Chapter Text
'When the sun rises, they shall fall. When the moon rises, they shall feast… When the moon covers the sun, we shall be the ones falling into death's arms.'
That's what had been chiselled into the stone wall, atop all the names carved into the lower wall below. Every name carved was another infernal beast slain, that's what they told everyone.
A little boy, only 14, with his black hair that looked as though someone had tried to style it only for it to go back to its messy state again just because it willed to, looked up at the names that were carved into the stone.
He recognised some, one, an old man who used to give him free apples sometimes, two, a little girl who had big blue eyes and loved to fish with her papa, three, a baby that he'd only met once after they'd been born...
The boy looked at the names directly in front of him, the iron stake in his hand clutched so tightly his knuckles were white and starting to hurt, though the boy didn't notice. The names he stared at were of different ages, the name on the left had been carved 10 years ago, when he was 4.
He missed her.
Everyday...
The name on the right looked as it was, newly carved and clumsy, sloppily done by someone who didn't know how to work into stone, the hands of one who'd never had to carve a name before. The boy put the stake back in its proper place, knowing no one would likely notice the addition till tomorrow.
By then, they wouldn't know where the boy had gone. As he opened the doors to the church, just enough to slip through undetected as he had when he entered, he looked back at the wall of names.
The two names caught his eye before he finally disappeared from this place for what he hoped was the final time...
His mother's and his own.
Clara Jumbo and Mumbo Jumbo.
Mumbo Jumbo, now many years older, though not old enough for him to think the small grey streak in his hair was nothing but wrong, would call himself an honest person.
Well... Alright, somewhat honest.
But, realistically, how exactly do you tell people you're a vampire?
After Mumbo had left his birth world, he'd been on the run for years, Vampires are one of those things that people fear and hate, which is fair, who wouldn't hate a bloodsucking monster?
After the years of running around, just trying to find shelter for himself, he accidentally landed on a world that the people in it called HermitCraft. At first, he'd been terrified, not only of the new place, but of the people, well, a Void Walker? A zombie who doesn't burn in sunlight? A blaze hybrid? Mumbo had never really interacted with non-humans before, but he found they were rather nice to him, even as a stranger who'd accidentally crashed into their world.
They allowed him to stay, they knew his name, called him friend... it was the first time he'd really felt... accepted anywhere. It was nice. Mumbo had been ready to bolt for the first year or so, but slowly, he began to feel safer here.
But what really helped him?
Scar and Grian.
Of the two Scar, a Vex hybrid with pointed ears, vex magic, and wings and body covered in scars, joined first, of course Mumbo and Scar got along as friends, but they both had their own things to do, it wasn't until after Grian, an Avian hybrid with bright colorful wings that cascaded from red to blue, green, and then yellow tips, joined and brought all three together that helped Mumbo fully relax and call this world his home.
Scar and Grian were not only friends, but people he loved, not to say he didn't care about everyone else on the server but...
Mumbo woke up first, with Vex and Avian wings spread out and covering him, as usual. Mumbo didn't have wings to spread, and wearing an elytra to bed was quite silly.
Mumbo ended up in the middle, he usually did when Scar and Grian were feeling particularly clingy while half asleep, hair messy and wearing a long sleeve shirt with a tie print on it and some sweats, with Grian, wearing a red short sleeve top and shorts, on his left, one of Grian's wings laid on top of Mumbo, and Scar, wearing a tank top that was a bit old and falling apart but still wearable and sweats, on his right, with one of his wings over the top of Mumbo's head.
Mumbo knew by now that it was some instinctual thing, being protective even in sleep or something of the sort, he didn't mind. Mumbo settled back into the bed slightly, wrapping an arm around both of them, pulling them both a little closer, Grian ran a little warm, and Scar always ran a little cold.
Being the lighter sleeper, Grian woke up almost immediately after Mumbo grabbed him, snuggling closer.
