any of them back."

Cub opened his mouth to respond, but he quickly snapped his jaw shut, his eyes moving towards the ground. "I know," he admitted weakly, which made Scar giggle.

"Good! Now, I'm gonna go deliver the last of the boxes. Watch the hermits, will you?"

"F-fine.." he grumbled, sitting down at his desk while keeping his stare towards the ground.

As he heard his partner's footsteps walk away, Cub placed his hands on his head, staring down at his desk as he tried to think of solution. Scar was probably right, he wouldn't let the scientist turn any of the hermits back to normal.

Leaning back in his chair, Cub glanced towards the animals. Mumbo was chasing Stress, Grian and Bdubs were clawing at the sofa cushions, Xisuma was investigating Keralis' new form, and Iskall was shifting nervously from group to group.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "I never should have done this. It's just...hard to say no to Scar when he's so persistent."

The hermits weren't even listening. Cub didn't care, he knew that they barely even understood him. Once all the hermits were animals, Scar wouldn't even need the scientist anymore. He would probably turn Cub into another mindless pet just for his own entertainment.

There wasn't much longer until Scar would have every hermit as a hybrid. Just a few more, if Cub could recall. 'Let's see...who's left...' the scientist thought as he glanced towards the board of hermits that Scar had put together, only a few left without a large 'X' crossed over their photo. Cleo, Joe, Tango, Impulse, False, Doc, and Ren.

Cub opened a drawer, pulling out a new set of beakers and ingredients, after Mumbo destroyed them all. Maybe he could make an antidote before it was too late, maybe he could fix everything that he ruined, maybe-

"Mreow?" Mumbo purred while tilting his head, Cub jumping in his seat, a bit shocked. He was so focused that he hadn't even noticed the cat had wandered over. The hybrid seemed to notice Cub's stress, rubbing his head against the scientist's leg while putting softly.

"T-thanks, Mumbo." The ConVex muttered quietly as he began to work, the chaos caused by the other animals barely even a distraction at this point. He was getting used to it all, knowing that if he couldn't figure out how to make an antidote, he'd have to live with this for the rest of his life.

-

"I dunno dude, it's just...lonely now."

Doc gave a nod, relaxing at the hippie campsite right outside of Area 77. With half of the hermits barely showing their faces around the server, there wasn't much to do. The creeper was with Ren, who was the only person around.

"I get it, everyone just vanished. Do you think they went to season seven without telling us?”

Ren shook his head. "Xisuma wouldn't do that, would he?"

"Nah, it doesn't seem like him. But.. maybe? Have you seen anyone else around besides us?"

"Impulse and Tango, I saw them earlier in the shopping district. But I'm not sure about anyone else."

Doc let out a groan, leaning back in his seat. "This sucks." he said, while Ren nodded his head in agreement.

"Should we go looking for everyone?"

"I mean, I guess. It sounds like our best chance of finding some kind of explanation for where everyone went." Doc said while standing up, equipping his elytra as a hermit came swooping down, landing in the middle of the hippie camp. 

"Scar, dude! We thought you left for season seven!" Ren smiled as he ran over to greet the vex, Doc shoving his hands into his lab coat pockets as he walked over to the terraformer.

"Of course not!" He giggled, "The hermits have been helping me with an experiment, so most of them aren't around. No need to worry!"

"So why are you here? Just stoppin' by to tell us?" Doc asked, Scar pulling out two shulker boxes in response, handing one to Ren, and one to the creeper hybrid.

"I'm dropping off gifts from ConCorp!" He grinned, Ren opening his shulker with excitement. "Home baked goods and potions for each of you!"

"Wow, these look great." Doc remarked with a smile, taking out golden carrot. Scar wore a sly grin as the creeper bit into the potion-laced carrot, Ren raising an eyebrow as he seemed to notice the creeper's ear twitch.

