Archive of Our Own

There was a certain comfort Grian felt in his place of residence being somewhere not many knew about. His entire life, and that of a few others, was contained within the Bios Haven, a hidden refuge nestled in a valley between hills. Its population, small and tight-knit, lived under watch of the Secret Keeper, the seemingly-sentient ruins that determined the order of their lives with various tasks.

As for himself, Grian was a simple commoner, sharing a fort re-purposed into a home alongside his roommates Etho and Cleo. It wasn't exactly a peaceful life here in the Haven, mostly due to the tasks magically gifted to the inhabitants in order to appease the Keeper, but the chaos brought by this was the part Grian liked the most about this place. He wouldn't have it any other way.

But following the orders in the Secret Tasks just as everyone else always did wasn't the only activity that kept Grian going. Recently, he'd taken an interest in studying magic. And though he hadn't quite reached the level of certain other valley inhabitants, it motivated him enough to the point of adopting a magma cube, Etho's Dishwasher, whom he initially saw as a test specimen but quickly grew to see as a pet and member of the family.

That morning, when Grian came down to the kitchen to prepare some burnt roast for his little companion, he spotted a never-seen scroll with a yellow ribbon tying it.

"What's this doing here? Doesn't look like one of the task ones…" He spoke to himself.

"Don't touch it!" Cleo practically read his mind from the other side of the room.

After the minor jump he got from their voice, he turned around to see her packing a bag with light adventure materials.

"...What's in it?" Grian pushed a little further on his curiosity.

Cleo finally turned his way. "A spell of sorts from what I've heard, but I've not read it. Martyn asked me to deliver it though, and he said it was really important."

"Of course you're doing it for Martyn." Grian teased.

"Well duh, he's my partner, so I'd sure hope I would." Cleo laughed. "You'd do the same if it was for BigB, now wouldn't you?"

Grian let out a playful huff, knowing there was nothing he could say to argue against that. Him and BigB had known each other since before even coming to the valley, though they'd only started dating somewhat recently.

"Morning, roommates!" Etho suddenly joined in the conversation, walking in through the home's portal. "What's the plans for the day?"

"Hey, Etho!" A smile returned to Grian's face. "Nothin' much, really. I've never gotten a task two days in a row, and I had mine yesterday so…"

"Oh, me too." Etho pulled out the bag he was wearing around this neck and hung it on the coat rack. "I was just foraging for potion materials. And I found a special treat for our little guy!"

Grian noticed the warped fungus Etho began waving in his hand. "Oh, come on! You couldn't have told me you were bringing that before I started to cook?!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know!" Etho laughed and waved his hands in front of his face.

"You're not 'sorey'." Grian imitated Etho's accent before turning down the fire and walking up to him, snatching the fungus from his hand.

As Grian crouched down in front of Etho's Dishwasher's enclosure, Etho and Cleo fell back into conversation, which he couldn't help but overhear. Cleo explained her errand, to which Etho responded that it sounded suspicious and told her to be careful, since he'd sensed something amiss when he was out. Something with unstable magic levels or whatnot, Grian had stopped paying attention anyways after receiving a bite with a side of minor burn from his pet.

"Alright, thanks, Etho! I'm off!"

Grian was still blowing air at his burned finger when Cleo's voice suddenly brought him back. "Wait, Cleo! Can I come with you? I don't wanna just be sittin' here at home."

"Oh!" Cleo stopped in her tracks. "Sure, why not? I'm not gonna be gone for long, is that okay still?"

"Yep, it's fine!" Grian ran up to meet her at the exit, picking up his small notebook from a counter along the way. "Bye, Etho! Take care of your dishwasher for me!"

With the two waving him goodbye, they made their way through their front yard's path towards the entrance gate. Going on these walks around the Haven was something these two did pretty often together, and Grian enjoyed it as an opportunity to calm down and clear his mind, while also feeling a sense of adventure. Though he could easily fly them both there in a flash, he much preferred to savour the environment.

Their destination was one of the closer places to their fort, but with possibly the most tumultuous terrain. Between precarious steps on the edge of the riverbank, to climbing up and down various rocky cliffs, the journey there felt like it took much more than the couple of minutes it'd been in reality. Once they finally made it up the steps to the house on top, Martyn was leaning against the outer wall with his arms crossed, his light caramel dog ears flopped down onto his hair.

His tail wagged upon seeing Cleo. "There you are! Was it a safe trip on the way here?"

"Yep." Cleo rummaged through their bag. "The only trouble I had was trying to stop Grian from picking up every cool rock he saw along the way."

"You never know when they might be magic crystals!!" Grian whined through gritted teeth.

"Anyways, got your order." Cleo shrugged before placing the scroll onto Martyn's open palms. "Are you gonna tell me what it's for now?"

"Hmm, well, let's see…"

Before Martyn could speak, a gust of wind flew by in a flurry of yellow, which gave way to reveal Jimmy landing onto the red soil, gasped for breath with his feathers standing up on their ends. Having exchanged only brief eye contact with the group, he hurried past them to the inside of the house.

"Uhhh… Tim?" Grian stepped up to the window and gave it a couple taps, which seemed enough to get his attention and make him come back outside.

"You alright, mate?" Martyn asked. "Practicing your air racing skills or what?"

Once Jimmy noticed everyone's concern, he let off some tension with a mix of a sigh and a groan. "No, it's just… Tango's been feeling off today. I've been trying to help, but… it's been stressful, let me tell you."