"Morning..." Grian mumbled into Mumbo's shirt, which made him chuckle. "Good morning."
Mumbo kissed Grian on the forehead and made to try to wiggle his way free, only to be stopped by said birdie, pulling him back. "Five more minutes..." Mumbo chuckled. "Grian, I need to brush my hair..." Grian grumbled a complaint into Mumbo’s shirt.
Mumbo couldn't help but smile before gently taking Grian and rolling over, putting him in the middle, almost immediately Scar sleepily attached himself to Grian, allowing Mumbo to slip out of Grian's grip and into the bathroom.
Mumbo's morning routine had been the same since he'd settled in this world. He disliked being overly dirty or messy looking, always had. After a shower, which by now he could hear Grian getting up and Scar was likely to follow now that both Mumbo and Grian were gone, Mumbo brushed his hair thoroughly, practically dosing it in hair spray to keep it back and straight. After getting dressed in his casual clothes, a loose-fitting dress shirt, a tie, and loose jeans, he left the bathroom.
Scar was no longer in bed, so Mumbo knew they were both awake by now, so he entered the kitchen, finding them both in there.
Scar was sleepily hugging Grian from behind, leaning on him slightly, as Grian himself seemed to be preparing some pancakes.
"Pancakes today?" Mumbo said, a small yawn trying to escape after. "Yeah," Grian flipped a pancake, "we all need a bit of a boost this morning." Both of them glanced at Scar as he made a cross between a sniffle and a snore.
"Want some help with Scar?" Mumbo whispered, a small smile starting to form. "It's alright, only if you want to." Grian shrugged.
Mumbo carefully pulled Scar off and over towards the other bench, where he sat Scar on a stool and started to make some coffee. It wasn't long after Scar's first sip of coffee for him to wake up, the first few words out of his mouth being an embarrassed apology to both Mumbo and Grian, both waved it off, used to Scar's half-asleep clinginess.
After pancakes and more coffee, the other two got dressed, and all three went their separate ways for the day.
Considering the three usually liked to snuggle in bed together, they usually went to one of their three bases at night, though each had its ups and downs.
Grian preferred to fly everywhere, so his had a front door in the shape of a hole in the roof more than a front door on the ground, Scar's base had been blown up with creepers quite a bit by now, so they had to be careful not to fall in any small holes that Scar might have missed or any parkour he may have 'accidentally' invented while creating his security system, Mumbo's was the easiest in and out, it had a bit more redstone to it, unsurprisingly, automatic doors, automated storage systems, the works.
After leaving Grian's base, where they'd slept that night, Mumbo went for a bit of a walk.
He didn't really like this part of the routine, but it was necessary.
Once he believed he was clear, Scar and Grian long gone on their own things by now, he flew over to his own base using his elytra, keeping eyes and ears out for any followers.
Most people on the server assume that all the redstone underneath his base is just to power his doors or his storage, but really?
It's his food supply.
As a vampire who had his fangs filed down as a child, it was a little difficult to bite into and suck the blood of animals, so to combat that, he'd used his redstone and technological knowledge to create a blood farm.
Deep underneath his base, deep enough that no-one should be able to find him, was a room with medium sized pens, each with at least two or three different mobs that all had a metal collar like contraption around their necks that, each day, took a limited amount of blood, the system then automatically took the blood from the collars and put them into small blood bags that were transported into and stored in fridges on the other side of the room.
Today, Mumbo had to feed all of them, then drink enough blood to last for the next few days until he had to come back. It was an effective system, and he did try to make sure the mobs were all comfortable and happy enough.
Mumbo ducked into Doc’s food farm, his base was nearby and they had already established that Mumbo was allowed to go in there if he needed to, and grabbed some wheat, seeds, carrots, and some beef for all the different mobs he had in his blood farm, Mumbo liked having some variety in taste.