Doc's ears slightly lengthened, turning fluffy and floppy, as a pair of horns poked out of his hair. His non-robotic eye shifted slightly, the pupil shifting horizontally, similar to a goat's eye. To top it all off, a short, fluffy tail managed to rip through the fabric of Doc's and lab coat.

Ren's tail went between his legs, the hybrid taking a few steps back as he examined Doc's new form. He glanced to where Scar had been standing, only to find that the terraformer was no longer there.

Then it was the sharp pain in his neck.

The dog hybrid felt his knees buckle as Scar pulled out the needle from his neck, Ren falling to the ground while fighting for consciousness.

"Wh-wha? What did you d-do to us..?"

"Well," Scar began, walking over to Doc to stroke the goat hybrid's ears. "I've been turning hermits into hybrids, like I did with Doc. But you were already a hybrid, so I just gave you a little serum to bring you to a more... animalistic side."

Ren felt himself growl defensively, his vision slightly going dark as the world spun. N-no! He had to stand up, h-he had to fight, he had to do something..

"Pick him up and carry him back to the lab," Scar commanded his newly-brainwashed hybrid, that did as he said without hesitation. Ren felt himself being scooped off the ground and into the safety of Doc's arms.

Feeling himself grow more and more tired, the idea of sleep became so wonderful. Maybe a quick nap wouldn't hurt...Doc wouldn't let anything bad happen, and Scar was a good friend...

His thoughts began to slow down, merely leaving a feeling of trust and loyalty towards Scar, as Ren greeted sleep like an old friend.

-

"Cleo? You here?" Joe knocked on the door of the captain's quarters of the zombie's ship, frowning as the door slowly creaked open.

Light invaded the room as the southerner pushed open the door, noticing the large scratches and gashes that littered the walls, furniture, and floor. It looked like some kind of monster had attacked.

He glanced around nervously, walking into the room with horror hidden behind his glasses. As Joe stepped forward, there was a faint 'snap' from underneath his foot, the hermit glancing down as he noticed a cookie on the ground, which had seemingly come from a white shulker box that had spilled all over the ground.

"C-Cleo? What's going on?" He called, Joe quickly turning around at the sound of a low growl. Yellow eyes stared back at him, sharp pupils coming from the unknown creature.

Swallowing his fear, Joe began to slowly back away. "H-howdy the-there.." He managed to stutter, the southerner's voice causing another growl to escape the creature.

As the beast stepped past the window, the light from the outside world managed to illuminate its features. Joe's eyes widened, that wasn't some beast, it was-

"C-Cleo?"

She circled around the shaking southerner, her features unrecognizable to Joe. Her fiery orange hair had a couple black stripes, along with a tiger-like tail on her lower back and a pair of fluffy cat ears on her head. Her fingers and nails were more like animalistic claws now,  and her eyes had no hint of humanity.

The tiger hybrid paused, her sharp pupils turning round. She didn't seem feral anymore, more like a house cat, as she rubbed her head against Joe's legs.

The southerner bent down, using one hand to scratch behind her new ears. He was eye-level with the cat, frowning as he studied Cleo up-close.

"What happened, Cleo? Are you okay? Do you remember who I am?"

The cat answered the questions with a quiet "Mreow". Very helpful. She shut her eyes as Joe scratched behind her ear, purring softly as she curled up onto the ground.

Joe adjusted his glasses, studying Cleo and the room one last time. "I wish I could help you, but I don't know what happened. I'll go try and find someone to help, okay?"

Chapter Text

Tango was stressed, to put his situation lightly.

He was hiding out with Impulse, deep underground in a hidden base he had quickly constructed. Was he scared? Obviously. Not only had he seen Scar stab a needle into Grian's neck, but he had witnessed the newest hermit transform into some kind of fox hybrid. That kind of thing is horrifying to witness.

The redstoner had been lucky enough to get away without being spotted, causing him to instantly start building the bunker to hide away. He didn't know what to do, Tango couldn't hide underground forever. But he thought that he could hide out until he had an actual plan, and since he didn't know how many hermits had been turned, no one could be trusted.

