The roboticist hummed a tune as he finished the programming on his newest creation. As he entered the last line of code, he laughed out loud to himself with joy. He closed up the panels on the android and stood back, studying it. For some reason, the man had the urge to give him some defining feature that would separate him from human Grian.

Mumbo turned around and came over to his chest of miscellaneous parts and accessories. He pulled out a pair of square glasses and returned to the bot. He slipped them onto the robot's nose with a smile.

"Perfect." The hermit said quietly to himself. Mumbo stepped backwards, tripping on a toolbox. He fell back, landing on his side. The man was unfazed as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Grian! Welcome to Hermitcraft!"

As the roboticist spoke the activation phrase, the robot in front of him booted up. He raised his head and opened his eyes.

"Mumbo!" The android beamed and lunged at his best friend, giving him a tight hug.

Mumbo's smile grew even wider as he returned the hug. "Grian!" He chuckled happily.

The two hugged for a few minutes before Griandroid let go.

"You...look ridiculous-" The feathered AI looked Mumbo up and down with a raised eyebrow.

The roboticist rubbed his tired eyes with a laugh. "Yeah, I do."

Mumbo looked down at his friend and couldn't help but grin like an idiot. He took the robot's hand excitedly and began to pull him out of the workshop, like he had done with the others.

"The family's out here!" The bearded man told the robot.

As the two of them exited the workshop, the robotic family in the living room all turned to face them.

Mumbo hadn't told them what he was doing, but they all had an idea that it was Grian related.

Jrumbot spoke up first.

"Daddy!" The little boy jumped from his seat and bolted towards the two men. He leaped towards Grian, who caught him in his arms.

"Jrum!" Griandroid smiled and kissed the baby on the cheek. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too!" Jrum giggled and then frowned. "Wait a second...You'we not Gwian-"

"Jrum...Grian can't be here to take care of you, so I made a new Grian. He won't leave, and he'll love you so much." Mumbo explained to the baby, and to the rest of the family.

Griandroid nodded and looked into Jrum's eyes. The little boy smiled after a moment. Mumbo had connected Grian to the same network as the rest of the bots.

Jrum gave his robotic father a big kiss on the cheek and pointed towards the couch. "C'mon!"

Grian obeyed the command and brought Jrum over to the couch where the rest of the family was.

"Hello Mr. Grian." Circuit gave him a polite nod.

"Now, hold on. Is that any way to greet your father?" Grian set Jrum down and gave Circuit a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Circuit couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry Dad!" The boy chuckled. Amelia gave Griandroid a hug. She kissed her father on the cheek and smiled.

"Hello Father!"

"Why, hello there, Amy!" Grian grinned.

Grumbot sat at one of the ends of the couch. He was quiet, not saying anything. He barely even glanced up at Grian.

The robodad stepped up to Grum and set a hand on his shoulder.

"I missed you, Grum."

"...I-...yeah..." The robot boy spoke quietly. He was crying.

Grian kneeled down and gave him a giant hug. "Don't cry, kiddo."

Grum gave in and hugged back, sobbing into the sweater that Mumbo had gotten from his base. Grian had left it there some time ago.

Grace and John sat on the other couch, watching their brother's robot friend. Grace held Sahara in her lap. The little baby was curled up, not facing Grian.

After Grian let go, he wiped the tears off of the boy's face and smiled. The robot stood up and turned to greet Mumbo's siblings.

"Hello there! My name is Griandroid! Get it? Like, Grian, but an android?" The robot laughed at his own words. "I'm Mumbo's best friend." He extended his hand for them to shake. Grace shook it first and gave him a kind smile.

"Hey Grian! I'm Grace, Mumbo's older sister."

John went next. "Hi! Name's John. I'm his older brother."

Grian smiled and looked at Sahara. He knelt down in front of her and gently moved her head so she was looking at him.

"Hello baby." He spoke soft and lovingly.

Sahara hid her face again. Grian sighed.

"Sahara...I don't hate you. I'm sorry for flying off when we first met. I just got...overwhelmed. I promise it wasn't your fault." The robot stroked her hair and picked her up from Grace's lap as he stood. She avoided looking at him.

He gave her a kiss on the head. Sahara glanced at him and paused. She turned towards Grian and gave him a hug. He smiled at the child and hugged her tightly.

He took her over to Mumbo and looked up at him.

"You go on and build your parents. I'll watch the kids." He smiled. Mumbo frowned.