Cleo rested a hand on her hip. "Why is that the second person we've talked to today who's been having 'weird feelings'?"

Martyn snickered. "Y'know, if I had a gold coin for every time—"

"Don't." Jimmy cut him off.

"Cleo's got a point, though." Grian chimed in. "...Something ain't right today."

Almost as if on cue, the burst of an explosion in the distance resonated far enough to tremble the ground beneath where they were. When everyone looked to where the sound had come from, they saw a red cloud of dust and smoke floating up from the Roomies' fortress. Exchanging a wordless nod with Cleo, Grian quickly stepped in front of her and spread out his wings to let her climb on.

"Martyn, you coming with us, man?" Jimmy seemed ready to do the same.

"Hmm, nah, I'm good." Martyn stretched his arms above his head. "I've got to find a safe place to keep my package. You guys can go and see what's up."

With a slight tinge of regret for not satisfying his curiosity over that scroll's contents, Grian nonetheless accepted that there were more pressing matters at hand, and took to flying alongside Jimmy. Carrying Cleo's weight on his back made him slightly clumsier and slower in the air, but it wasn't like he'd never done it before, and his unmatched flying skills allowed him to still reach his home's front yard a split second before Jimmy.

The smoke began to clear out as they arrived, revealing that the fort itself hadn't suffered that much damage. That is, besides the grey tree roots growing up from the ground and wrapping around parts of its structure. Immediately recognizing who they belonged to, Grian ran inside in a panic.

The front door greeted him with an electric crackling still in the air, opening to the sight of BigB crouched down on one knee, breathing heavily. Upon a first glance, and then a second, closer one, he didn't seem injured, just exhausted.

"What happened here?!" Grian knelt down next to BigB.

"I'm sorry, G… I couldn't stop them…" He managed to catch his breath. "At least the curse didn't get me, but I can't waste time here! You know where to find me!"

"What curse? Stop who?!" Grian took a look around. His eyes landed on the empty cage. "Wait— where's Etho's Dishwasher?!"

"More importantly," Cleo walked in, "where's Etho?"

Realizing that he'd taken his eyes off BigB for a second, Grian looked back to see him completely gone. Jimmy finally joined the group inside, looking even more on edge than he did a few minutes prior.

"Oh gosh…" His talons clicked as he paced around. "What do we do?!"

A poof seemed to answer his question, as the figure of Joel suddenly teleported in front of him in a magic smoke cloud.

"Sup, I'm here." Joel adjusted his kimono. "You guys seemed like you were havin' trouble here, so I thought you might need my help."

Jimmy gasped playfully. "You heard my prayer?! …'Cause there's no way you heard that explosion from all the way over at your shrine, right?"

"Oh, y'know how these things are with me, Jim." Joel curled his tail with a proud smile. "This magic disturbance stuff, I can feel it from the other side of the Haven. Nothin' escapes my tanuki sense."

"So you know how to stop this, right?" Grian pressed, though suspecting he already knew the answer.

"Well, uh—" Joel averted his eyes and cleared his throat. "...That's not important. What matters is my fur's been standing on end all day, and I wanna put an end to it already, so I'll help you guys."

"Oh, dude," Jimmy's breath resounded with relief, "You have no idea how good that is to hear right now. We need all the help we can get."

"By the way, Grian…" Joel got his attention and extended out a Heart Charm. Got somethin' for you."

"Aww, thank you, Joel!" Grian took it and immediately hung it around his neck. "Did you buy it from the Foundation?"

"No, actually, this is my own handcraft that I made at home!"

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "Did you… steal it from the Foundation?"

"Anyways, guys!" Joel spoke over him. "Where are we going next?"

Grian stopped to think for a moment, revisiting in his mind the information he'd been made aware of thus far. Taking into consideration what BigB had said, as well as the only other source of weirdness he'd heard about, he concluded that, at present, only one place made sense to look for leads.

"I know where, follow me."

"Have you guys got this handled, I presume?" Cleo addressed the group. "Because if so, then I'll stay here and maybe look for any clues."

Joel scoffed. "Yeah, 'course we got this, Cleo. They have me, so… y'know, there's not gonna be any problems whatsoever."

"And now you've just jinxed us, great." Grian rolled his eyes. "Whatever, let's move!"

With no time to waste, Grian and Jimmy took to the air, with Joel following them on ground level with a quick sequence of teleports. Their destination: The Heart Foundation, a sanctuary initially made as a training ground for clerics, but which had since become a casual and charitable resting spot always ready to lend their aid to anyone in need. Their island was somewhat isolated from most homes in the valley, but still the closest any of them got to the Secret Keeper, which probably contributed to the aura of respect they gave off to everyone else.

This place had always been like a second home to Grian, ever since BigB invited him to dinner that one time. That night, an instability with the waters had allowed dark spirits to crowd around them, and fighting them off together under Skizz's protective magic almost made Grian feel like a part of the family. After that, he'd started relying on this group for support even somewhat more than the Roomies.

When they arrived, they only saw BigB and Skizz standing outside, talking about something with concerned expressions.

"Oh, heyyy!" Skizz immediately shifted his attention with a bright smile. "We've got visitors! What's up?"

"Nothin' good, Skizz, I'll be honest with you." Grian landed on the pink petal-covered ground. "And by the looks of it, y'all aren't doing so well either."