Picking up a metal bucket filled with food, Tango made his way down the hall in the bunker. He approached a wooden door, pushing it open to check up on his friend. "Impulse?" The blonde called, flicking on the lights.

"Hey, there you are." Tango wore a strained smile, shutting the door behind him as he set down the metal bucket. Impulse turned his head, his eyes sparkling with excitement upon spotting his friend.

He ran over, excitedly jumping around at the redstoner. Tango bent down, scratching behind his furry ear to please his best friend. Impulse wagged his long tail, running back to the bathtub filled with water.

It broke Tango's heart knowing that his best friend had been changed into a mindless animal. Impulse didn't truly believe that the redstoner had been telling the truth, he had thought it was all some kind of prank.

"Please, you gotta believe me!"

Impulse sighed, shutting a shulker box as he turned towards Tango with a deep frown. "You're telling me that Scar is going around shoving needles into people? Can't you see why I'm a little skeptical about all this?”

"I know, I know. But it's true! Grian is some kind of fox thing, and Mumbo is a cat, and X is a bunny! I saw it all, you gotta believe me!"

"If I come to your bunker, will you calm down? I'm starting to worry about you."

"Y-yes! Just please, come to these coords, and come alone." Tango said, handing his best friend a sheet of paper before flying off.

Impulse shoved the paper into his pocket, shrugging it off as he continued through the shopping district. He was heading out of ITrade, planning on going to Sahara to pick up some golden carrots.

He walked into the shop, giving a wave to Scar as he walked out of the nether portal inside of the building. The terraformer smiled, running over to Impulse with two white shulker boxes tucked underneath his arms.

"Hey, Impulse! I baked some cookies and cakes for everyone on the server. Would you like some?" The member of ConCorp asked, offering one of the boxes to the redstoner.

"I'd love some!" He smiled, taking the box happily. And to think, Tango was so nervous and panicked about Scar. All he was doing was baking! How bad is that? 

A ding came from Impulse's pocket, causing for him to tuck away the box and pull out his communicator. Tango was already nervously texting him, gosh, he was really worried about Scar. Really, he was no threat at all.

Tango> Please hurry

Tango> I'm really scared about all this

"Who's that?" Scar asked, glancing over Impulse's shoulder to read the message.

"Oh, just Tango. He wants me to head to his bunker, cause he's worried or something."

"Then take one for him, too!" The terraformer said happily, handing another shulker box to the redstoner.

"Thanks, Scar! I'll catch you later!" He waved, no longer needing to buy golden carrots due to the gift that the ConVex had given him. 

Impulse decided it would be best to actually go and see Tango, so he would stop worrying. He opened his wings, tucking the shulker boxes into his inventory while pulling out the paper with the bunker coordinates on it.

He flew off, his mind wandering about the blonde redstoner's worry. It didn't make any sense, all of this had to be a dumb prank. Scar was super nice! Impulse didn't believe for one second that he stabbed a needle into Grian's neck, that sounded ridiculous.

Landing in the grassy plains, Impulse wandered around aimlessly, pulling out a cookie from the white shulker box as he searched for the hidden bunker. Pistons fired as he munched on the dessert, the ground opening up.

"Thank goodness, I'm so glad you're here." Tango said from the bottom of the staircase. "You're the only person I trust, Scar is up to something, I swear."

"He really isn't." Impulse said as he finished his cookie, walking down the stairs to join his best friend in the bunker. "He baked a ton of goodies for everyone on the server, he even gave me a box to bring to you. Maybe you were just seeing things."

Tango opened his mouth to argue, but he was interrupted by the sound of ripping fabric. Impulse seemed to hear it too, glancing around the bunker to try and find the sound.

"Erm... What was that?" He asked, turning around. The color left the blonde redstoner's face as he noticed a long, furry tail growing out of Impulse's lower back.

"I told you he was up to something!" Tango yelled as Impulse noticed the long tail, his ears shifting as well.

"Wha-what?! What's happening to me?!"