"But I wanted to spend time with you-"

Griandroid looked down at Sahara, and then at the rest of the robot family.

"Alrighty, how about we help you? I think John and Grace can handle the kids. I mean, they did it while you were building me." Grian laughed. The roboticist didn't quite like how he stated that he was aware he was a bot. Mumbo knew that he knew, of course, but it was disorientating to hear him say that Mumbo 'built' him.

John gave a thumbs-up and Grace gave a nod. Amelia frowned. 

"Father, shouldn't you sleep?" She asked from the couch. Mumbo gave her a kind smile before pulling Grian and Sahara into the workshop.

"Alright. Speedrun time." Mumbo ran to his workbench and picked up his blueprints for his parental droids.

Grian laughed and sat in Mumbo's swivel chair with Sahara in his lap. She looked up at him and slightly frowned.

Sahara knew this wasn't Grian. She didn't care if this robot Grian loved her or not. She wanted to know if the real Grian really did hate her.

Grian glanced down at Sahara when she looked up at him. Her frown turned into a smile, and she rested her head against his chest.

Grumbot sat there after Mumbo, Griandroid, and Sahara left. The others were talking, but Grum couldn't seem to hear them. His thoughts were too loud.

Grum stood up in the middle of Amelia's sentence. He wasn't sure what everyone was talking about.

There must have been something off with the way he was acting, because Grace spoke up.

"Is everything alright, Grum?"

This time he heard her. He gave her a quick nod and calmly walked to the lift. Jrum jumped out of his spot and ran after Grum.

"Wait! I wanna go wif you!"

Grumbot turned around and chuckled sadly. He picked up his little brother and gave his family a wave as the doors to the lift closed.

"That was...strange..." Circuit looked at his twin. She looked equally worried.

In the lift, Jrumbot climbed his way onto Grum's shoulders.

"Whewe awe we going?" He played with Grum's hair.

"To find Dad."

"But...Gwian's not ouw daddy anymow... Gwiandwoid is."

"That piece of scrap metal is not our father."

"...we awe pieces of scwap doe." Jrum replied.

"I-...I know."

The lift doors opened. It was dark outside, which was good for the robots. It would be better if they weren't spotted.

As Grumbot walked out from behind his TV self, he stared at the server in front of him. A sudden realization set in.

"I don't know where to go."

Other than when the family was searching for Jrumbot, Grum had never been anywhere but the HQ and the Jrumbot shop. When they were searching for Jrum, it had been dark and raining. He had been too focused on finding his little brother to have paid attention to his surroundings. Grum didn't know where Grian would be.

Grum walked off the platform and into the shopping district. There were a few hermits there, despite it being pretty late at night.

"We couwd ask someone?" Jrum suggested. Grumbot nodded.

The closest hermit they were near was an armoured knight with pointy ears and blonde hair. He was muttering back and forth to himself in two similar, but different, voices.

"He's cwazy." Jrum whispered to Grum. The older robot rolled his eyes.

"Dad does that same thing." He whispered back.

Jrum giggled. "Oh wait! Yeah!"

The little boy's laugh brought the soldier out of his thoughts. He looked up at the two bots.

"Hi! Sorry if we...interrupted you! We're looking for Grian." Grum told the knight.

"Huh. Last time I saw Grian, he was flying towards Xisuma's base. That was a couple of days ago, but he seems to hang out there a lot."

"Great! Thank you!" Grum started to head out, but then he froze. "Aaaactually, I have no clue where that is..."

The knight smiled. "I can take you."

"Thank you so much." Grumbot said with a relieved chuckle. "My name's Grumbot. This is my little brother Jrum. We're Mumbo and Grian's kids."

The soldier looked confused for a moment before realizing that the children in front of him were actually robots.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm WelsKnight."

Jrum's eyes grew wide. "WAIT! I KNOW YOU!"

Wels looked up at the baby on the older boy's shoulders. "You do?"

"Yeah! You wew in dat song! You bwing da fight at fiwst wight!"

Wels laughed out loud. "Oh! The Hermit Gang thing from last season. Oh my gosh, that's great." He smiled, but then quickly muttered something to himself.

"Oh, shut up." He whispered harshly to no one. The kids looked down at him awkwardly as he led them in the direction of XisumaVoid's base. They stayed silent, not sure what to say.

