Chapter Text
They were bored. That was the only way to explain why they were on the search for a jungle temple. They weren’t looking for resources or special mobs, they just wanted to have a good old-fashioned adventure.
Grian spotted the temple first. “MUMBO! I see one!” He pointed below them.
“Where? Grian, I don’t see-“ Mumbo, paying no attention to where he was going, flew right into a tree.
Grian almost joined him when he started laughing, falling to the ground when he landed. Mumbo stood up and wobbled around for a second before shaking his head and giving Grian a nasty look. They both looked around.
“Well. Where is this temple Grian?” He was rubbing the side of his head.
“It was here I swear!” Grian walked through some thick leaves and stopped. “Woah.”
Towering over them was a giant stone temple. It was covered in vines and moss and had carvings all around the front entrance. Neither of them could move for a second, unable to believe they actually found one.
Grain looked over at Mumbo and smirked. “Dare you to go inside.”
“What! No way!” He gestured with both hands. “Look at this place Grian! It looks… uh… it looks haunted!”
Grian snorted. “Chicken”
Mumbo sputtered, turning towards the entrance and marching inside. Grian stood on his toes, trying to keep an eye on him. Soon he was alone outside, Mumbo having disappeared into the darkness.
“M… Mumbo?” Grian was met with silence. He slowly walked forward peering into the darkness. “Mumbo? Hello?”
Mumbo’s voice echoed out of the doorway. “Grian! Mate, this is awesome!”
Grian stood there, unsure if he really wanted to go inside. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and stepped in. It was very dark and before his eyes could adjust, he started tripping down a steep incline. He stopped when he ran into Mumbo.
As they tried to regain balance, Mumbo stepped backward onto a pressure plate. They both jumped when the wall started moving, the sound of the stone sliding against itself echoing around them. Neither of them acknowledged that they were shaking.
When the wall stopped moving, Mumbo looked over at Grian with a mischievous look on his face. “Dare ya to go inside.”
Grian, refusing to let Mumbo get the best of him, stood tall and walked into the room. There were lit torches along the walls, and in the center was a glowing purple chest. It looked like it was made out of obsidian. Grian reached forward, running his hand along the cool surface.
Then he noticed it. A button. A small black button, right on the front under the lid. He stood there, warring with himself about whether he should push it. Or more so, if he could resist and NOT push it. He reached forward, barely touching it. Mumbo was walking backward, intrigued by the redstone dust sprinkled throughout the designs on the walls. He ran into Grian bumping into him, causing him to fully press down.
“Mumbo!”
He couldn’t answer. The redstone started glowing and he was lost in it. The intricate way it ran along the walls, causing various bursts of light when it reached certain points. It ran along both sides of the room until it met on the back wall, then ran straight into the bottom of the chest. The lid slowly opened, and they both looked inside. The bottom was faintly glowing, illuminating two potion bottles.
Grian went to reach inside and stopped, smirking to himself. “Oh Mumbo? I DARE you to pick them up!”
Mumbo blinked in shock. Then furrowed his brows and grabbed both bottles. There were no labels, but etched into the glass were two designs.
One bottle had three arrows pointing to the left and right, mirroring each other. The liquid inside was an iridescent mixture of reds, blues, and golds. The second bottle had two sets of four lines fanning out on either side. The liquid inside that one resembled a blackened night sky, with specks of white light shimmering in the torchlight.
Grian reached forward, taking the bottle with the arrows, and examined it. “What is this stuff do you think?”
“Dunno. I’ve never seen anything like these before.” Mumbo looked around the room. “I wonder how old this place is." He whipped his head towards Grian when he heard a distinct POP of a cork. “GRIAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
Grian sniffed the bottle, and his eyes lit up. “Sweet berries! Mumbo this smells like sweet berries!”
Mumbo hesitated before popping the cork of his bottle, giving it a sniff. “Mine smells like… fish sauce.”
“Fish sauce?” Grian made a face.