After grabbing the food items he needed, he finally went into his underground farm using a secret door that he made sure only he knew of. It worked a lot like an elevator, with a small room that used slime and pistons to go up and down. When the doors opened, you got to see the two rows of fenced-off pens with mobs in each one, he got multiples of different animal blood and they all got friends.
Win-win.
At least, that's how Mumbo liked to think of it.
After feeding his mobs, he went over to his fridge, deciding on sheep's blood today and drank exactly two full bags, making sure not to spill any on himself.
Now that he'd filled himself up for at least another two or three days, he made sure the automatic feeders were working, swapped the mob's water, and then left the farm again.
Morality wise, Mumbo'd had some past issues with the blood farm, not only being a bit upset at the idea of imprisoning mobs and instead of just killing them, which in his mind was a bit more merciful, keeping them alive to drain them of their blood, but by now, he had grown used and numb to the idea of it.
Mumbo didn't necessarily like that he had...
He headed over to the Flowers Ranch. Scott, Jimmy, and Tango's base, an animal ranch surrounded by fields of flowers and occasional wildlife. He'd been sent a message asking for some assistance with some redstone stuff of some kind. The message didn't specify.
One quick elytra flight later, and he met Tango outside of the base. "Hey, Mumbo!"
"Hi Tango." Mumbo landed in front of him. "Did you ask me to come over to help with a redstone issue?" Tango opened the door and gestured Mumbo inside after him. "Yeah, that was me." Tango said, gesturing his hand over his shoulder towards the back of the base. "I was wondering if you could help me with Scott's door?"
Mumbo followed after Tango as he led Mumbo to where he needed help. "Of course mate, what's wrong with Scott's-?"
Mumbo didn't even have to finish the question as Tango brought him to, what he assumed, was Scott's bedroom door up on the second floor which had water spilling out from the bottom, sides, and top of the door frame, flowing out and over the side of the balcony. "Oh."
"Yeah. I figured out how to get the door to open and close, but then... this happens." Mumbo and Tango just stared at the water for a moment. "Scott asked me for help fixing it, but uh..." Tango muttered, Mumbo nodded. "No, I- I get it. Uh, should we get started then?"
Tango nodded. "You think we could get this done before Scott and Jimmy get home?"
"Well..." Mumbo shrugged.
Time to get started.
Well, that was a way to spend 7 hours.
Mumbo stretched as he finally left the Ranch, the sun's rays falling against his skin as he flew away. The sunset was pretty, reminding him of his mother's smile.
Always did.
She'd loved watching the sunset when she could.
Mumbo was flying over the top of the shopping district when his com lit up with a system message.
He fumbled in surprise at what it said and almost crash landed into the top of a shop, managing to slow his fall enough to just barely roll.
The shop was a sand shop, with a big witch's hat on the top, if he remembered right, he'd never been inside, but he liked the name though he couldn't remember it right this moment.
Mumbo managed to land on the large brim of the hap, taking a moment to calm his breathing before looking back at his receiver to see if it was true.
Sk0rpiBun has joined the game.
Impossible.
He- he must've misread it. There's no way he could be here.
<Sk0rpiBun> Uh… hello?
Not now…
<Grian> ??
<GoodTimeWithScar> Hello? :)
<Xisuma> Who are you
<Sk0rpiBun> SkorpiBun I crash landed
<Sk0rpiBun> I think I'm stuck?
<Skizzleman> Oh no :(
<Xisuma> Doc
<DocM77> Meet you there
<RenDog> Just woke up whis that
Mumbo shut the receiver after that. He left that life behind nearly 3 decades ago.
He can't be here.
He can't.
It took Mumbo a moment to realise he was having trouble breathing correctly.
Oh, he was starting to cry.
He hunched himself down and curled up in a ball.
His receiver started playing a ringtone. Mumbo knew this one. It was the one that played when Scar called. He was tempted to try to pick it up, but he just couldn't move his body. He liked the ringtone, but it disappeared for a moment before coming back into his senses.
