Mumbo took Grian to the room where the robokids were in. They were sitting in a circle, playing Uno with a very dusty pack of cards. At least, three of them were playing Uno. It seemed like Jrumbot was making his own rules.

"GO FISH!" He yelled as Mumbo and Grian entered the room. As he saw them, he dropped his cards with a gasp.

"DADDY!" The baby jumped up and ran over to his fathers. "You wook so coow!"

Grian chuckled happily and crouched down. He kissed the boys head and gave him a bear hug. He was still in his hero form, so Jrum looked even tinier compared to his dad.

G lifted his son as he stood up, holding him above his head in the air. "I love you so much!" He grinned and brought his arms down, smothering the baby in kisses.

Mumbo felt an immense joy seeing Grian act so fatherly to their son. The twins and Grum watched with smiles as the bird came over to them. He crouched down in the spot where Jrum had been sitting and extended his big arms, waiting for them to hug him.

Grum jumped at the chance. He loved hugs, and couldn't get enough. He didn't miss the days when he was too big to hug. He threw his arms around his big dad and laughed. The twins got up and hugged Grian as well. Jrum was in the middle of the hug. The bird looked over his shoulder at Mumbo, who was smiling wide.

"Well, don't just stand there. C'mon!" Grian said with a deep laugh. Mumbo grinned like an idiot as he went over to his family. Grian hadn't closed his arms yet, for he was waiting for his friend. Mumbo crouched down and hugged the children, and felt G's big arms close around him.

The hug lasted for a few minutes.

Grian let go and sat down from his crouched position.  The kids sat next to and around him, waiting for him to tell them why he was so happy. Mumbo hadn't moved yet, but G held out his hand. The roboticist took it, and the bird yanked Mumbo towards him. Grian caught the man in his arms and laughed his nice, deep laugh. The bird hugged Mumbo tightly as he started to explain.

"I saved someone today." Grian grinned.

"That's great! Who'd ya save?" Circuit was very invested in his dad's heroism, as were the other children. Jrum looked up at his big dad in awe and respect.

"I saved your Uncle Iskall from falling off of his giant tree! And he didn't recognize me! And he's safe now!" Excited sparks of lightning jumped off of Grian, a few accidentally zapping Mumbo. The tall Englishman flinched as one shocked what felt like his entire nervous system.

Grian didn't notice.

Mumbo didn't say anything. He couldn't bear ruining his friend's good mood. Grian needed this, and if Mumbo told him what he accidentally did, the bird would go back to hating himself.

Mumbo bared the pain.

"Daddy's a hewo!" Jrumbot cried out in joy and jumped up and down. Amelia and Grum gave their father a proud smile. Circuit got up and started looking over his dad's supersuit, totally geeking out.

It was something that Mumbo would have done.

Grian often forgot that the twins were essentially built to be clones of Mumbo, since they're personalities seemed to be unique enough. Sometimes there would be little bursts of personality that reflected that of their father. G always thought that was fascinating, but then again, real children were a bit like that, weren't they?

Another jolt of electricity shot off, hitting Circuit. It didn't seem to affect him, and he didn't really react. Grian again did not notice.

"Why don't we do something tonight to celebrate the beginning of Poultry Man?" Amelia suggested. Mumbo smiled at his daughter. A tiny zap made him flinch again, but he tried to cover that up by pretending to sneeze.

"Bwess you!" Jrum looked over at his father.

"Thank you, dear." Mr. Jumbo told the baby, and then looked back up at Amelia. "I think that's a wonderful idea!" Mumbo rubbed his nose.

Jrum picked up the dusty deck of cards. "Did these make you sneeze?" He asked Mumbo. The roboticist looked at Jrum again.

"Perhaps." He smiled, and returned to the conversation with Amy.

Jrum squinted at the deck and then sniffed the dust.

He sneezed and dropped the deck. Grian and Mumbo instinctively said "Bless you!" to Jrum. Grian returned to the conversation, but Mumbo hesitated and looked over at the baby when he realized what happened.

"How did you sneeze? You don't have those kind of sensors-"

The conversation between the twins and Grian paused. They stopped talking to see what was going on.

Jrumbot shrugged and rubbed his nose like Mumbo had done, and giggled.

"I think he's just imitating you" Grian leaned his head down and spoke in a low voice next to Mumbo's ear. "He wants to be like you."

The roboticist smiled and held out his arms for Jrum. The boy skipped on over to his fathers and jumped into Mumbo's arms.

"I'm a hooman!" The little baby laughed and pretended to sneeze again. "Just wike you and Daddy!"

Mumbo's smile faded as a realization set in. Jrumbot wanted to be like his fathers. He wanted to be human like them.

That hurt the redstone man's heart.

A small jolt of electricity shocked him back to reality. Grian stood up, causing Mumbo to fall over, since he had been leaning against the bird.

The man sat up, still holding Jrum, who was chewing on his oversized T-shirt. Grian held his hand out for Mumbo to take, which he gladly did. The bird pulled Mumbo up quickly. His strength, although known, still caught the engineer off-guard.