"Ehh, sort of." BigB's many glowing eyes shifted around. "We just got a lot goin' on."

"Alright, Bopper, let me be real for a sec here." Skizz placed a hand on BigB's shoulder. "You said you've got a mission to do right now, right? So why don't you leave the worrying back home to me and go do what you need to? Sounds good?"

"But—" BigB paused for a moment, glancing hesitantly at Grian, before sighing. "Fine. Sorry, G, I gotta go again. We'll see each other later."

"Wait—!" Before Grian could speak, BigB dissolved into a mess of leaves and wood chips.

Skizz noticed Grian's distress and wrapped one of his white wings around him. "You'll get your chance, but we need to solve this right now, okay? Now what's troublin' you, buddy? You know you can always talk to me."

Grian pouted. "...We lost Etho's Dishwasher."

"Uhhh…" Jimmy cut in, "I think you're leaving out some information there, bud. Like, the whole explosion thing?"

Skizz laughed. "I never understood that name, anyway. Like, what's a dishwasher?"

"I dunno either," Grian shrugged. "Etho came up with that name first for one of his Wardens, remember? And he's got that weird time stuff going on or whatever."

"Oh, yeah…" Skizz's tone turned more somber. "It's been real tough on us taking care of its kid since that day. Usually Top's got it handled, but…"

"But what?" Joel asked when Skizz trailed off.

"I think Jiggles already knows what's going on. Why don't you guys go and have a look for yourselves?"

Following Skizz's lead, they all stepped inside the elevated sanctuary. Right as they opened the door, a high-pitched shriek echoed on the walls, which was soon followed by a thud. The latter was the impact of Tango's lunge, having landed on all fours in a very dog-like manner that didn't match his Warden features in the slightest. And when he raised his voice, it had an unusual intonation and accent to it.

"You stupid… child! Get back here! A wretched beast, is what you are!"

"What is happening here?" Joel was still covering his ears, unlike the rest of the group.

"Oh." Tango finally seemed to notice that there were people in the room, and got up on his feet. "What's poppin', my dudes?"

Jimmy had an uncomfortable expression. "...You're not Tango, are you?"

"You guys haven't met Ren yet?" Skizz cut in. "Yeah, he takes over sometimes. I've just accepted that my buddy is two guys at this point."

Another shriek interrupted the group's conversation, causing Joel to shrink even further into himself. "MAKE IT STOP!"

"I'm trying!" Ren sounded exasperated. "But this small beast simply does not like me! I don't have the same incredible tamer skills as Tango does, dude!"

"Right, let me give it a shot." Jimmy stepped up. "I may not know the first thing about taming, but I know that Revy loves me."

Exuding confidence, Jimmy walked towards the corner where the baby warden, Revy, had huddled up against. He crouched down next to it, extending a hand and a patient smile. This seemed to work for a brief moment, as Revy's tensed up figure softened in response. But a few seconds later, it began to scream once more.

Once it subsided, Skizz adjusted his halo before speaking up. "You see now what our problem is? I've been tryin' to trigger Top back to front the whole time, but nothin's been workin'!"

"I'm… not sure that's the issue here, Skizz." Ren interjected. "I mean, I've been here before, and Revy's never reacted in such a way. There may be something else afoot today."

Grian got to thinking. His eyes glanced over Joel, who was shaking in distress, and he noticed his tail's fur standing up, just as he'd described earlier this morning.

"What if it's got to do with the magic disturbance?" Grian voiced his thoughts. "Joel's sensitive to it, so I don't see why Revy couldn't be as well."

"Hey! I'm not sensitive!" Joel argued. "I've just got hyper-awareness of it, okay? But yeah, that makes sense. And that's the whole thing we've been working to stop!"

"Disturbance?" Skizz placed a hand on his chin. "Wait, that's what Bopper was talkin' about earlier! Are you guys after the same thing?"

"Does that mean we have to wait for him to return?" Ren asked in a defeated tone. "I can't handle this demonic noise for much longer, dudes!"

"...Hold on."

Feeling a spark of an idea, Grian pulled out his notebook and cautiously approached Revy. Opening up to a section in the middle, he recited the words on the page, and from it, white beams of light streamed out and surrounded Revy in a spiral, stopping after forming a ring around its torso. Once the spell was completed, Grian pushed himself up again.

"That should block him from sensing anything bad for a while," Grian explained. "With my current level, it should work for at least a couple hours. He will be vulnerable during this time, though, so I recommend you guys keep him inside at all times."

Skizz smiles with a mix of fondness and pride. "Wow, you learned that one fast!"

Grian laughed curtly. "What can I say? It's only 'cause I learned from you. You might wanna cast an extra layer with your power level, though, at least to last longer."

If there's anyone Grian trusted to cast a spell like this for maximum effectiveness, it was Skizz. After all, he was the closest thing Grian had to a mentor. Though angelic magic wasn't the main focus he liked to learn, Skizz's focus on aerial combat and defensive play gave Grian the foundations to actually think about how he carried himself. That said, Skizz's specialty shined the brightest in moments like these.

"Hmm, maybe it would be better if I did that, you're right. But y'know what? I trust you guys. You can get this sorted out so fast, we won't even miss ya!"

"But we don't even know where to go!" Jimmy protested.

"Your mission's the same as Bopper's, right?" Skizz asked. "If so, he said he was heading to the cherry mountain where Gem and the Scotts live."