Once it stopped playing, Grian's ringtone started. Mumbo managed to slow his breathing and come back to his senses long enough to shakily pick up the receiver, though clearly he hadn't been that aware as he thought, as there were 2 missed calls from Scar and 3 from Grian.
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: Hey Mumbo were gong to meet the new guy want ti join us?
It must've been a minute, but it was barely a blink for Mumbo before the concerned messages started.
<Skizzleman> Wheres Mumbo?
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: Were going to flyby your base
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: Mumbo where arre you
Grian whispers to you: Hey Mumbo you alright?
<GeminiTay> No idea
Mumbo only ever didn't pick up when he was asleep or very ‘in the zone’ as Scar often put it.
His com screen switched to the phone call screen as Skizz's ringtone played. The vampire knew he should pick up, considering there was a decent chance Skizz was calling for Grian or Scar, but he just felt so sluggish, his mind having trouble keeping track of time, by the time he willed his arm to move in the right direction, the ringtone was gone.
Had it been gone for a minute or three?
Impulse and then Gem each called him once after that before it was silent again. In the silence, Mumbo started to regain some semblance of his sanity, enough to see another message from Scar.
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: If yu cant say in words say 1 please
If he wasn't picking up for anyone, they probably realised something was up with Mumbo, they all worry too much for him, Mumbo always thought, though he was currently curled up into himself trying to calm down after panicking so…
You whisper to GoodTimeWithScar: 1
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: Ok do you need me to come get you? 1 for yes 2 for no
Mumbo paused, wondering if he should bother anyone since his borderline panic attack was practically over, but a tiny selfish part of him wanted Scar - and Grian - to be close to him right now.
You whisper to GoodTimeWithScar: 1
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: Grians here with mr did you want him to come to?
You whisper to GoodTimeWithScar: 1
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: Were on our way to find you now hold tight <3
Scar was a little more emotionally intuitive than Grian or even Mumbo had ever been, he bordered on psychic some days. Mumbo glanced up, trying to pinpoint his location through bleary eyes.
Grian whispers to you: Scar and I are on our way to the shopping district to look around
You whisper to GoodTimeWithScar: Sand-Witch Supplies
Mumbo managed to steady his finger to type the name of the sand shop, remembering he had found the name mildly funny at some point.
He'll blame the stress for being forgetful.
Grian whispers to you: The sand shop?
Grian whispers to you: On our way
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: We're heading to the sand
You whisper to GoodTimeWithScar: Im sorry
GoodTimeWithScar whispers to you: Its ok you dont have to say soory
Mumbo tried to do his best to wipe away any tears or anything that could point to him crying.
By the time he could see dots flying closer on the horizon, a grey one with slightly larger yet thinner-looking wings and a smaller one with red wings that was flying faster than the other, he was just a bit sulky and red in the face.
Mumbo barely rubbed at his eye, and suddenly, both Grian and Scar were landing in front of him, rushing towards him. "Mumbo! Mumbo, are you alright?"
Grian sat down next to him, a small concerned warble escaping him that he clearly had tried to stifle, one of his wings going over Mumbo's back, the soft feathery feel of Grian's wings had made it feel almost like a blanket securely wrapped around his shoulders.
"Hey, Mumbo..." Scar followed Grian, sitting in front of Mumbo. Scar gently cupped his face. "Hey hun, are you feeling?" Scar murmured, running his thumb over Mumbo's cheek. "I'm… I’m sorry..." Mumbo tried to say, though it came out as a barely audible mutter. "Don't apologise," Grian said, ruffling his wings slightly to drape them more over Mumbo's head as it started to drizzle.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Scar asked gently, noting but not mentioning how damp Mumbo's cheeks were considering it had barely even started to rain yet.
Mumbo hesitated, he couldn't tell them the full truth.
He loved Scar and Grian. He can't lose them now, especially not over this.
