Work Text:
Something was up. When Scar woke up, something was definitely wrong. He could feel it. The way everything felt… Well. Not quite heavy, but… Just generally different. He frowned. It wasn't that he felt like he was ill—no, he knew how that felt all too well. He just felt… Slightly wrong. Like there was just Something odd, that he couldn't quite place his finger on. He had no idea what it was, though. Scar exhaled, trying to gather the energy to get out of bed. Why was he finding it so hard to get up today? Usually, he was jumping out of bed with so much energy. He could hear Jellie making frustrated noises outside. He had to get up! She needed feeding.
Scar slowly sat up in bed. He frowned. There was something else bothering him, other than the way Something felt Wrong. The way he couldn't quite recall how he'd got to bed last night. Now, that wasn't necessarily something bad, maybe he just exhausted himself! That must be it. Which would also explain the way he was struggling to get up, and why he felt off. He was hanging out with Grian yesterday, which… Well. He couldn't quite remember what happened then, but obviously they'd done something so exhausting that Scar was still feeling the aftereffects today!
Scar swung his legs around the side of the bed, and pushed himself onto his wheelchair. It was a lot more clumsy than usual. Like he'd forgotten how to move. No, not quite that. More like he hadn't moved in a while. No, that couldn't be right… How late had he woken up?- He checked the cuckoo clock on the wall. Oh. The clock's hands showed it was 11am. Scar was usually out of bed by 9am, this was… This was definitely late for him. He sighed. Well… No reason to be upset about this. He idly scratched his back, letting out his negative feelings with a sigh. It's okay. He just overslept after an exhausting day yesterday. That's all. The rest of today will be much better, Scar told himself.
He fiddled around with the controls on his wheelchair. It was a glorious invention, in his opinion! The Tinker Fairies had done a very good job with it. It had the capacity to also transform into an Elytra with naught but the press of a button! Since Scar needed help with his wings as well as his legs, he'd asked Tango to make him something that could help. And he was very glad that Tango had obliged! The custom build made it useful for Scar's Animal Fairy duties, as he could simply press a button, and it would go into 'outdoors' mode, where the acorn cap wheels would be substituted for pine cone wheels, and he could go chasing after a runaway Jellie Panda. Another button, he would have supports for his wings, to help them flutter properly.
… So why was he struggling to remember how to turn the brakes off?
Grian's house was on the edge of Tinker's Nook, a rock he called 'The Entity'. He liked it, because it was in a secluded place, and—while everyone else disagreed—The Entity was sentient. So, really, Grian was never alone. But that didn't mean that when Scar, or Mumbo, or Pearl, or Timmy came by, he didn't appreciate their company. Grian was known for working on his own projects, he wasn't really the kind of fairy to work on the Changing of the Seasons. Lost Things were more his passion. He was good with them, he was the reason the Watchers even vaguely accepted them. After a whole… Issue… With him almost ruining stopping Spring from coming, twice—one of which wasn't his fault, he might add! Joel had told him the best thing to do would be to capture the Sprinting Thistles. Joel had been pranking him, and had never expected Grian to actually try to. That's on Joel, Grian decided, for underestimating him. After those incidents, though, Grian managed to save Spring, by using his Lost Things.
Lost things were always interesting. Items that had come from the Mainland, that had various, very interesting, uses. Grian liked looking at them, figuring out the puzzle of how they worked, or what they were used for. Like that Music Box he was famous for fixing! That one was one of the easiest Lost Things he's fixed recently, though. It was… Pretty simple. Only took an afternoon. There's been Lost Things he's found afterwards that he's still working on, in fact. Like, some kind of robot, for example. He's still working out how that one works, fully. But, thankfully, Mumbo's been happy to help out. While not a Tinker, Mumbo has a knack for tinkering that made Grian wonder if he could be a Tinker, rather than a Dustkeeper, in another world. They'd both managed to make it take simple inputs, and put out a simple response. Which was absolutely amazing, no fairy had ever seen that before! But, Project Grumbot, as they both were calling it, is still officially under wraps. At least until they get it in a state where it's working enough to show the Watchers.