"Aren't those guys just, like, a travelling troupe of bards or somethin'?" Joel seemed unimpressed. "What would they have to do with this?"

"Ah, Joel, that's what they want you to think." Grian gave a playfully condescending tone.  "Did you even know Gem's got enderman lineage? I'm pretty sure she's experienced in some kind of End sorcery as well."

"Wait, really?" Jimmy perked up. "Do you think that's related to what's going on?"

Grian felt his train of thought shot down. "Yeah… that's the part I'm not so sure of. What we saw in the fort was red—most certainly not End magic."

"Still, what other leads have we got?" Joel made his point. "At this point, we're just following BigB's steps, right?"

"I suppose…" Grian sighed.

"You don't sound so excited." Jimmy pointed out the obvious. "Aren't you guys, like, dating, or something?"

"It's nothing, let's go." Grian shut him down.

"Good luck, you guys! Stay safe out there!" Skizz shouted as the three of them set to leave.

As Grian's wings flapped and carried him in the air, he couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this. He rarely ever visited this area of the Haven, and thus had no clue what he might be getting himself into. The trio stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced through the open gates to see if anyone was home. From their position, they could hear the clopping of Scott's hooves on the grass as he moved between different flower patches, carrying a jar of water in the air with magic from his horn.

"Um… hi!" Jimmy decided to be the one to get his attention.

"Finally, you said something!" Scott turned his centaur body around to face them. "I've seen you guys standing there, I was wondering when you were gonna stop spying on me!"

"Right, let's get to the point." Joel wasn't having his chirpy attitude. "Where are your other guys?"

"Why does everyone ask about Gem and Impulse? BigB also came by with the same question just now! And I told him they left this morning telling me not to go near them. "

"Why would they tell you not to be near them?" Jimmy tilted his head.

"I don't know!" Scott maintained his casual tone. "But whatever they were up to, I agreed that I wanted no part of it. So I'm just here minding my own business!"

"Yeah no, I don't buy that for a second." Grian crossed his arms. "There's no way you wouldn't be an accomplice to whatever those guys decide to do!"

"All I'm doing is telling you exactly as much as I know." Scott shrugged. "If you don't believe me, that's not my problem. But they did say they'd be coming back for me, so I've already made preparations to leave this place when that happens."

Joel's ears perked up. "What do you mean they'd be coming back?!"

Just then, there was a soft crackle. Joel's hair slowly stood up even more with the static that creeped in the air. A line of red smoke began coming up from behind them. Grian's body moved faster than his brain. He grabbed Joel by the back of his lapel and jumped forward as far as he could, propelling himself with his wings along with the explosion breaking out, until the two landed face-first on the ground.

Lifting his head up a little, all he could see was Scott galloping over the wall away from the action. Further away, Jimmy was flying above the ground, noticeably unscathed as well. When Grian turned around to see what had hit them, there was the completely expected sight of Gem and Impulse, emanating a corrupted energy. Not only them, however, but also…

"Bdubs?!" Joel was the first to call out. "Why are you with them?!"

"Sorry, Joel." Bdubs pulled out a bow and arrow. "The pact doesn't apply here!"

The main thing Grian knew about Bdubs was that he was a part of the Mounders' Community. Joel always insisted that it wasn't a cult, but the eerily over-committed loyalty of that group meant Grian always kept his suspicions about it. The other thing he knew was that Bdubs was also a centaur, though not a unicorn one, like Scott.

"Oh gosh! Guys, are you—" Jimmy tried to get to the two, but was stopped by an arrow flying in front of him, throwing off his flight slightly.

"Bdubs, you distract him! Impulse, stick by me! And don't forget what I gave you!" Gem shouted out orders.

There was no time to make a plan, but Grian couldn't let his attention be divided. He knew Joel wouldn't be in his top state for a fight considering how things had been affecting him, so his main priority would be protecting him.

With the two beginning to charge, Grian felt Skizz's lessons coming in handy and jumped in front of Joel while casting a shield of light. Sensing his cue, Joel ran up a tree on all fours and jumped over to land behind them, dividing their attention. Impulse took to chasing around Joel as the latter teleported, while Gem continuously swung a sword at Grian, blocking any opportunity he could find to reach the other side.

"Impulse now!!"

"Right!"

Under Gem's command, Impulse pulled out a paper ward from his pocket and pasted it onto Joel's forehead before managing to pin him down.

"What did you—rgh!" Joel struggled in futility. "Why can't I teleport?!"

Without a second thought upon seeing Joel in danger, Grian jumped into action. He faked out Gem's movements to sneak past her, then lunged forward against Impulse. His target retaliated in time, however, responding with an electric bolt of searing pain that burned into Grian's torso. But before the damage could last any further, the Heart Charm around his neck began to glow. Grian pulled himself back as he felt its healing effects, then immediately got on his guard and prepared for the next upcoming attack.

When Impulse went to lift his hand, Gem suddenly stopped him. "Retreat! Just take Joel for now!"

"What?!"

Grian couldn't let that happen. He tried to fly at Impulse again, but another surge of red lightning coming from Gem's direction just narrowly flew in front of him. And once he could see past the flash of light again, his three adversaries were running out of the gates with Joel mounted on top of Bdubs' back.

