Grian woke up.

    He was disoriented, since it didn't look like he was in his own room. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, stretching out his wings and looking around. He was sitting in an elevated bed with a white comforter. There were a number of chests in the room, and as he turned around to look at the wall, he saw a "Vote Scar for a Goodtime" poster. Grian was in Mumbo's room.

    But where was Mumbo? And what had happened last night?

    Every part of his body was sore.

    He shuddered at the pain as it reminded him of hiding his wings beneath his sweaters.

    Grian slowly lifted himself out of the bed and stepped off the ledge onto the ground.

    He paused. It smelled like someone was cooking, and he could hear someone singing. Grian exited the Architech's room and went down the hall to the source of the aroma and music.

    As the bird neared the kitchen, the singing became more clear.

    " There will come a poet, whose weapon is his word. He will slay you with his tongue, o lei, o lai, o lord-"

    Grian entered the room to find Mumbo at the stove, cooking and singing. His face was clean shaven, aside from his iconic stache, and he looked both tired and alert. He was wearing that apron that Iskall made for him. Mumbo stopped his serenade at the sight of his friend.

    "Good morning, Grian! How are you feeling?" The redstone man flipped the pancake he was making.

    "Sore." Grian sat at one of the tall chairs and set his head down in his arms on the breakfast bar's surface. "Hey, I woke up in your tiny bed. Where did you sleep?"

    Mumbo looked up at Grian. "Oh, I didn't."

    Grian frowned. "You've only gotten, like, a single night's rest in the last three days."

    "Last four days, and I'm not helping my case by saying that-" Mumbo realized.

    "Real question though. How did I get down there? Last thing I remember was me telling you my story." Grian rubbed his eyes.

    Mumbo paused.

    He doesn't remember the zapping or the bird thing...that's good. He thought

    "Well, you told me your story and then you sort of...cried yourself to sleep. You seemed really exhausted. Maybe it's because of the size changing?" The tall man bent the truth to protect his friend.

    Grian bought it.

    "Yeah, that's probably why..." The bird yawned and pointed at the stove. "The food's gonna burn."

    Mumbo looked back down at the pancake and quickly flipped it onto a plate with other pancakes. It was only a tiny bit burnt.

    "I made some for you too." Mr. Jumbo turned around to get plates out of the cupboard. He set them down and fixed up a plate for both him and Grian.

    "Oh sweet, thanks." Grian smiled and sat up. A sudden jolt of electricity shot through his body and whizzed past Mumbo's face.

    "Ah!" Mumbo jumped back, still holding the two plates. He regained his composure quickly.

"Sorry I...I don't know why that happened." Grian shook his head, taking notice of this constant buzz he felt. It was like the electrical hum of a machine, but more natural. He felt more awake, but at the same time felt more anxious.

Mumbo studied his buddy with a concerned look before setting the plate in front of him. "It's alright."

Grian nodded slightly and picked up a bottle of syrup from across the counter. Mumbo sat down in the chair next to him.

"I've been thinking up ideas for the superhero thing." Mumbo said as he started cutting up his food.

"The superhero thing?"

"Yeah, last night you said you would do it for me and Jrum."

Grian thought back to the night before. It was all sort of fuzzy, but he did kind of remember agreeing to it. "Oh yeah, you're right." He said and passed the syrup after using it.

"Anyways, I've been thinking of what you could do. Since you have wings, maybe you could have some sort of...bird gimmick. Y'know, just embrace the bird thing until it doesn't scare you anymore! Whaddya think?" Mumbo took the bottle and poured the syrup on his pancakes.

Grian thought about that as he took a bite of the food. He didn't realize that Mumbo was actually a decent cook. He was pleasantly surprised.

"As much as I hate that...it's actually a kind of okay idea." Grian said with his mouth full. He swallowed before continuing. "How about something...stupid? Something not too serious?"

Mumbo nodded as he took a bite. "I like that, yes." He said, covering his mouth as he talked.

The two sat in silence for a minute as they ate their food, both trying to think of ideas.

From outside, a clucking could be heard. Grian turned around to find that the front door was wide open, and a chicken was peeking its head inside.

"Mumbo, did you leave your door open?"

Mumbo turned around and laughed. "I guess I did!" He got up and picked up the chicken that had started to enter the base. "No, no, you don't belong in here!" He booped the mob on its beak.

Mumbo was about to set the bird back outside when Grian jumped up. "Wait, Mumbo!" He went on over to his friend and took the chicken from his arms, holding it up to his tall pal's face. "This!"