The best place to find Lost Things is the forest surrounding Pixie Hollow. Now, none of the fairies really knew what was beyond it. It was clearly dangerous to venture too far into. That didn't stop some fairies being curious, however. But no matter where Grian went into it, he couldn't bring himself to stray too far into the woods. If he got stuck in there without any Pixie Dust… That was it. Nobody would find him. And, while everyone said Grian didn't have any common sense, he did have that much common sense. Don't go too far into a dark, dense forest. However… There was nothing stopping him from gently skimming the edges. And what a good plan this was for Grian! Because he could find so many interesting Lost Things, that had somehow gotten here from the Mainland. He just had to be careful about how far into the forest he would go.
Jellie was a large cat, who often slept outside Scar's house. Of course, 'large' was relative. Really, as Scar kept telling everyone else, Jellie was a normal-sized Cat, just… A normal cat… If you were human-sized. The other fairies asked why Jellie was so large, especially comparied to the fairy animals that lived in Pixie Hollow. Scar would just laugh, and say that Jellie was just so wonderful like that! In reality, Scar had no idea where Jellie had come from. He just found her one day, and they both instinctively knew that they were best friends.
He pulled a lever, and some food poured out for her. This was a Grian invention. A pulley system that linked up to some cat food further away. Made so that Scar didn't have to keep tugging a large cat food bag over to Jellie, or keep wasting his Pixie Dust on floating the individual food pieces. Because Mumbo had been getting very concerned that Scar kept coming for more Pixie Dust. The food would go down a funnel, and into a large food bowl.
Scar landed on a platform at about Jellie's head, his Elytra turning into a wheelchair smoothly. Jellie scowled at Scar. He knew what she was thinking. It was lunchtime. Why had she not had breakfast first? Did he expect her to starve??? Oh! Oh! Jail for Scar! Jail for One Thousand Years! Scar laughed.
"I know, Jellie… Look, in my defence, I didn't mean to oversleep! It was an accident!"
Jellie held her head up high in the air, turning away from the food. No food, she refused. If you will not feed me at the appropriate times, then I suppose I will just starve.
"Come on, Jellie! You gotta eat! I need to get on with my day, and you know I can't do that until you've eaten!"
The large cat stared at Scar, directly in the eyes. Scar grinned back, in a way he hoped was reassuring. He made eye contact with Jellie, his brown eyes staring straight back into her large green ones. Such pretty shades of green… Some slight flecks of yellow, but only just. A little bluer towards the edges, but not quite. A black slit, that was pretty wide. Scar could see himself reflected in it. He scratched his back as he tried to work out why his hair was so messy today.
The slits of Jellie's eyes closed, and the cat hissed, suddenly on edge. The moment was broken. Scar frowned. What had gotten Jellie so upset so suddenly? Usually when he stared back at her, she'd see he wasn't a threat, and would listen to him. That was part of his Animal Fairy talent. But no, Jellie was on edge, as if she'd seen a stranger.
"What in the world- Jellie, Jellie! It's me, Good old Scar! What's got you so scared?" He outstretched a hand, but Jellie darted away, further into Pixie Hollow.
Scar frowned. Another odd thing to add to the List of Odd Things from today.
The woods are dark enough that Grian usually will bring a Fireflie in with him. Not a real firefly, that would be dangerous to bring in here. No, Grian had made an invention that worked similar to a firefly, in that it gave off light in a focused beam. There was a strange Lost Thing that would light up if specific materials were touching it. And Grian had worked out how to focus its beam, by putting a leaf cone around it. He was really proud of his Fireflie, and other fairies liked to use it too—it was a lot more convenient than bringing a real firefly, or a Light Fairy. But the main thing the Fireflie got use of was Grian taking it Lost Things Hunting.