"Oh! That wasn't directed at you! I've, uh...got...a voice in my head- I KNOW THAT MAKES ME SOUND CRAZY! But, yeah. Nether demon and all that." Wels chuckled. His eyes flickered like fire.

"Coow!" Jrumbot looked down at the knight with bright eyes. "I got voices in my head too! 'Cept mine awe just my bwothews and sistews cuz ouw netwowks awe connected ow somethin'."

Wels smiled. "You have more siblings?"

"Yeah! I gots Mewia, and Ciwcuit, and Sahawa! Gwum and I awe also connected to ouw Aunt Gwace and Uncwe John!"

"Wow, you've got a lot of robot family." Wels noted.

Grum nodded. "Yeah..."

As the 3 of them approached Xisuma's base after walking for a bit, Wels stopped. He pointed at the door.

"There you go." He gave them a wave before trying to head off.

"What's da wush?" Jrum asked.

"Uh...Xisuma's brother." Wels chuckled nervously. "He's also a Nether dude, and my, uh, demon thing really likes to try and take over when we're near him." He shrugged.

"Well, alrighty then! Thank you!" Grumbot gave Wels a wave.

"Bye-bye Uncwe Wews!" Jrum waved. The soldier grinned at the name and departed.

Grum took a deep breath and stepped towards the door. He hesitated for a moment before knocking.

Boot-heavy footsteps approached the door from the other side. It opened. Standing there was the bee-suited man that the kids had seen a couple of times before. He wore a helmet with bee antennae and a stinger on the back of it. Through the purple visor, his tired eyes looked at the children.

"'Ello there." He said, a smile in his voice. "You're here for Grian, I presume?"

Grumbot nodded. The man stepped aside.

"I'm XisumaVoid. I don't think we've properly met."

"I'm Grumbot." The humanoid robot smiled and stepped into the house.

"I'm Jwum!" The baby giggled and hopped off of his brother's shoulders and at the Admin. X's reflexes were quick, and he caught the little boy in his muscled arms.

As Grumbot closed the door behind him, Xisuma looked at him and lowered his head. "Could you take my helmet off for me? My arms suddenly became full."

Grum nodded and took the helmet off of the man and set it on the podium that Xisuma motioned towards. The Admin shook out his hair and looked down at Jrumbot.

"Let me bring you to your father." He kissed the baby on the forehead. Jrum rested against the bee man's armoured chest. He led the two of them into the living room where Iskall and Grian sat in front of the fireplace playing some sort of card game. The Swedish hermit had his arm in a sling, and bandages all over his body. His robotic eye was broken.

As Xisuma re-entered the room, the men looked up. Grian's face became a flurry of emotions.

Jrumbot's eyes sparkled when he saw his father. "Daddy!" Jrum wiggled out of X's arms and hopped onto the couch, bouncing off the soft cushion and jumping into Grian's arms. He hugged his father tightly around the neck. Grian fell back in surprise.

"J-Jrum?" Grian looked down at the baby is disbelief. "Is-...Is Mumbo with you?" He asked hopefully.

Jrum shook his head. "Naw, we snuck out! Wike webews fwom that Staw Waws movie that Uncwe Wen showed us."

Grum stood behind Xisuma, feeling a strange anxiety in his heart that he had never really felt before. Was he scared to talk to his own father? Was he scared that Grian really didn't love them?

Grum shook those thoughts away and stepped out from behind the bee man.

"Hi Dad." He waved, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Grian's eyes went wide as he looked at Grumbot. His pulse quickened as he studied the almost human robot who stood in behind the couch.

"Grumbot? You...You look-...so much like Mumbo-" Grian's voice broke, just like his heart. He put a hand over his mouth as he started to cry. Iskall looked at Xisuma and nodded. The Swede stood up with a pained grunt and limped over to the Admin. He gave Grumbot a kind, familial smile before he and the Bee man headed upstairs to give Grian time with his children.

Grumbot came over and took Iskall's spot. He looked at his father, feeling himself tear up.

"Dad gave me a new body because my old one...broke."

Grian nodded as tears ran down his face. "I know." He clutched Jrumbot tightly.  "You guys...snuck out?" He looked down at his baby.

"I don't think Papa wants us tawking to you. He doesn't wike you wight now...I think...I'm not suwe. He buiwt a wobot of you." Jrum pet the feathers on his father's chest, speaking in a sleepy voice.

"He-...replaced me..." Grian's eyes stung with tears.