Mumbo shook his head silently, he just couldn't seem to form any more words at the moment. Grian and Scar glanced at each other for a moment, thinking in silence before both turned back and their faces softened a little more. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything right now if you can't," Scar whispered.
Oh, how Mumbo wished he could properly articulate himself right now, the two of them were too damn kind to someone like him.
Grian moved his body closer, gently taking hold of one of his wrists. Mumbo had this habit of fidgeting with his hands when he was nervous or when he got too anxious. Doing it too much makes his hands sore, and Grian knew that.
"It's alright, Mumbo, you don't have to do anything you don't want to." Scar nodded along beside him. "Of course not." Mumbo hesitated, the other sitting in silence for a moment. "Tell you what," Grian started, looking at Mumbo, "why don't you and I head back to your base?" Scar nodded. "I can come with you guys, if you like." Mumbo was happy that they were being so caring, but his anxious thoughts took over.
“N-... no…” Mumbo shook his head slightly, seemingly having to push the words out a bit. “No?” Scar whispered, somewhat matching Mumbo in volume as he continued.
“You…. don't, don’t have to…” Scar rubbed his thumb along Mumbo's cheek. “But we want to. We want to help you feel better.”
There was a moment of pause before Grian slowly moved an inch closer, pulling Mumbo's hands to his chest. “Come on, I was about to go down for my mid-afternoon nap anyway." Grian waved him off, with Scar nodding in agreement. "I think we're all due for a little power nap."
Mumbo only hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Can you stand, hun?” Scar whispered, moving to crouch while Grian stood up at only a small bend, his small stature meaning he could still hold Mumbo's hands at a good angle while his wing continued to cover mostly Mumbo and some of Scar from the rain, which was starting to fall faster.
Mumbo, thankfully to his anxious thoughts, was able to wobble to his feet and silently re-equip his elytra by himself.
Grian whispers to Xisuma while Mumbo gets his elytra on about not being able to meet this new guy just yet before putting his com on silent and pocketing it.
Grian and Scar kept their wings covering the three of them as much as possible, as they prepared to fly off, until the last second, when they all flew as fast as they could through the rain.
After a moment, Scar laughed and flew upside down for just a moment, opening his mouth to catch some raindrops before righting himself again. After Grian started to copy him, Mumbo couldn't help but laugh under his breath.
The two of them barrel rolling in the rain looked just silly enough to lighten his mood.
At least a little bit.
SkorpiBun - preferring the short Skorpi - is a man with a lot of weight on his shoulders, he has since he left his home world.
Skorpi preferred to call himself an explorer, even if he doesn't world jump that often. Ever since he left his birth world, he'd been looking for a place to call home. Of course, crash landing on a world that didn't really have open-world portals often was a bit of a mistake, but the people seemed nice.
The admin of this place, Xisuma, had been initially pretty stoic, but it seems Skorpi might not have proved to be horrible, as Xisuma seems to have lightened up a little.
Skorpi wouldn't usually call himself a charmer, his mother did many years ago, but it seems he might have to consider it a good talent. He had most - he'd been informed there were a few missing people - of the server gathered around, under a dirt roof made rather quickly when the rain started, meeting the new guy.
They'd started by asking the obvious, "How did you get here?" Once they were aware it was an accident, and that this Xisuma guy, who seemed to be the leader here, had lightened up, so did the questions.
"If you don't mind me asking," the German goat-cyborg hybrid, who Skorpi believed was called 'Doc,' began, "What was your birth world like? You keep looking at us like we're exhibits." He chuckled, a few others silently seeming to agree. "I'm sorry. I-... you're right that you are… strange to me. My world isn't one with hybrids, and I haven't seen many that do in my travels."
A guy in the back set a bed down on the grass and jumped into it, fast-forwarding the sunset. "Was it anti?" He asked, getting up. Skorpi shrugged. "Probably. The village I grew up in didn't have any non-humans, so I suppose you could call it that." He'd never really thought about it in years.