Grian could very easily fly through the woods. But, he found, it was much more efficient to walk on the forest floor. To hear the crinkle of leaves below his feet. Feel the firm dirt on the ground. To be able to look up at the trees, and see t he dappled light occasionally flickering through the branches. It meant that rather than his mind being on flying, he could take in his surroundings, and find the most interesting items, or the ones that looked the most useful. Of course, any Lost Thing could be useful, you just had to know how to use them properly. And Grian was that kind of Tinker. But… Lost Things are big, so he had to be selective about what he took back with him. If there was anything really interesting that he couldn't bring, he'd usually invite one of his friends to go Lost Things hunting with him. But he liked this time alone, with his thoughts.
Mist was crawling through the trees. Grian continued on as it beckoned him in. Of course, it wasn't really beckoning him in. But Grian liked to go wherever things looked interesting, and a mistier part of the woods was incredibly interesting. His curiosity was rewarded, when he found a Lost Thing. A heart-shaped item, with two wings, and two bells on. There were also three dangling charms, two smaller wings, and a flower-like item. There was what looked to be an eye in the centre of the Lost Thing. Interesting, thought Grian! Those bells aren't too big, he can probably use those in… Something. Maybe an alert system for Grumbot? He put it in his Lost Things bag, and carried on.
A twig snapped. Grian didn't look around. He was used to this. From what he could gather, the woods didn't particularly like fairies creeping around in them. But, no matter! Grian wasn't scared, because he knew that the woods would let him out, eventually. Once he'd got where he needed to go.
The mist was creeping in thicker, making it hard to see his surroundings. Grian sighed. Maybe this was a sign that meant it was time to turn back. If he couldn't see any Lost Things, then this forage would either take forever, or be a dud. Or both. And, frankly, he'd rather it be a dud, and cut his losses, than let things get any worse. So… Leaving was, unfortunately, the best option. He turned around, and frowned. No, no that- That looked exactly like the path he was just looking at. He turned back around. Nope. No, that was the same path too. With a groan, Grian sat down on a nearby rock. Of course. He'd ventured in too deep, and now the fog was too bad to get out. Of course. He could always fly out, but the trees were way too dense for something like that to work easily. Best case, he gets very injured. Worst case, he doesn't get out at all. Neither of those seemed particularly good to him, at the moment.
What the…?
Grian squinted at the soft cyan glow in the distance. That was odd. Lost Things don't usually glow. They're almost always broken by the time they get to Pixie Hollow. If they had the capacity to glow, like the Lost Thing creating the Fireflie, they either fixing, or another Lost Thing to join them. Or both. Both was possible. It didn't seem to be a static glow, either. It was slowly pulsating, brighter, then dimmer, then brighter again. Grian stood up. The light was beckoning him closer. This Lost Thing had to be so very interesting, to be glowing…
Grian didn't notice his Lost Things bag drop to the floor, as he walked slowly towards the light.
"So… Let me get this straight… You went out with Grian yesterday, can't remember a thing, and now feel… Strange?"
"Yes! But also, no! See, even from this morning, things felt off. But then Jellie ran away from me. She ran away!"
Mumbo stared at Scar in shock. Thankfully, Mumbo seemed to recognise just how big of a deal this was. Jellie never ran away. Not only was it one of Scar's talents that he was good with animals—that was literally his job as an Animal Fairy—but he had a special connection with Jellie, a special bond! Something that all the other fairies knew.
"And… You think it has something to do with your time yesterday with Grian?" Mumbo asked, his voice hesitant and anxious.
Scar scratched his back as he nodded. "I do, I do! I think that something happened, something that I can't remember… Maybe it spooked Jellie yesterday… But she seemed fine when I came out, it was just when we started looking at each other properly…"
"Hmm…" Mumbo made a noise. That was his Thinking Noise, Scar knew it well. Mumbo handed him a bag of Pixie dust. "Grian hasn't been to collect his daily ration of dust."