"I-..I don't know!"

Impulse struggled to stay standing, placing a hand on the wall as his legs shook. He fell to the ground, struggling to fight the effects of whatever had been put in his cookie.

As his eyes turned dark and vacant, his tail grew to full length, as his ears turned small and round. He had changed into some kind of otter hybrid, Impulse glancing up at Tango with confusion in his eyes.

It was like he had forgotten his best friend in moments.

Tango was brought back to the present as Impulse used his large tail to splash the water in the bathtub, soaking the blonde redstoner's clothes. He let out a tired chuckle, throwing a piece of raw cod for the otter hybrid to enjoy.

His communicator buzzed, an unfamiliar feeling, as the server had been dead silent for days. Tango pulled out the device, staring down at the main hermit group chat.

JoeHills> Cleo is some kind of tiger creature thing. Idk how it happened, does anyone know what happened to her? Xisuma, is there any way you can fix it?

The blonde redstoner opened a private message with Joe, quickly typing to try and explain everything as fast as possible.

TangoTek> Joe, you need to hide. Scar is turning hermits into animals. He did it to Grian and Impulse and I bet he's done it to most of the other hermits. 

JoeHills> What? That sounds crazy

TangoTek> It's crazy but it's true.

He glanced up from his communicator, glancing to Impulse. The otter was seemingly glitching, that was the only way Tango knew how to describe it. And before he knew it, Impulse disappeared into a puff of purple smoke.

Then, the glitching began to happen to him. Tango dropped his communicator in shock, a fiery blaze stinging his skin as his body felt like it was getting torn apart and put back together.

Shutting his eyes as tight as he could, Tango fought the tears that wanted to force their way out of his eyes. Within moments, the pain began to turn minimal, before subsiding completely.

He slowly opened one eye, only to realize that the scenery had changed completely. Tango was no longer in the bathroom of his bunker, he was in some kind of test tube in a lab.

Scar stood with an evil grin across his face, Cub hiding behind his partner with guilt resting in his eyes. Tango looked to his left and his right, both Joe and False in the other tubes beside him.

Xisuma closed the purple admin panel that he had used to teleport the remaining hermits, the bunny glancing up at Scar with pride shining through the vacancy in his eyes. The ConVex giggled at his pet.

"Yes, you did so well bringing the rest of the hermits here. Good work." He said while scratching the base of the bunny's ears, who happily leaned into the sensation.

"I knew you were up to something!" Tango yelled as he banged a fist on the glass, while the ConVex looked up at him with a cruel smile.

"It was just a little experiment on Mumbo, but it got too fun to stop." He giggled, making the redstoner sick to the stomach.

"So, you're going to turn us too? Then what?!"

"Then I can do whatever I want! I'll take you all to season seven, and I'll have all the power and control over everyone. These animals are nothing more than mindless pets without my leadership." He said, stroking a hand through Xisuma's hair.

Scar turned his attention towards Cub, who practically jumped as his partner looked towards him. "Hurry and power on the machines, I'm sick of waiting." As Cub ran off, Scar looked back at Tango with a cruel shine in his eyes.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit."

Chapter Text

Cub felt awful. Actually, much, much worse.

How could he feel anything but guilty and shameful about what he had done? Sure, it was a bit messed up to kidnap Mumbo and experiment on him, but it wasn't supposed to go this far. They were supposed to turn the redstoner back to normal after all the data had been collected, as well as use their vex magic to erase any memories of all the experiments. 

But no, Scar was mad with power. He was too far gone, Cub knew that there was no way to save his best friend, and that hurt almost as much as seeing all his friends as mindless animals. Unable to stare Scar in the eyes, the scientist gave a silent nod to his fellow ConVex, who giggled while turning back to the three tubes that held the remaining hermits.

"Oh, I've waited so long for this." He giggled and swooned, "I couldn't wait for everyone to turn, I just had to have all my pets now. After this, we'll all go to season seven!"