"I swear I'm not here to hurt anyone, though, if that's your worry." Xisuma hummed behind him, shrugging when Skorpi glanced at him. "You coming here was an accident, right? I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt." Skorpi nodded. "Thanks."
They all slipped into silence for a minute, only the sounds of the world surrounding them until someone, a redhead woman with green skin, piped up. "So, who's up for a tour?"
Perhaps flying and barrel rolling through the rain wasn't the brightest idea.
By the time the trio made it to Mumbo's base, they were completely drenched.
Of course, having to stand out in the rain while waiting for Mumbo's door to open also probably wasn't helping.
As soon as all three rushed inside, Grian was shaking off the raindrops, sending the water everywhere, including over Mumbo and Scar, the former letting out a little shriek and trying to cover himself, while the latter just laughed.
"Grian!"
"What?"
A few minutes later, they'd all changed into the set of pyjamas they had at Mumbo's base - Scar in a shirt with cats on it and shorts, Grian in an Ariana Grianda shirt that he'd been given as a present and his sweats, and Mumbo in an old Mumbo for Mayor shirt and sweatpants. Scar didn't even comment on the shirt, just taking Mumbo by the hand and walking upstairs, clearly intending to go for the bed but Grian course corrected them into the attic area, where Grian had one of his nests, they didn't fight it though.
As Mumbo and Scar got in the nest, Grian piled them in blankets and pillows before diving in himself with a small chirp he tried to keep down, making sure to especially cover Mumbo and curl up against his chest, letting out the occasional bird noise to try to soothe Mumbo to sleep.
Scar was out in five minutes, the most sleepy of the three even when he's not tired, Grian draped his wings over both of them and grabbed tightly onto Mumbo's shirt before drifting off himself and Mumbo felt himself starting to drift not long after.
He knew they'd probably ask questions in the morning, and a small part of him was definitely dreading it, but for the most part, he just enjoyed being with his two loves again.
Well above them, in the sky, the rain had parted way too late afternoon again, it would be night soon.
In the sky was a group of people, most of whom were using their own elytras, though a few seemed to be doing fine without them, having wings or their own flying machines. Skorpi couldn't help noticing the tall base that reminded him of a hero tower or something of the like. It looked very high tech, though, just from the outside.
"What's that?" He pointed, BDubs, who was flying directly under him, glanced over. "Oh, that's the industrial district, where most people keep their farms."
Etho, beside Xisuma in front of him, glanced back at them. "The big avengers tower," Skorpi heard someone - maybe Cleo or Martyn - let out a small snort, clearly that was a joke, "was built by Mumbo, he-"
Skorpi didn't hear the rest, his form faltered slightly in surprise and he ended up crashing into BDubs, sending them both barrelling into the river water below them with a scream.
Mumbo?
Mumbo... Jumbo?
That, that's impossible.
He died.
That's what everyone said.
He didn't have time to really think about it, strong arms, Doc's arms, helping pull him out from the water with a splutter, BDubs being pulled out by Etho beside him.
"You guys alright?" Martyn asked from further up the shore, "You both took a nasty tumble there." Etho agreed from beside BDubs, a hand patting his back. "S- sorry, BDubs," Skorpi coughed, "I... I just moved a bit and lost control, I-..." BDubs waved him off. "It's fine, just don't go crashing too much, yeah?"
He sniffed at the end though he smiled, His drenched clothes surprisingly made his beat-up face more prominent.
"Yeah." Skorpi nodded, thinking for a moment. The two of them dried off rather quickly once they left the water, and the others stood around waiting for them to be ready to fly again.
When the group was about to take off again, Skorpi glanced up at the tower in the distance, his thoughts tumbling together in an internal soup.
"You said that place," he gestured up towards the hills where they could see the top of Mumbo's tower base behind the trees, "was built by someone called Mumbo, right?” There was some nods and “Yeah’s”.
... “What is he like?”