“Yeah! Fish sauce. Oh man, it goes great with everything!”
Grian leaned forward and sniffed. “UGH! That’s awful!” He stuck his bottle under his nose, breathing deeply. “Ahh… much better.”
“Well, Grian. If it smells so good. I dare you to drink it.”
“Excuse me?”
“I dare you to drink the potion.”
Grian opened his mouth to argue. That was one of the stupidest things that had ever come out of Mumbo’s mouth. It was dangerous and reckless and could most definitely cause more harm than good.
“Fine, but only if you drink yours too.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then they raised their bottles, counted to three, and drank. At first, nothing happened. They looked at each other, confused and unsure what to do.
Grian went to complain but when he went to talk, all that came out was a loud squawk. He slapped both hands over his mouth, eyes wide in horror. He tried to speak again. “Wh… what is happening?”
Mumbo wasn’t paying any attention. A fly had gotten into the room, and he was following it with his eyes, completely focused. Then he reached up and smacked it out of the air, letting out a faint rumble in his chest.
He turned back to Grian. “Sorry mate. What’s-“ His eyes got huge as he took in the sight before him.
Grian’s hair was turning a bright shade of red. His nose started getting longer and pointier and for some reason, all Mumbo wanted to do was pounce on him. He raised his hand to point at Grian’s hair, which had now turned into a patch of feathers when he noticed his entire hand had turned into a paw.
The pair stood there frozen, watching the other transform, unable to believe their eyes. Neither of them knew what to say or do.
Mumbo noticed a shadow move behind him and quickly turned his head. There was something long and skinny causing a very enticing shadow on the wall. His pupils grew and he turned his body to catch it. Nothing was there, and he let out a low growl.
Grian burst out laughing. “Mumbo! That’s your tail buddy!”
“What? I don’t have a-“ There was the shadow again and he pounced on the wall. He huffed when he didn’t catch it, pouting.
Grian walked, or more so waddled over and reached around to grab it, but when he did there was a giant feathery shadow on the wall, causing him to let out a loud squawk and fall backward. He looked around and two giant wings had grown out of his back. He squawked even louder when he noticed that instead of feet he had large yellow talons.
“Mumbo I don’t like this! What is going on!”
Mumbo was looking at his paws, intrigued. He leaned forward and carefully licked one, then brought it up to his face and wiped his nose. He let out a large purr, and continued grooming. In between licks, he spoke up. “I don’t know but this is kind of lovely.”
Grian blinked a few times, unable to believe his eyes. “Mumbo. You are a CAT. YOU WERE NOT A CAT WHEN WE GOT HERE!”
Mumbo looked up and lowered his head. Grian was brightly colored and flapping his wings and something was telling him to pounce. He crouched down and lunged. Grian squawked and flapped his wings even harder, lifting himself off the ground. He started to panic but slowly calmed down when he realized he was flying. He let out a shocked laugh.
“I’m flying. MUMBO! I’m FLYING!”
Mumbo pawed at his ears. “Not so loud dude. Ow.”
They spent a good hour exploring their new bodies. Mumbo was still able to walk on two legs, but he found it was quite simple to walk on four as well. Grian however, found out that walking really sucked, and preferred to fly around. They left the temple, stepping out into the jungle. The sun was setting, and it had gotten much darker.
“Mumbo? Can I try something?”
Mumbo tilted his head and squinted. “What…”
Grian answered by lifting off the ground and grabbing Mumbo by his shoulders. He let out a yowl and started to paw upwards.
“Mumbo stop! I don’t want to drop you!”
Mumbo looked down and curled into himself. “Oh dear!”
Grian landed them on top of a tall tree, and they looked around. Once they determined that they were stuck there for the night, they tried to relax. Grian started preening his feathers and Mumbo was giving himself another bath. When they were finished, they decided to try and sleep. Mumbo curled up and Grian lay down, using him as a pillow. He covered both of them with his wings and they drifted off.