"He hasn't?" Scar looked at Mumbo in shock. Grian always came in at 10:19am, just after Scar. That was their schedule. And them three would have a quick chat, before all three of them went back to their respective jobs. Or Grian asked if Scar and/or Mumbo could come with him to work on a project together.
"He hasn't," Mumbo repeated. His worried expression mirrored the one Scar was sure he had. "And now I'm worried that it's more than just, Grian getting stuck in his work too much…"
"He does do that a lot!" Scar laughed. But it was an empty laugh. Something was Wrong today, and Scar didn't like it. The only person who seemed to be acting normal here was Mumbo.
"Should we, uh… Go and check in on him?" Mumbo asked.
"I believe so!" Scar replied as he scratched the itch on his back. "Shall we go now?"
Mumbo nodded, and the two fairies walked and rolled out of the Pixie Dust Depot. It was a reasonable distance from here to Grian's, as they were on opposite sides of the Pixie Dust Tree.
Scar admired the tree. All the fairies had put so much work into it, combining all their talents to make such a beautiful, luscious tree. The Pixie Dust flowed through it smoothly. Scar watched as Pixie dust flowed throughout the tree. Weaving its way like veins through the tree. It was a marvellous sight. Dust flowing round, and round, worming its way through the leaves, through the branches, spreading, and flowing, and spreading and spreading and-
A scream left Scar's mouth as he felt something touch his hand.
Grian had no idea where he was. He kicked at the thing on top of him, restricting him, stopping him-
Oh. It was his blanket. And now he was extremely tangled up in it all. He rolled himself out of bed, and fell on the floor with a soft thump. Carefully this time, he extracted himself from his blanket. But, no sooner as he'd managed this, he instantly hid underneath it again. Bright bright way too bright- The sunlight coming from his window was much, much too bright. Grian rubbed his eyes, letting them get accustomed to the dark again.
Hm. This wouldn't do. Pixie Hollow was oh so bright. Always sunny. But… He couldn't stay in here all day. Not when he had a task to do. This task wasn't going to be fulfilled on his own. It couldn't be, by the sheer nature of this task. Grian tried to think of a solution. Oh! He had his Bad Boys sunglasses. A band with Tim and Joel he'd been in. Of course, none of them were Music Talent Fairies, so it wasn't a very good band. In fact, the three of them didn't actually play any music, they all just wanted an excuse to dress up in Cool Outfits. But, this did mean he had some sunglasses lying around. Excellent.
Grian positioned himself so his face was in darkness, and the blanket could block out the worst of the brightness. It was still too bright. It gave him a headache. Where were they…? Grian frowned as he tried to remember. Searching, scanning, spreading through his memories… Ah! Yes! The chest of drawers. Top drawer to the left. Grian opened it, and pulled out the sunglasses, letting them rest on his face. There. That was better. So much better. Right… What was his first task…? Oh yes. Dust. Pixie Dust. He needed that. And there, he may be able to ask… Scar! Yes! Ask Scar!
Walking straight past the mirror, Grian threw on a longsleeved jumper. It was too hot, he didn't like it. But… He always wore this jumper. To not wear it would be silly. He would just have to cope with the heat, and brightness. By the time he got back, his house would be suitably cold and dark, and that was how Grian liked it. But… For now… He had to at least pretend he was fine with how things were. Just until he could complete his task.
He flew out, taking the most direct route to the Pixie Dust Depot. It was strange, here. He could hear so many people, and yet it felt quieter than at home. Like the voices were much further away. Like he wasn't a part of them. Or maybe it was because they weren't a part of him. He listened out for the distinct rolling of Scar's wheelchair. Scar should be exiting the Depot about now. Unless Grian had misjudged the time, and got here early.
… He had. He could hear the rolling getting further away, further into the depot. Grian walked in confidently afterwards.