Grum scooted closer to his dad. "Griandroid isn't my father. You are. He could never replace you." He leaned forwards and hugged Grian tightly.

The bird hugged his boys back.

"Oh my goodness, I missed you two so much." He sobbed into Grum's white dress shirt.

"I missed you Dad." Grum sat back. "I-...This is a weird request, but...could you be big Dad for a moment? I-...I need a hug."

Grian smiled and willed himself to his hero form. Jrum hopped out of his arms to make way for his older brother. The bird beckoned the humanoid bot.

Grum came closer to his dad, who scooped him up in his giant arms. He held the boy like a baby and hugged him close. Grum curled up and let out a contented sigh as he felt the protective arms of his father around him. He rested his face against the feathers on Grian's chest and smiled. He was crying now, but they were tears of joy.

Grian leaned down and gave Grum a kiss on the cheek, faltering when he tasted the salty tears on the boy's face.

"You can cry?"

Grum looked up and nodded. "I'm as human as I can get for a robot."

The bird chuckled as he noticed the slight cross-eyes of the boy. He knew something was off about him, but he also knew that his eyes weren't it.

It took a moment, but the thunderbird finally realized what it was.

"You're not wearing your sweater."

"Cuz it was yours..."

Grian thought for a second. "Do you boys wanna go to my mansion for the night?"

Jrumbot nodded happily. Grum thought about Mumbo. His father wouldn't be coming out of his workshop to talk to him for at least two days. He missed his father.

Grum nodded as well. Grian smiled and picked Jrum up in his arms too. He carried the two boys in his big, protective arms. He went to the bottom of the staircase and called up.

"Hey! 'Suma! Iskall! Alex! I'm taking my boys to my mansion for the night. I'll probably be back tomorrow though." He laughed. "See ya then!"

"See ya!" Iskall called down.

"Bye!" Xisuma replied.

"Wait, you have children? That's kind of wack- OW DON'T PUNCH ME XISUMA!" Alex yelled out. Grian tried not to laugh as he heard the brothers fight.

"Boys! Calm down! Or I'll...take away your Switch?" Iskall could be heard saying.

"Fine, DAD ." Alex huffed sarcastically.

"Well, you're acting like a child, so maybe Dadskall here has the right idea." Xisuma shot back.

Iskall laughed heartily. "Dadskall! Oh I love that!"

Grian snorted as he laughed. "Okay, you three have fun!"

The bird took his children outside. He could feel it start to sprinkle, so he held the robots close even though they were waterproof. He raised his wings and shot up into the air.

He felt Grum take a sharp inhale and hold onto his arm tighter. Jrum giggled and looked at the ground below.

"You haven't flown before, have you?" Grian looked down at his son. Grum shook his head. He looked scared.

"Don't worry. I promise, I will never let you go."

Grumbot smiled. He trusted his dad.

The bird flew through the sky with the boys until they reached his ginormous mansion. Grum gasped in surprise.

"Woah..."

"You like it?" Grian looked down at Grum as he landed on the roof.

"You built this?" He looked at his dad in awe.

Grian nodded and set the boys down before opening the trapdoor on the roof and climbing down the ladder. He motioned for the boys to follow.

Grian led them towards his bedroom. "I have something for you, Grum."

The ex-hero went over to his closet and threw open the door with such accidental force that it broke off of its overhead track and fell onto Grian's bed.

"Whoops." The bird looked down at his hands with panic before grabbing one of the red jumpers inside the small closet.

"Here." Grian handed the sweater to Grum, who took it with joy. "You look more like yourself with it on."

Grum pulled the sweater on over his head and smiled. Grian chuckled at the gap-toothed grin.

Jrumbot jumped onto the bed and climbed over the door that lay at an angle on the mattress. He went to the headboard and looked over the side of the bed, pulling something out of a pile of items. It was the picture of Grian and Taurtis.

He looked at Grian and remembered what happened last time he held the picture. He quickly dropped it back in the pile and pulled out a different picture. This one was of Grian and Mumbo.

"Papa's gone cwazy." Jrum stated. Grian turned to look at the boy, letting out a sad sigh when he spotted the picture. The bird picked the door up off of the bed with ease and set it up against the wall. He sat down on the edge of the bed. It creaked under his weight.

"I want to apologize to him so badly, but...I keep getting this feeling that he doesn't want me anymore. He wants Grian back as his friend, but...not me. You know? In his mind, I don't think he sees me as Grian. I-...I can't blame him. I can't see myself as Grian anymore. I've changed and I hate it."