"Hey— get back here!" Grian went to chase him, but suddenly stopped and remembered Jimmy. Looking back, the latter seemed too tired to even fly, prompting Grian to make his way over and check on him.

"Dude…! I was dodging for so long!" Jimmy was hunched over, holding his hands to his knees. "I can't believe they've got Joel! We gotta go after them, now!"

"Not like that, you're not." Grian pointed out. "Let's take it slow, or we won't have any energy left to rescue him."

Taking his advice, Jimmy straightened up his back and took a couple deep breaths. While giving the dust time to settle, Grian took note of his charm, now broken in half after having served its purpose. If it wasn't for Joel giving it to him, Grian might've become corrupted by that bolt… And now, he couldn't even return the favour by stopping Joel from being taken away.

"Are you ready?" Jimmy's voice brought Grian back from his negative thinking.

"...Yes."

This time, they'd move by ground, taking their time down the stairs in hopes to have rested enough by the time they reach their destination. Once they made it to the bottom however, the trouble with this became clear: without the high ground, they had no easy way of knowing which direction the others had run to. Though it was an open field, its slight hills meant they had already disappeared from line of sight. All Grian and Jimmy could do was search around the area for any signs of their tracks.

However, what they found instead was a different figure of a person approaching. It was the trader, as he liked to call himself; a strange fellow whom everyone seemed to know, but no one claimed to be any close with. As was typical, today he was travelling atop the exotic creature which he called a 'camel'.

"Why hello there, my fellow travelers!" Scar pulled the reins of the camel to stop it in place. "What troubles on you on this bright, sunny day?"

"Oh, Scar, perfect timing." Grian did a short fly over to him. "You get around a lot, right? Have you seen Joel just now, by any chance?"

"That's the raccoon guy, right? Hmm, let me see…" Scar paused to think for a few seconds. "I did see him actually! He was heading over to that cult- mound… the Mounders' place, yeah!"

Jimmy joined in. "How sure are you?"

"I have the most absolutely certaintly!" Scar placed a hand over his chest. "If I'm lying about this, may the Secret Keeper strike me dead right this second!"

"Right…" Grian recoiled slightly. "Why don't you, uh, lead the way, then?"

"Of course, of course! Follow me, you two, and you'll find that which you seek."

Turning his camel around, Scar began to make his way south, and Grian and Jimmy walked closely behind. Though having to experience the noon sun, Grian could feel himself recover somewhat by the time they arrived in front of the walled community, its mounds and strangely-shaped buildings rising up to be visible even from the outside.

Grian shuddered. "This place always gives me the creeps."

"Come on in, you two!" Scar held open the gate. "I will guard the entrance to make sure there are no threats around!"

Jimmy took up the offer and walked on in, though it took Grian a few more moments before he followed suit. Once they walked inside, the first they saw was the central mound, topped with a tall, pinkish tower protruding above it. When Grian's eyes slid back down, he saw Jimmy about to walk through a door into it.

"Wait, Tim, don't go in there!" He grabbed him by the arm.

"But Joel's somewhere around here, right?" Jimmy argued. "We gotta start looking for him!"

"Yeah, but… I'm not sure about this." Grian hesitated, looking back at Scar to see that the latter had positioned his camel so as to block the entrance gate. "Let's just figure something else out real quick."

Grian's suspicions were soon confirmed when an electric jolt came from the inside, which both managed to dodge just narrowly in time. Looking through the door, they could see the red dust dissipating to reveal who it was.

"Alright, plan B it is then, mate!" Pearl was hunched over in a battle stance.

"Everyone, now!" Scar suddenly yelled out.

With that call to action, others soon started appearing from various hiding spots coming from all sides, equipped and ready to fight. Gem, Impulse, Bdubs… Etho, Mumbo, and of course, Scar and Pearl too. Knowing how quickly he and Jimmy would be overwhelmed if they didn't move, Grian instinctively took to the air.

Jimmy did the same, and the two flew around the same general area, forced to dodge a flurry of arrows and lightning attacks. They weren't gonna be able to keep this up much longer before running out of stamina, so even if the thought of leaving Joel behind hurt him, he eventually signaled to Jimmy and the two were able to make their escape.

He could hear Jimmy speaking something from behind him. Asking questions? Grian wasn't paying attention. He needed to think, to figure out a solution. But Joel wasn't safe, and they probably didn't have long, and they were outnumbered, and—

"BigB?!" Grian stopped in his tracks, having spotted BigB a couple ways below him.

"What's he doing by my sister's house?" Jimmy pointed out, making Grian realize that he hadn't even noticed that part.

Without exchanging another word, the two flew down to ground level and stopped in front of the pink building. Once there, Grian didn't see BigB, and thus assumed he'd gone in already. Jimmy stepped up to the door first, being used to just walking inside without needing to knock, while Grian followed a bit more hesitantly.

Lizzie' blue gills perked up at the sound of them entering. "Oh, hello! Wow, lots of visitors today."

"Hey! How you guys doin'?" BigB did a waving motion with one of his tree branches.

"Not good… Not good at all!" Jimmy plopped down onto a seat. "It's been one problem after another today!"

"Lizzie, Joel's been kidnapped." Grian explained. "...Sorry we couldn't help him."

"He's what?!" Lizzie sighed. "Of course… that's my husband for you, always getting himself into trouble."