"Scar!" He said loudly, grinning.
"What in the world!-" Scar yelped, and Grian knew he was throwing his hands up in the air. This was a normal Scar reaction.
"Good to see you! How are you on this fine, bright morning?" Grian asked in a cheerful, confident voice. This was a normal greeting from Grian. Something confident, something remarking the weather. He wanted to get back home now, but… He had to fulfil at least part of his task. It was too hot here, but he had to.
"Grian! You startled me! I'm good, I'm good! I was just about to get myself some wonderful Pixie Dust!" Scar's voice was similarly confident, and incredibly cheery.
"Excellent! Say, Scar… Would you like to help me with a project this evening? Just come round my place at about… 9ish!" There we go. Of course, Grian knew Scar would accept. Scar liked helping Grian with his projects. It was one of the things Grian liked about Scar, he guessed. Scar would accept, and then Grian could start on fulfilling his task. And then Scar would help fulfil the task too.
Scar's voice was excited. "Of course, I would love to! I shall see you then!"
"Brilliant!" Grian said happily, and flew out of the Depot after grabbing his bag of rations. Excellent, his task was all fitting together very nicely. Once Scar was on board, it would be easy for the both of them to get more people to help them with this task. Grian now had to make his way back to his house, and then he could rest up. Make sure the house was suitably dark and cold. Because the rest of Pixie Hollow is far, far too warm and bright as it is.
As Grian landed on the soft, comforting, alive land, he pulled his jumper off immediately, and threw it to the side. He wouldn't need that anymore.
"Scar!" A fairy said with alarm.
"What in the world- Don't scare me like that!" Scar said, pulling his hand out from the firm grip of the fairy he was with.
"Don't scare you?- Don't scare me like that! You almost flew into a tree. And not just any tree, might I add, one of the tree of the forest's! You know it's not safe to be in there, and I know Grian goes in there all the time, but I'm not entirely sure he's safe, either."
"I was perfectly in control!" Scar said confidently.
He wasn't. He scratched his back as he tried to remember what had happened. He was flying with another fairy—with Mumbo—and then he was…
The memories were so far away. Something had wormed its way in and placed itself between him and his memories. Just like the memories of yesterday. Scar's list of Odd Things from today was growing extremely large. To the point that he was starting to worry about his, and the rest of Pixie Hollow's safety.
Mumbo's expression of worry and concern was enough to make Scar hang his head.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but are you sure you don't need to go home and get some rest?" asked Mumbo. "I can go and check in on Grian on my own. Maybe you've both come down with an illness of some kind…"
"No, no!" Scar said quickly. He wanted to see Grian. He wondered if seeing Grian would help him work out what was wrong. With him, with Jellie, with Grian… Scar knew that Grian had the answers. And not to mention… There was a strange, nagging feeling in Scar's chest that told him that if Mumbo tried to go and visit Grian alone, something Terrible would happen. And Scar didn't want something bad to happen to Mumbo. As long as they went together, nothing bad would happen. Or… At least… If something bad did happen, one of them could alert the Watchers as soon as it did. And then they could fix it. "I can come! I will come! Lead the way!"
Mumbo made a noise of disapproval. Of course, Scar knew that Mumbo didn't like this idea. But, thankfully, Mumbo knew better than to push it. That was useful.
"If you're sure you're okay to continue forwards…" Mumbo murmured.
Scar nodded. "I am, I am! Yes, the sun is incredibly bright today, and yes, I am still feeling weird, but I am a-okay to keep going till we get to Grian's!"
It wasn't a lie. Not really. The sun was incredibly bright today. Not that Scar was looking at the sun, he wasn't stupid. It was just that his surroundings were very bright today! Not that he'd noticed. He scratched at his back, and then his legs. Despite the brightness, however, Scar was able to carry on. He didn't feel dizzy, or spaced out, or too weak to move—all usual signs of a flareup. No, this wasn't an illness.