"Scar, what are you on about? What are you doing?" False asked while banging on the glass to free herself, the terraformer giggling in response.

"I forgot you're so oblivious, False! Aw, I had thought that Tango would have caught you up by now. Whatever, you haven't missed much. Once you join the others, you won't even care."

"Join the others?"

"False!" Tango banged on the glass barrier, "Scar has gone crazy! He's turning hermits into animals!"

"Guilty as charged." He said with a shrug, the green-eyed man ruffling Xisuma's chestnut hair as he pet the rabbit's head. "But, can you blame me? I mean, look at how cute they are like this!"

"Yes, we can 100% blame you! This is super weird!" Joe yelled, while Scar let out a scoff while rolling his eyes.

"Too bad, so sad." He said mockingly, pressing a button attached to the tube that False had been trapped in. A glossy orange potion shot out of a dispenser overhead, the glass shattering on the blonde hermit's head and dousing her in the concoction.

False opened her mouth to yell at the ConVex, but out came an unexpected sound. Some kind of mix between a coo and a chirp came out instead, causing the blonde to instinctively cover her mouth with her hands.

Both Joe and Tango eyes widened in shock and fear, watching as a pair of feathery extensions broke out of her back. She struggled to stay standing with the added weight that caused her balance to be thrown off, causing for False to let out more bird-like noises in surprise.

Unlike Stress' wings, the brand new extensions were a dark shade of brown, much larger than the parrot hybrid's. They were similar to an eagle's wings, with a large wingspan and nearly identical color.

"Aw, what a beautiful bird." Scar grinned, flicking a lever to open the tube, causing False to stumble out and stretch her wings to their full length. She didn't seem mindlessly loyal, cooing and flapping her wings violently any time the terraformer came too close.

Scoffing, he turned towards the scientist, who seemed to jump in surprise as he noticed Scar's attention had shifted towards him. "Why isn't she fully turned yet? You said this potion was perfect!"

"I-it's different w-with everyone, Scar.." he muttered weakly, afraid to even speak to his 'best friend'. Cub felt like if he ever slipped up, he'd be turned too.

The ConVex rolled his eyes, pulling out a lead from his inventory. He gripped the rope, causing False's eyes to widen. She flapped her wings aggressively, still getting used to the feathery extensions, unable to fly yet.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay still." He growled, which False reluctantly did, unsure if it was because of fear or if she was slowly turning more susceptible to Scar's control.

Cub stayed silent, even more afraid than before. His business partner's voice sounded so cruel and heartless, nothing like his Scar normally sounded with his giggly voice and cheerful tone. He watched as the terraformer tied the lead around False's body and her wings, tugging the newly transformed hybrid over to the scientist.

"Take her and Xisuma back to the other hermits." He commanded, placing the other end of the lead into his partner's hand. Cub glanced to False's empty and broken gaze, looking back at Scar with a nod.

"Alright." The scientist spoke between clenched teeth, which his partner didn't seem to notice as he turned back to the last two test subjects. Cub turned away, Rabbit-suma happily bouncing alongside the ConVex to follow him out of the lab.

As they left, the heavy metal doors slid shut, Scar grinning as he approached the small panel in front of Joe's tube. The southerner's eyes filled with sorrow and fear, his hands pressed against the glass as he stared down at the ConVex.

"Please, Scar. There's still time to do the right thing, we can all fix things together if you let us go!"

"Fix things?" He let out audible laugh. "What's there to fix? I'm just letting you and the other hermits live without worry or stress from building."

"You're experimenting on us against our will! Are you really that crazy?!" Tango snapped from his glass prison, Scar ignoring the blonde male as he pressed the button on Joe's control panel.

A foggy grey potion crashed onto Joe's head, shattering on impact and soaking his hair and skin. The changes were almost instant, with a faint tingle beginning to form from his lower back and the top of his head. The tingling feeling from the potion made the southerner feel lightheaded and confused.

"Joe! Fight it!" Tango yelled while banging on the glass.