Having the feeling of being in a safe space away from outside stressors, Grian allowed himself to get comfortable enough and settle down close to BigB. All the while Lizzie worked on preparing some tea for everyone. Once it was done, she placed a cup in front of each person before sitting down beside Jimmy.

"...BigB, you're after the same thing as we are, right?" Grian was the first to speak up. "What have you learned so far?"

"You mean, the thing with Gem?" BigB asked. "Yeah, I looked into it a little bit. It's called the Boogeyman Curse. When someone has it and deals a fatal wound to someone else, that person becomes infected as well. I think she's tryin' to get to everyone today."

"Wait, why didn't they infect Joel then?!" Jimmy lifted himself from his seat. "Were they just trying to lure us out or something and get us all at once? And how are we meant to solve this, other than just… waiting it out?!"

Grian sighed. "BigB, I bet you know an answer to that, right?"

"Yeah, but… you don't look okay, dude. That's not the Grian I know of."

"It's just—" Grian groaned in frustration. "I've been trying to show that I can resolve the problem, but I keep messing it up, while you're always one step ahead of everything! Why can't I be good at this?!"

There was a brief silence among the others, until BigB placed a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, look… I get that I know this stuff, but it's easier when I get help, y'know what I mean?"

"Exactly!" Lizzie added. "If everyone who struggles lifts each other up, the shared struggle will be less!"

"Yeah, and you've got me as well!" Jimmy joined in. "So… what do we need to do?"

"I was lookin' into it while you guys were fighting them." BigB wrapped his hands around his teacup. "There's a spell that can break it written on a special item, but I just can't find it."

"What's it written on?" Grian asked.

"Something called a Golden Scroll. It makes whoever holds it immune to the curse, if they're not already infected."

Hearing that name, something suddenly clicked. Grian remembered what he'd seen this morning. Something that was a scroll, but not a task one… that had something gold-coloured wrapped around it…

"...Martyn has it." Grian cut in bluntly.

"How do you know that?!" Jimmy had a puzzled expression.

"Didn't you see him with it this morning? Cleo came by to deliver it! You were there!"

Jimmy chuckled nervously. "I'll be honest, I was in too much of a rush at the time to pay any attention."

"Right, we've got no time to waste!" Grian jumped up from his seat. "You go talk to him, I'll keep them distracted!"

"Can you do it alone, though?" Lizzie asked in concern.

"As long as Tim is quick about it. Come on!"

Grian pulled Jimmy by the sleeve and, amidst his protests, dragged him towards the exit. He stopped briefly once he reached the door, though, turning back to wave them goodbye and watch their encouraging smiles.

"I believe in you, G." BigB left him with those parting words as they walked out.

After splitting ways with Jimmy, Grian flew back to the Mounders' area, ready to do his part of the plan. Being quickly spotted by the group, he let his aerial movement skills carry him. Getting near any high places would allow them a chance to reach him, so he had to watch out for wherever he ended up after each dodge — the walls, the tower, the mounds — he couldn't stop for a second.

Forced into constant pressure while vastly outnumbered would drain him in no time at all, and Grian was painfully aware of that. Hoping to potentially incapacitated at least a few of them and ease the burden, he prepared the charge for a flame spell and sought an opportunity. He saw Bdubs lower his guard for a split second and fired it at him, only to be intercepted by Etho casting a barrier.

Etho, of course.

Grian hadn't seen a lot of him in action by virtue of him not fighting as much these days, but he'd heard the stories. The undefeated Time Master… the ability to replay his opponent's moves as many times as needed until things went exactly his way. Some rumours also said he had knowledge of things from the far future, but Etho himself never confirmed or denied these claims.

After the successfully deflected flames dissipated, Etho took a leap in the air, flashing his many kitsune tails in a fan motion, with a glow of light that took over the battlefield and was gone the next second. Etho reached Grian, hovering in the air with movements now faster than ever. Or maybe he'd just slowed down time for himself. Either way, Grian was completely barred from taking any offensive action, as any move he'd made would be instantly read by Etho.

But there was something strange about this. Grian was still able to swiftly dodge all of the lightning bolts with no issue, and Etho himself seemed more intent on stopping Grian from attacking than inflicting a mortal wound himself. Could it be that part of him was still lucid and didn't want Grian to get infected? …Or, more likely, the infected had figured out the plan to stall for time and were trying to tire Grian out before it could work.

The latter idea seemed to fail when the wild flight of Jimmy suddenly cut across the battlefield, briefly disorienting everyone except for Etho, who simply jumped back before he reached Grian.

"Where is it?" Grian rushed a whisper.

"I couldn't… find it!" Jimmy could barely form words between his gasped breaths. "Martyn… he said he burned it… already."

"What?!"

Before the two could properly address the information, a flash of red lightning flew from Etho's direction and passed right in between them. It hit a wing for both, not causing significant damage, but rustling their flight feathers just enough to send them falling to the ground. When he looked up, he saw Etho retreating behind the crowd while Gem slowly walked towards him, her figure seeming to tower compared to Grian's collapsed position.

"So you talked to Martyn, huh?" Her tone was mockingly casual. "Good to know he's keeping his end of the deal. Guess you guys can't get to the scroll now!"

Grian desperately scoured his thoughts for a solution. There had to be a loophole he missed somewhere, some kind of spell he'd forgotten that would instantly turn the fight in their favour. But no matter how many ideas his brain tried to play out, it would seem that it was already much too late.