Mumbo nodded, but took a long moment to move his eyes away from Scar. The two fairies continued onwards. They were just about entering Tinker's Nook. Not too far to go! Grian's house is on the other side. They passed Tango down below, working on some passion project of his that involved some creatures he called 'Ravagers'—Scar was impressed that a tinker fairy was able to work with animals. But, considering Tango's many scratches from them, he wasn't sure whether Tango was actually controlling them, or just that they were cooperating with him slightly more than a normal feral animal.
As Scar and Mumbo got closer to Grian's house, Scar noticed a mist fall on Tinker's Nook. That was odd. The mist was cold, and damp. With an exchanged look, Scar and Mumbo flew down to the ground, Scar sitting down in his wheelchair. The two slowly walked towards Grian's house. The mist was definitely getting thicker. Scar felt a hand in his. This time, he didn't jump. It was Mumbo's hand. Evidently Mumbo was feeling the same as he was. Evidently the hairs on the backs of Mumbo's head were also standing on edge. Evidently his heart rate had increased slightly. Evidently the sight of Grian's house, now overtaken by some kind of fungi, had scared Mumbo too.
And yet, this all felt familiar to Scar. Very familiar.
Lost Things Log #3784 — The Catalyst — 12:05
Found a weird Lost Thing in the forest. Well… It's not a Lost Thing. Either way, I decided to take it home. Seems to be a catalyst of some kind? From what I can gather, it's related to the fungus that I found in patches around it. Dubbing it 'The Catalyst', for ease of note-taking. The Catalyst was found with weird circumstances surrounding it—an odd mist in the forest, and odd fungus nearby. The fungus was blue, and glowing faintly. It seems that the Catalyst, and the fungus it is related to, are bio-luminescent, as it was the glowing blue light from the Catalyst that drew me to it. I realise I have abandoned the other Lost Things I found on this trip in the forest. Task for tomorrow: Get someone's assistance in finding them again.
For now, I think I shall work out what this does. I know I'm not a Garden Fairy, but who says I can't have a little tinker with it! Just a quick poke around, see what it does… And then, I'll take it to Gem. First thing I do, day after tomorrow. That gives me the rest of today, and tomorrow, to have a poke around. Maybe this will be useful for Pixie Hollow, like the Lost Things? Not sure at the moment, will update as soon as I work out what's going on with it.
"Watch your step," Mumbo muttered. He was looking down at the floor. Branches of the dark cyan fungi was threatening to step further into Tinker's Nook. Scar nodded, and the two of them, in sync, stepped and rolled onto what used to be the path to Grian's cottage.
It was soft under Scar's wheels. He tried to keep rolling, but his wheels just got stuck in the fungi. He tried twice to push the wheels forward. They weren't budging. It was only on the third push that they broke free, and he could, again, take Mumbo's hand, as they continued forward. The substance on the ground felt… Alive. Not quite alive like the grass in the rest of Pixie Hollow. Alive in a sense that Scar hadn't realised he was missing. He scratched his back and arm. While the further they went into this area, the paler—and clearly, more frightened—Mumbo got, the longer Scar was here, the longer he felt like this… Thing… Was comforting.
The path up to Grian's front door was made wheelchair accessible. So, other than the wheelchair getting stuck in the fungus at least twice more, Scar and Mumbo made their way up to Grian's front door with no problems. Mumbo held his hand up to knock, and then a both disgusted, and terrified expression grew on his face. There were… Not quite vines… But something crawling all along the door. It was slightly ajar already. And the fungus had definitely spread inside, as the door was already covered in it. Scar sighed, and knocked. He wasn't afraid to touch the door.
There was no reply.
However, the door did swing open at Scar's touch. It creaked as it did so. And Scar and Mumbo got a good view of the inside of Grian's house.
It was a total mess. And the fungus-thing had spread everywhere.