Grumbot blinked as he realized that he understood his father's feelings in a way he hadn't really done before. He came over and sat next to his dad on the bed.

"I don't think Dad sees me the same either now. I think every time I do something that reminds him of you, it hurts him...Maybe that's why he spends so much time locked up in his workshop, making more robots."

Grian put his face in his hands. "Oh goodness...Has he built more?"

Jrum nodded. "Yeah, he buiwt you, but befowe dat he buiwt his sistew Gwace and his bwothew John. He's buiwding his mama and papa now."

Grian stretched out his wings as a bit of electricity built up in them. "Is he...okay?"

Grum shook his head. "I don't think so. The only time he remembers to take care of himself is if we tell him to. Even then, he will protest before giving in. It...makes me really sad. He-...Dad loves us, right?"

Grian was caught off-guard by his son's question. "Wha- I-...Well, of course he does."

"Then why does he keep pushing himself to exhaustion? Doesn't he know how worried we are for him?" The robot boy was crying, pulling his sweater sleeves over his hands.

Jrum scooted over to Grian and touched his arm. He was starting to get the feathers that he had lost back. He was running out of time.

The bird flinched when the baby touched his feathered arm. He looked down at Jrum and his expression softened. He picked up the baby boy and gave him a kiss.

"Dad built that replacement of you, and I-...I hate him. I've never hated anymore before, but I hate that man. He's not you. I can't tell Dad that though, because it'll break him. I can't do that to him..." Grum wiped his eyes with the sweater sleeves. "I don't think Sahara likes Griandroid much either. She still believes you hate her..."

Grian looked up the ceiling. "I don't hate her. I hated Mumbo at that point. But I don't hate either of them now. I just...hate myself."

Jrum looked up at his father. "Don't say dat!" The little boy told the bird. He was still holding the picture of Grian and Mumbo

"Cuz that makes me sad..." Jrum sniffed. He couldn't cry tears, but he could sure look heart-wrenchingly miserable.

Grian looked down at Jrum. "But you guys make me not hate myself as much."

Grumbot looked at his own hands. He couldn't understand the feelings he was experiencing. They just didn't...make sense. He felt torn between his fathers. He knew Grian needed him, but so did Mumbo.

"Everything alright, kiddo?" The bird put an arm around Grumbot. The boy wiped his eyes again.

"Yeah...I'm just...tired."

"I feel you. I'm gonna go take a shower. You two can sleep here. I'll be back soon." Grian said, standing up. The mattress returned to its normal shape. He took a gray towel off of a hook and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Grum kicked off his shoes and slipped under the covers. He pulled the comforter up to his face. Jrum came over next to him and poked him on the back.

"Awe you sad?" The baby asked.

Grum didn't reply.

Jrum tried again. "Gwum, awe you okay?"

Still, the robot didn't answer. Jrumbot climbed over his brother and looked him in the eyes.

"Why awe you sad?" Jrum tilted his head.

Grumbot flipped over, his back now facing the baby. Jrum frowned. He looked down at the picture in his hands.

"I'm sowwy." He sniffled and laid down sadly. Grum could hear his baby brother "crying". It hurt him.

The older robot turned back around. "H-hey Jrum, I'm sorry, don't cry!" He put a hand on the little boy's face.

"I just wanted to make you happy." Jrum looked up at Grum. He clutched the photo close. Grum put his arms around his little brother and hugged him close.

"Thank you."

"If you hate Gwiandwoid, then I do too." Jrum decided.

"Maybe we could convince Dad that him building more robots isn't a good idea...it probably won't work, but...we should try?"

Jrum nodded. "Yeah."

"I love you, Jrum. I...I don't know if I've said that enough...I think I was jealous of you for a bit since you're tiny and you are more able to spend time with our dads..."

"I wanna be big wike you doh! Being tiny is no fun when you gotsa stay dis way foweva." Jrum cut in.

"I...I never thought of it that way..." Grum sighed. He still seemed sad.

Jrum looked up at Grum and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I wuv you too, Gwum."

The robot boy smiled and kissed his brother on the head.

When Grian came back into the room, Grum and Jrum were both asleep. The bird smiled and shrunk himself down. He shook the water off of himself like a dog and fluttered up to his robot boys. He slipped himself in Jrum's arms after giving them both a tiny kiss on their foreheads.