Those thoughts shifted instead to what BigB would've done in this situation. He always seemed so calm under pressure, and knew exactly what to say. Those words from the earlier conversation replayed incessantly in his head.

'I believe in you, G.'

'That's not the Grian I know of.'

No, he couldn't let BigB down like that. That realization gave him just the small push he needed to hone his focus for a moment. Once he did, another thing said in that same conversation began to nag at him.

'It makes whoever holds it immune to the curse'...

Why did Gem mention a deal earlier? That had to be the reason he would've accepted it. But if that was the case, Martyn burning it would seemingly completely negate the scroll's protective effects. Plus, it didn't add up that he'd be helping her out for any reason other than self-interest. That could only mean one thing…

But Grian couldn't finish that thought before having to rush back to his feet at the incoming attacks. Unable to fly, no longer in his element. He had to find an opening, an opportunity to escape the battlefield. Even if it meant leaving Jimmy in a vulnerable state. This was the only way to—

"IIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!"

The battlefield shook with a high-pitched echoing sound, prompting all who were present to cover their ears in reflex.

"Shriekificate blast, yeah baby!!"

"Tango?!" Jimmy immediately ran to his side. "It's really you this time, oh my gosh!"

"That's me, yeah!" Tango laughed before crouching down to give Revy a treat. "Who's the goodest little Warden?"

"WHAT'S UP!" Skizz's booming voice suddenly joined in.

"Heart Foundation to the rescue!" BigB made himself known as well.

The shriek had managed to throw off the other side, but Grian knew they couldn't celebrate for long, so he quickly reconvened with the others to whisper his plan.

"Focus on Etho. Divide his attention as much as you can. You can't beat him in duels, but even he can't be in two places at the same time."

"And what's your part in this?" Skizz raised an eyebrow, smiling like someone who could tell that Grian was cooking a plan.

Stepping behind the group for cover while doing a quick preen of his feathers, Grian spoke with the utmost resolve. "I'm going to get the scroll."

"How?!"

"You guys guard the fort 'till I'm back!" Grian ignored Jimmy's question and took flight.

Looking at the valley from up above, there were few obstructions in Grian's way while he looked for Martyn. After a quick circle around the immediate area, he flew over the Secret Keeper and found his target standing against the stone on the back side of it. As soon as they locked eyes and Grian charged towards him, Martyn made a bolt for it following the perimeter.

"Time to be the Grian I'm known for!"

With a wide open smile across his face, Grian threw down a small handcrafted explosive. It intentionally didn't hit Martyn, instead landing next to him so the impact would knock him over. Before he could get up, Grian lunged from above, perching on his back to drag and then hold him down against the ground with his claws.

"Ow! Get off me!" Martyn tried to struggle, to no avail. "What did I do?!"

"I know you have the scroll!" Grian held another explosive over Martyn's head, with a flint up to its fuse. "I'm not gonna fall for your bluffs! You'd have no reason to run from me otherwise!"

"Alright, fine!" Martyn threw his hands up. "Just let me reach into my pocket, and I'll pull it out for you, okay?"

Grian didn't say anything, but he didn't protest either. Maintaining his guarded position, he watched Martyn's movements carefully as one of his hands slowly made its way slowly towards his back pocket. As it slid back out, it did indeed pull out the Golden Scroll… only to immediately throw it forward, along with something else which Grian couldn't quite make out due to the speed.

Not even thinking twice, Grian propelled himself in a jolt, keeping an arm extended forward as he followed where the scroll was set to land. And when it finally seemed like he was about to reach it, Martyn teleported in front of him and grabbed it first.

"Wha— how did you do that?!" Grian contested.

Martyn launched another something above his head. "Gem gave me a bunch of Ender Pearls as part of the deal. See ya!"

With a mocking salute, Martyn vanished and flashed back a few feet away, immediately turning around and running as Grian went back to chasing after him.

It turned out that they had looped back, however, as the open fields soon gave way to reveal the crowd of people still battling it out around the mounds. From his position, Grian could see Etho constantly speeding back and forth to protect different teammates and hold back different attacks, and the few pauses he did have betrayed how tired he was really feeling.

But Grian quickly turned his eyes back to Martyn, knowing that he could teleport out of sight at any moment. When the latter halted himself just before getting caught up in the fight, Grian saw the opportunity to come down and throw himself against his back. What this caused was Martyn losing his balance, followed by his grip on the scroll, launching it in the air.

The Golden Scroll's reflective paper shined in the sunlight. Gem's eye turned towards it. She teleported closer.

Her arm reached out. Grian's did as well.

…Grian grasped the scroll.

Then, an impact on his back. The ground hitting his chin, sending pain into his jaw.

Looking up behind him, Etho covered his entire line of sight. And in the hands of his Roomie, the scroll had been taken from him.

"I'm sorry, Grian." Etho's reddish-glowing eyes flashed a sympathetic expression. "Gotta follow Gem's orders."

"Etho…" Grian let out a pained whisper. "Please, just let me do this."

Etho's eyebrows furrowed, and his grip on the scroll shook and tightened. He looked up to the group, then back down at Grian. Then, he lowered the scroll onto the ground and placed it next to Grian's hand. In a rush, Grian scrambled to grab it and opened its contents, clearing his throat in order to yell out a cry that would be heard by the entire battlefield.

"Omnes maledictiones tuas nunc saneo!!!"