Log #3784.1 — Update — 15:47
I believe the Catalyst is not something that can help Pixie Hollow. I left to go and ask Pearl for some water to help with my personal experiments, only to come back, and it has spread across my desk. Half my things are covered in that fungus. I'm worried that my research, and projects are ruined! I only left it for a few minutes, how has it already spread so much? It was only midday when I put the Catalyst here. Now it's mid afternoon, and it's taken over half of my desk.
However. I discovered that it doesn't like fire. When I set the fire going, the fungus thing creeped away from it. So, I grabbed a piece of it, and stuck it in the fire. It shrivelled up, and wriggled, before, apparently, dying. Fire works. It doesn't like fire. While I'm not setting fire to my entire house to stop it spreading anywhere else, I can, at least, try and control it like this.
The house had a kind of stillness that Scar could only describe as coming from something sleeping. Not that it wasn't still… But the comforting alive-ness of everything in here was useful. He rolled in first, looking around for any clues as to where Grian was. Because wherever he was, it certainly wasn't in here.
The bed was unmade, and looked like it hadn't been slept in for days. The kitchenette, likewise, didn't show any signs of a fire having been made recently. In fact, there was no more coal in the fireplace. Nobody could make a fire, even if they wanted to. Good. Scar didn't particularly like the idea of a fire right now. It was a nice temperature in here as it was. And then… Grian's desk.
Mumbo's gasp came to Scar as if it was incredibly far away. There were other sounds, more indistinct, but definitely louder. More present in Scar's mind by now. He understood! He understood perfectly what was going on here. And oh, how glad he was he had helped!
Log #3784.2 — Update — 19:39
This is an odd observation, but it seems to… Like? Be attracted to? It reaches for Pixie Dust. A little while ago, I dropped my pen behind me. But before I could pick it up, the stuff reacted in an interesting way to my wings as I turned around. It glowed brighter, and tried to grow… Upwards, almost? There was a vine-like part of the skulk, that tried to… Almost reach for my wings? It didn't touch me, I don't think. Something like that, it would have hurt if it touched them, I'm sure of it. But the fact it reacts so strongly to wings is an interesting fact
So interesting, in fact, that I decided to test whether it was wings or the Pixie Dust coating my wings. I got rid of the Pixie Dust on my wings, and leaned them towards the Catalyst. It didn't move. But when I moved my Pixie Dust Bag towards it… Well. Let's just say I'll probably be walking to the Depot tomorrow. It… Ate? Up my entire supply. Which is just brilliant, I suppose. Really, I shouldn't have used the entire bag, but what can you do? Oh well, I guess I've learned my lesson. I wonder what it is about Pixie Dust that attracts it, though? Is it… The magic? Not sure. The base of my wings are getting itchy, so I think I'll go and clean them, just to be sure nothing got on them.
"Scar- Scar, look at this!" came Mumbo's far away voice. Scar turned to face Mumbo. Scar could hear Mumbo breathing frantically.
"What is it?" asked Scar, rolling up behind where Mumbo, his breaths loud and shallow.
Pages flicked. "It's- It's a journal from Grian, it's explaining what- What happened here. What he did- What he found. Scar- Scar, I'm worried about Grian. It says here that the fungus— This stuff—"
"Hm?" asked Scar. Of course, he knew exactly what was going on now. And so, he knew what to do. He could hear Mumbo's wings fluttering anxiously at an alarming speed.
Log #3784.3 — Update — 22:18
its spreading. i can feel it. its spreading inside me and i already cant remember things. like how i got the catalyst. if i hadnt written it down i wouldnt know i dont think. i need to get this down quickly. the fungus wants to spread. it wants to spread throughout pxiie hollow. ic ant let it. i jsut cant. pleas.e my head hurts. it did crawl into my wings. theres stuff goriwng from it its turned them blue its growing its spreadign inside me and i dont know what to do. i started this. im going to keep the fireg oing as long as possible. if i can just. burn it out if i can brun it otu then makybe ill be okay maybe it wotn spread properly
"This thing is going to take over Pixie Hollow!" Mumbo said loudly, and the book slammed shut. Scar heard Mumbo turn around.