"I'm gonna go clean up real quick, I'll be right back!" Grian chirped and ran out of the room, his boots making heavy thuds as they hit the ground.

Mumbo waited until his friend had left before rubbing one of the sore spots where Grian had unknowingly zapped.

Jrum squirmed his way out of his father's arms and ran after Grian. The twins chuckled at their little brother's enthusiasm. Grum, however, was more focused on Mumbo.

"Is everything alright, Dad?"

Mumbo blinked and looked at his sweater-clad son. "Huh? Oh, yeah, everything's great." He smiled.

Grum raised an eyebrow. "Okay...."

Grian had run out of the room and towards a dressing room they had set up. He entered and looked at himself in the mirror. His face was red with joy and his hair was tousled and windswept. His eyes sparkled and he couldn't stop smiling as he looked at himself in the suit.

But...his eyes were drawn to his wings very quickly. His smile dropped, his laughter ending abruptly. A sudden feeling of disgust ran through him, and he didn't feel as great as he just had moments ago. With hesitation, he unequipped his armour and got a good look at his semi-feathered body.

He wanted to throw up. Every feather just cemented the fact that some day, very soon he assumed, Grian would be a bird and wouldn't be able to be a hermit.

A bout of pent-up anger flared up in the man. He clenched his fists as he blinked away tears. He stared at his reflection, but it felt like he was looking at a stranger.

No, not quite a stranger. More than that.

He felt like he was looking at his worst enemy.

Hateful lightning shot from grian and hit a lightbulb. It shattered.

The longer Grian looked at himself, the angrier he got. His hands surged with power and electricity. He drew back his arm and punched the mirror with all his might, yelling out.

He shattered the mirror into thousands of shards, and completely destroyed a good number of blocks around him as he exploded with lightning. The room was now dark, and he stared at his fist. It was scuffed up, but not as much as it should have been. He felt tears running down his face. He leaned over the sink and turned on the water.

The bird splashed his face with cold water. He turned the handle of the faucet to turn off the water, but ended up breaking the handle off in the process.

Grian stumbled back and fell against the wall behind him, cracking the block. He slumped down and started to sob.

He had felt so amazing a minute ago. Why did he feel like trash now?

He felt like a monster, the kind that could snap at any moment. He looked down at his hands, little branches of lightning still shooting between his fingers.

His heart sank as he realized what he felt.

He felt fear.

He felt unease and anxiety.

He laid down on his side and sobbed, cover his head with his big arms. The room around him was now dark and partly destroyed. It was his fault.

He didn't hear the door creak open.

Jrumbot followed his father to the dressing room and waited outside the door for him. He hummed happily as he waited, but stopped when he heard a vengeful yell from inside.

He was scared. Not for himself, but for his dad. Was he okay?

The baby heard the sounds of destruction inside the room, and heard something fall against the wall.

He needed to check if his father was okay.

Jrum managed to open the door after a minute of trying to reach the handle and slipped inside. The room was dark, and felt very cold, but there was a faint smell of ozone.

Jrumbot spotted his father's crying body laying down amongst the debris.

"Daddy?"

Grian looked up, his sobs got quiet, and his heart sunk further as he saw the little boy's digital eyes.

Jrumbot thought of him as a hero.

How would he react when he learns his father caused the destruction in the room.

"Are you okay?" The little boy sounded like he was crying. No tears came out though, since he was only a machine.

Grian sniffed and stayed quiet. He didn't know why, but he hadn't shrunk down to his normal size yet. What was he waiting for?

Jrum rushed over to his father, worried that he was hurt.

"Daddy?" The baby pulled Grian's hand away from his face. The bird slowly sat up, still limply against the wall.

Jrum started to panic. Why was his dad so sad now? What happened?

The baby quickly climbed onto G's lap and hugged him as best as he could. "Pwease! Don't cwy! I stiww wuv you!" Jrumbot sobbed. It was a digital noise, but the sadness was just as legitimate as a real kid's could be.

Grian froze as his baby hugged him, trying to cheer him up. Did Jrum already know that G saw himself as a monster?

The bird sadly put his arms around the little boy, who was laying against G's feathered chest. Grian slid further down the wall until he was almost laying fully down on the floor.

Through his tears, he managed to choke out the words, "I love you too," before breaking down in sobs again.

Jrum hugged tighter.

"Daddy! You'we a hewo! You'we a good pewson! You'we my hewo, Daddy!" Jrum cried to his father. He wanted his dad to smile. He wanted his dad to always be as happy as he was when he was telling them about his heroism.

Grian clutched the little baby tighter. "I love you" He said again, before he picked the child up off of his broad chest. He held him up in the air and smiled, tears running down the sides of his face.

Jrum held out his arms and his father held him up. He grabbed down at the air with his little hands.

Grian got the hint and lowered the baby, bringing Jrum's face above his own. The bird chuckled through the tears as Jrum smiled. He touched his nose to his child's and felt...proud. He was proud of this machine he'd help create even though he found it hard to be proud of himself.

But this little robot was making it easier to feel okay.

Grian remembered the reason he was doing the superhero thing.

He was doing it for Jrum.