A bright red stream of light radiated from above Grian, coming from all the other infected as well before dissipating the next moment. It took everyone to process what had just happened, but soon after, Gem's eye turned to Grian in shock, and then to directly above him.

"Etho!!" Her voice cracked in anger. "You just made me fail my task!"

"Ohh no! I gotta get out!"

He turned into his full fox form and ran away, allowing Grian to finally get up. Looking around at the crowd, the fighting had been replaced mostly by everyone reacting to the sudden change. But his main concern wasn't that, and it was thankfully answered when Joel walked out from inside, prompting Grian to quickly fly towards him in a hug, and quickly realize that Jimmy had the same idea.

"Dude, I was so worried!" Jimmy tightened his grip.

"Woah," Joel laughed. "I'm fine, guys, I didn't even get infected. Plus the disturbance is gone, finally, and also that noise, ugh—"

"Oh yeah, that was my bad, oops." Tango chimed in.

The conversation around them soon devolved into a mostly light-hearted argument, with Skizz and co. celebrating the victory, while the former infected shouted back for ruining things for them. But Grian couldn't help but see that something was clearly missing. Rather, someone. Not only that, but the feeling that had been nagging at him all day was starting to creep in again.

"Guys, where's BigB?" Grian walked up to Skizz and Tango.

"Oh, that guy?" Tango sighed and shrugged. "Y'know the kind of weirdo he is. He just, skadoodled on out of here or somethin'."

"Yeah, what the heck, man?!" Skizz raised his voice. "Why does he always go missing when it's the good part?!"

When it became clear that neither of them knew where BigB had gone, Grian had a feeling that he might know the answer. There was a hidden place that only the two of them ever went to, where they would spend time together away from anything and anyone. Whenever BigB wasn't at the Heart Foundation, there was an 80% chance that Grian would find him in their secret spot.

Slowly making his way into the steps below, Grian called out. "BigB? Are you home?"

"Uh… no?" A voice replied, making Grian snicker.

"I know you're down there in the Cobblerooms somewhere!"

"There's no Cobblerooms! I'm just, uh, a cave monster talkin' to you!"

Grian smiled to himself about BigB's playful comments as he reached the bottom of the staircase. The familiar sight of those blank rocky walls greeted him, its interiors fully devoid of content, not even BigB himself. With no luck in the main room, Grian took the first passage he saw into a tighter and darker hallway, a complete contrast to the open freedom from before.

Grian slid his hand along the right wall as he followed it. "...Okay, this isn't funny anymore, BigB, where are you?"

"Boo."

"AAHHH!" Grian let out a high pitched scream and fell back against the floor.

"Sorry, sorry, I had to!" BigB laughed, his glowing yellow eyes making his figure visible from around the dark corner. "You okay, dude?"

"YOU DON'T JUST— argh, yeah, it's fine." Grian took a deep breath to calm down, though he could still feel his heartbeat racing. "It's good to see you, even if it's… like this."

"Guess who also came to see you!" Suddenly, something else hopped up behind BigB.

"Etho's Dishwasher?! What's he doing here?"

BigB smiled coyly. "It's… a long story."

Pressing his weight against the wall to push himself back up, Grian respectfully averted his eyes from BigB to allow him to lead them back to the center of the main room, where they could sit on the floor and talk about things properly.

"Y'know how I was at your house… after that explosion?" BigB went to pet Etho's Dishwasher, then immediately retreated his hand from its heat.

Grian's mind played back that moment. "Yeah, I thought that was strange! How did you get there so fast, anyway?!"

"Well, uh… I was there before they showed up. I was tryin' to see if Etho knew anything, 'cause my search had led me there."

The word 'before' made Grian perk up. "So that's it, huh… But what does this have to do with anything?"

"To that, I had my thoughts that Cleo might know somethin' about the scroll. I didn't know if she was workin' with 'em, so I didn't tell her a lot, but I asked her to let me know if she found any clues."

"And what did she say?"

"She said…" BigB paused to play up the dramatic effect. "...She found a track of burn marks nearby."

"Burn marks…?" Grian tilted his head before realizing. "Wait! Are you telling me that Etho's Dishwasher wasn't kidnapped, he just… walked out of his enclosure?!"

"Yep!" BigB nodded. "The bars were damaged as well. I just, followed the tracks and found him by the mesa! …So I brought him somewhere I knew was safe."

"Right…" Grian laughed, but it was a dry kind that faded into a sigh.

"Not happy, still?"

"No, no, that's not it…" Grian leaned back and faced the ceiling. "I'm glad that we won, it's just… the whole time, I was thinking about how much more happy I would be if we were working together the whole time. But I could barely see you for a couple seconds each time!"

BigB gently placed a hand over Grian's. "...I get it, but listen: We were together, dude. If not for you guys getting their attention by fighting, I wouldn't have found out anything!"

"Ugh, I know, but—!" Grian struggled to find the right words. "It's just frustrating, y'know? How I was feeling like I couldn't catch up to you, and that you're way better than I am! I just wish we could stand together, as equals! …That's what it means to be partners, right?

There was no hesitation from BigB in cupping Grian's face into his hands. "Dude, look at me. I know you're still learnin' magic, but there's a ton of stuff I admire you for as well! And… if you want us to do more stuff together, we can change things up, if that helps."

"Yeah… it does." Grian let a hint of a smile form in the corners of his mouth. "Thanks, BigB… I love you."

"Love you too, G."