"Why, yes, I believe it will!" Scar said cheerfully, as Mumbo made a noise.
"No… No… Not you too…"
Scar stood up. Of course, Scar was not able to do that. But this stuff… It had spread all its way throughout Scar. He was surprised he had been so ignorant, to have not noticed it doing so before now. But, he supposed, if all the fairies were like this, then his task would be incredibly easy! As soon as Grian got back from visiting Gem, the three of them could continue their task. They could plant the Catalyst in the Pixie Dust Tree, and, then, the task would be able to be completed.
"Why, of course!" Scar took a step forward. He heard Mumbo's feet take a step backwards. Good…
Scar had been incredibly ignorant, but he supposed that was understandable. The way his vision had been slowly turning bluer over the last few hours was so slow that it made sense he didn't notice it. Especially not when he got to Grian's house.
Scar took another step forward. Mumbo took another step backwards. Just back him up towards the Catalyst…
"Grian…" Scar said, confused. His heart was racing. The inside of Grian's house was a mess. The blanket was all over the place, the fire had been hastily put out, the desk had notes and papers strewn across it. But worst of all… This… Cyan… Fungus… Thing… That was growing everywhere inside. Spreading from a pulsing, glowing source. "Grian, what's… What's going on…?"
"Ah, Scar! You made it!" Grian grinned. Scar turned his head, and yelped in surprise.
"What in the world!"
Grian wasn't well. That was perfectly obvious, by the way he was covered, from head to toe, in this… Thing. It was growing all over him. Scar held Grian's jumper tightly in his hands. He'd picked it up as he approached Grian's house, with the hopes of giving it back to him. Grian never went out with his jumper, and the fact he'd just… Discarded it… Spooked Scar a lot. But without his jumper, Scar could see that Grian's body had the fungus all over him, spreading, winding its way around him like vines.
Something inside Scar broke. It hurt to see Grian in this state. His eyes glowing the same cyan colour as the Weird Source Thing. The unnatural grin on his face.
"Come on, Scar! You said you'd help me!" The voice that spoke wasn't Grian's. Scar could tell that now. His breath was at the same level as it was when he was having a medical emergency. But… No. This wasn't a medical emergency. At least… Not one of his. It was fear. Fear that his friend was now… Gone. Because he was. Now, it was just… This… Skulk. There was nothing about this person that stood before Scar that felt like Grian. It was just an impostor, wearing his body.
Scar couldn't bring himself to speak. And so, 'Grian' took a few steps around Scar. Scar tried to wheel himself around, so he was facing 'Grian', but he was too quick. 'Grian' slammed the door shut. Scar was forced to wheel himself backwards, towards the desk, in order to get away from 'Grian', and his unnerving grin.
As Scar's chair bumped on the desk, 'Grian's grin widened.
"Oh, wonderful… You accepted my request of help!"
'Grian' was stood right above Scar now, and put his hands on the armrest. Their faces were so close.
"You'll understand soon. Now… Why don't you go off, back home, to bed? After all… This will all be over in a few hours."
Scar felt something on his wings. He felt tired. Like he wouldn't be able to fly back.
And that's when he realised 'Grian' had done something to him.
Mumbo let out a scream, of course he did. But it was no use. Scar felt another person decide to join them in their task. If only Mumbo would stop resisting… He could help too, and it would be wonderful!
"Scar- Scar, listen to me- If- If you're still there- I- Please-" Mumbo's babbles didn't do much to help the situation.
Especially not since Scar felt the distinct feeling of Mumbo joining them.
"Why… You can now help us with our task!"
"What- Who?- What 'task'?"
Scar smiled.
Log #3784.4 — Update — 00:04
spread the skulk.