Mumbo woke up to someone inside the house.

"Oh! You're up! Sorry- Red wanted me to give you directions to the lab and I didn't know when you'd wake up so I was writing notes for you and-"

"It's okay." Mumbo smiled. "I take it he's in the lab then?"
Blue nodded.

"Well, since I'm up and you're here, why don't you lead me there?"

"You're... not gonna put on your suit jacket?"

"Hmm? Oh! Oh gosh no. It's way too stuffy for that. Besides, one of the buttons broke off. I'll be fine like this." Mumbo smiled as he followed Blue to the labs.

The tall hallways were really nice, allowing for the faeries to fly overhead without touching the ground. Archways branched off at random heights into different corridors and passageways, the entire structure made up of branches and vines twisted into place. Sunlight shone through gaps in the wall and Mumbo could see just how large the realm was.
They were inside a tree that had a view over everything, small houses dotting the hillsides and embedded into cliff faces. The sunrise bathed everything in a golden light and Mumbo stopped for a moment to just watch the world wake up.

"It's really pretty, isn't it?" Blue said softly from beside him. "A lot of the country fae keep to themselves while the court fae live here. It's really isolated once you get used to it. But one night, every summer solstice, everyone gathers in a large open field and we all have a grand party. The fae that live down there bring things they made and we give them a good time and whatever charms we've been working on."

"That sounds like a lot of fun."

"It was." His voice sounded sad and Mumbo turned to look at Blue. "We don't hold that night anymore. Takes up too much magic."

"Oh."

Blue shook his head, leading Mumbo down the corridor with a renowned vigour. "Come- he should be in this one here. Feel free to head in, Dust."

"Thanks."

Mumbo pushed the door open, walking in and expecting Grian to be sat there, hard at work.
Instead, he saw dead flowers on a table, a sparking crystal next to them, and no Grian.
"G, come on, now isn't the time for a prank. Come out." He teased, a light laugh in his voice.

Which didn't get a response.
"G?" Mumbo tried again.

He walked around the counter and looked down.
Grian was lying on the floor, eyes shut and glasses cracked. At his feet was a circle of runes and in the center was another sparking crystal.
This one glowed bright, so much brighter than the one lying on the counter, the sparks flying so much further.

"Oh my god, G! Hold on-" Mumbo rushed next to Grian, putting two and two together and got him off the runes, setting him down further away.
"G, come on, wake up." He panicked, his heart going a million miles a minute.

Either Grian wasn't breathing, or his breaths were so shallow that Mumbo couldn't see them.
He prayed that it was the latter.
"G- what do I do. What did you do? What should I-
"BLUE!" Mumbo shouted as the thought crossed his mind.
"BLUE COME QUICK."

So what if the screams left his throat raw and aching.
So what if he was crying.
So what if he was shaking a bit, holding Grians limp form on his lap.

He had no idea what to do or who to turn to, and Grian wasn't breathing, he couldn't feel a pulse, he didn't want to think Grian had-
"BLUE PLEASE" Mumbo cried out again, not caring who heard him.

The door slammed open as Blue came running into the room, taking in the sight before him- Mumbo kneeling on the ground with tears streaming down his face, Grian limp and lifeless on his lap.