"Ugh, I won't miss your yelling and screaming. Just hurry up and turn like the rest of the hermits." Scar grumbled, pressing a button on the panel in front of the Redstoner's tube, a sapphire blue potion dropping from above. The terraformer took a step back, his twisted grin spreading more and more as he witnessed the transformation take place.

Tango's newly forming ears were more pointed, matching his blonde hair, while Joe's were smaller and rounded. The southerner's tail managed to break out of his clothes, long and thin, similar to a ferret's tail. On the other hand, as Tango's tail formed, it was puffy and round, similar to a fox. 

As he became lightheaded, Tango's eyes turned dull and empty, the newly transformed animal whining as he clawed at the glass. Scar grinned at the fennec fox, pressing a button to release him from the glass tube.

Walking on all fours, Tango rubbed his head against the ConVex's leg, no longer showing any signs of aggression towards Scar. He giggled, pressing the button to release Joe as well.

The ferret jumped out, Tango's ears perking upwards. Joe quickly scurried away, while the fennec fox yipped and chased him around the lab. They knocked over papers and beakers, but Scar carelessly giggled at the animals.

"Oh, Cub! Isn't this wonderful?" Scar giggled as his partner entered the lab, guilt filling the scientist's heart as he saw the two new animal hermits.

"Y-yep, great." He lied, hands in his pockets as Scar kept his back to his partner.

"Come on, let's hurry and get Xisuma to take us to season seve—" Scar froze mid sentence, suddenly tackled to the ground by Cub.

"Cub! What the hell are you—"

Before he could even finish speaking, the scientist quickly pulled out a syringe from his pocket, shoving it into the terraformer's neck. He injected the potion before he was shoved off, the ConVex stumbling backwards as Scar ran a hand over his neck.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?!" He snapped, while Cub didn't respond, his heart racing. The scientist could barely comprehend what he had done, it had been a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.

"I-I'm sorry, Scar.." he said quietly, dropping the empty syringe while trying to calm down his panicking partner. "To fix everyone, I need you out of the way. The vexes and I will alter everyone's memories before season eight, no one will remember anything.."

"Y-you...DIRTY TRAITOR!" Scar yelled, tackling his partner to the ground. Cub tightly shut his eyes as his back slammed against the ground, not wanting to watch his best friend fade into a mindless animal.

He opened one eye when he heard the sound of faint purring, Scar sitting on his chest with a empty gaze. Cub let out a sigh of relief, reaching out to stroke the cat hybrid's new ears.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'll find a way to fix you. I’ll find a way to fix you all."

—

"Welcome, everyone, to season seven!"

Cub wore a strained and forced smile as he announced the start of the new season, glancing around at all of the hermits. Him and the vexes had managed to bring the hybrids out of their mindless animal states, so they were back to normal. Well, kind of.

No matter what he did, Cub couldn't make an antidote to return the hermits to normal. So, with a bit of vex magic, he had managed to twist and manipulate their memories. Everyone believed that they had been an animal hybrid all their lives, and that season six had ended peacefully.

It pained Cub to have to do this, he did all that he could to try and reverse the damage that he had done, but nothing worked. It was all hopeless, this was the best he could do. He couldn't erase the hermits animal instincts or their appearance, the best he could do was change them back from mindless animals.

Purring pulled the scientist out of his guilt-filled thoughts, causing for the ConVex to glance towards his feet. Scar was rubbing his head against Cub's leg, practically begging for attention.

It was safer to keep him like this, a mindless cat that simply wanted to play and be pampered all day long. If Scar somehow remembered what had happened in season six, everyone would be put in danger. He had gone crazy, so much so that it was best for everyone, including Scar himself, to keep him as a pet.

In the end, Cub couldn't fix things. He couldn't turn everything back to normal, and the guilt was silently crushing him. He couldn't talk to anyone about what had happened since all the bad memories had been erased completely from their minds.

All the ConVex had was a cat and the guilt that wore him down, day by day.