Jrum needed him.

Jrum loved him.

And he loved Jrum.

And he needed Jrum.

Jrum was doing this for him.

Grian sat up, not limply this time. He set Jrum in his lap and ruffled the boy's hair. Jrum laughed, a noise that pushed the darkness away.

Jrumbot knew his father hated himself. He knew that the wings and feathers hurt Grian.

Jrumbot wanted to try and paint the feathers and such in a better light.

The baby laid his head against the bird's chest and pet the feathers. His breathing, which was an unnecessary thing for a robot to do, was slow and peaceful. He snuggled himself up against the feathers as he pet them.

Grian stared down at the baby in amazement. Jrum liked the feathers. Jrum liked Grian for who he was. He needed that.

The bird felt himself shrink down to his normal size as his breathing slowed. Tension lifted off of him, and he felt like falling asleep. He hugged his baby to his chest and kissed the top of his head.

"I wuv you, Daddy. We aww wuv you, and we wanna see you be happy! Papa built us so that you would be happy with him. He made us, cuz he wuvs you a wot, and this is his way of showing it." Jrum spoke quietly, but Grian heard him just fine.

The hero smiled, the tears still blinding him.

The door opened.

"Grian, is everything-"

Mumbo froze as he saw the inside of the room. Broken glass was everywhere, and the right wall had a sizable portion of it completely destroyed. It was dark, the only light coming from Grian's wings, Jrumbot's eyes, and from behind the tall Englishman.

Grian was sitting up against the left wall, which was cracked. His face was slick with tears, and he clutched Jrum against his chest.

Mumbo was reasonably panicked. He rushed inside and fell to his knees by G's side. "Are you okay?!" His voice was high with worry and fear.

Grian chuckled as more tears slid down his face with ease. He nodded slowly, not looking at Mumbo.

The roboticist threw his arms around Grian and hugged him as tightly as he could.

"The feathers got to you again, didn't they?"

Grian faltered as Mumbo softly spoke those words.

Mumbo understood.

He wondered how things would be different if he had just trusted Mumbo from the very beginning, rather than push him away and hide behind X like a scared child hides behind their father.

Grian felt Mumbo's breathing become choppy, and G knew that Mumbo was crying.

Why was he crying? Grian didn't want Mumbo to cry. He shouldn't have to cry because Grian hated himself.

He's crying , Grian thought, because he cares. He wants me to be okay. My...happiness lets him be happy.

But Mumbo started to quietly chuckle. The bird realized that he wasn't crying because he was sad. He was crying happy tears.

The tall Englishman looked up at G's confused face and smiled. "He thinks you're the greatest thing ever." Mumbo moved his hand to stroke Jrumbot's hair, not breaking eye contact with Grian.

"I think the same of him." G spoke in a whisper.

Silence.

Then Mumbo spoke up again.

"Sometimes, I hate myself too."

Grian felt an emotion he couldn't describe. It was like worry and panic, mixed with a sense of protectiveness and love. He wanted to tell Mumbo that he shouldn't hate himself, because there was nothing to hate.

He stopped himself though, because Mumbo could easily say the same thing back to Grian.

"But it's alright. It's hard to hate myself when I'm surrounded by the people who I love, and who love me. Like you....and the kids, of course." The Redstoner added that last part quickly.

Grian picked up Jrum off of his chest and set the sleeping baby down on a cushion that was on the ground. With his arms now free, Grian turned himself towards Mumbo and gave him a hug. "Can you teach me how to do that? How to...not hate myself?"

Mumbo hugged the bird back, being careful of his wings. "I'll do my best, my dear." He spoke in a very formal sounding voice. Grian knew that he was both kidding and serious about the "my dear" part.

Grian was about to speak up when his heart swelled with warmth. A peaceful feeling ran through him. He didn't know why. After a moment, he realized that Mumbo was stroking his wing. It felt...really nice. His heart rate and breathing slowed, and he relaxed his tense shoulders.

He leaned against Mumbo, resting against the man as he continued to pet his wings.

Each time his friend touched his wings, Grian felt his eyelids grow heavier. G was so hesitant about his wings, but somehow they were making him feel better in this moment.

Mumbo began to hum as Grian slid down and rested his tired head on the man's lap. With a chuckle, the redstone man ruffled the bird's hair before continuing to pet his wings. Grian stretched them out and rubbed them against Mumbo's hand like a cat rubs against their owner's hand. The birdie cooed in contentment.

Jrumbot woke up slightly, and saw that he was no longer in Grian's arms. He saw that his father was comforting his dad, and that felt nice. The baby tiredly climbed off the cushion and crawled on his hands and knees over to Grian. He wiggled his way underneath the bird's arms and snuggled against the warmth.

Grian warbled sweetly and nestled his face against the baby.

Mumbo's soft humming turned into soft singing, as he comforted his friend.

" If you'll be my star, I'll be your sky. You can hide underneath me and come out at night. When I turn jet black, and you show off your light, I live to let you shine. I live to let you shine."

Grian heard the words get quieter as he drifted off to sleep in the dark, destroyed room, Mumbo comforting him.