Mr. Jumbo looked confused, but it dawned on him. "You want your superhero thing to be a chicken?" He laughed a bit.

"Yeah! It's perfect! It's dumb and ridiculous, and that's what I need right now!" Grian lowered his arms and held the chicken, who looked a tad annoyed.

A smile creeped onto Mumbo's face, joy glittering in his amber eyes. "I love it."

Grian couldn't help but smile. It felt like it had been so long since he'd done something silly and the thought of doing so made him feel better.

"Oh this is great! What should my name be?" Grian pet the chicken.

"Hmm..." Mumbo thought for a moment. "Uh...Poultry Man?" He jokingly suggested.

Grian nodded. "It's great, yes!"

Mumbo's smile grew wider. Grian was acting like his usual self again. Mumbo closed the front door as Grian still held the chicken.

"Oh! And if I save people while like this," Grian willed himself into his taller form. The chicken started freaking out. "Then no one will recognize me!"

The farm animal kept squawking, so Grian held it up to his face. "Hey. Don't do that. Use your inside voice."

The chicken got quieter, but still clucked something.

"Oi, that's rude!" Grian laughed, presumably at what the chicken had said.

"You can understand it?" Mumbo looked at his tall friend.

"I-...I guess I can." The winged man shrugged. "I mean, he's a bird, I'm a...I'm a bird." He faltered for a moment. "Uh, no matter." He shook the thoughts away and turned the chicken around so that it faced Mumbo. "Can we keep him?"

Mumbo gave his friend a quizzical look, but still smiled. "Sure, why not?" He chuckled.

Grian looked happy. "Great! What should we name him?" He looked at Mumbo expectantly.

"Am I the name guy now? Alright." Mumbo thought for a second. "How about Charlie? That's a good name for a chicken." He nudged Grian with his elbow.

"Was that a not-so-subtle jab at my middle name?" The birdman questioned, trying to look serious but failing miserably.

"Did I say chicken? I meant, 'very nice bird friend.'" Mumbo winked.

Grian dropped his serious act and smiled. "That's better." He set the chicken down on the floor. "But I agree. Charlie does seem like a good name for him." He shrunk back down to his normal size and returned to his seat to finish his food. "Maybe we could get an Enderman and name it Oli, since they're tall, they're dark, and they hate water."

Mumbo sat down next to him. "Hey, water messes up redstone!" He defended himself before stuffing his food into his mouth.

After breakfast, Mumbo gathered some things in his inventory before the two of them returned to Grumbot's place. Grian was waiting by the door, wearing that purple cloak Xisuma let him borrow. Mumbo had gone to get it earlier that morning while Grian was asleep, knowing that his friend would want to hide his wings.

Grian also held Charlie in his arms, patting his head and feeding him wheat seed to keep him quiet. The Redstoner equipped his elytra and tied his shoes before hopping up and heading to the door. The birdman opened up the door and let Mumbo exit before closing the door behind himself.

Mumbo pulled out a rocket and looked at Grian.

"How are you going to fly?"

Grian stopped walking. "Oh beans, you're right." His wings fluttered softly under the cloak, as if they were suggesting he just fly using them. He frowned. "My elytra broke off a couple of days ago, and I don't have another."

Mumbo surveyed his cloaked buddy. An idea popped into his head.

"You can shrink down and I can hold you as I fly!" He suggested, vaguely remembering when his friend woke him up while being small.

"Alrighty! That works. But you'll have to hold Charlie too." Grian extended his arms and passed the chicken over to Mumbo. Mumbo took the mob and watched Grian shrink down to the size of a hummingbird.

Mumbo bent down and held his hand out for Grian to get on. The tiny bird hopped onto the man's palm. Mumbo brought his hand up to his face. He looked at his small friend with a playful smile. "Aw look at you! You're adorable!"

Grian rolled his eyes and bopped Mumbo on the nose with his tiny hand. "Just fly already." He couldn't help but smile.

Mumbo held Charlie in his left arm, and held Grian in his left hand, holding his rockets in the other.

He launched himself into the sky, and zipped towards their destination.

Mumbo made a safe landing and set the two birds on the ground. Charlie looked at Grian, who was still tiny, and tried to peck at him. Grian hopped back and returned to normal size. Charlie squaked and ran towards the giant robot, who's screen was dark. Grian chucked and tried to brush away a feather off of his arm.

He couldn't though.

Confused, Grian looked down. A familiar panic ran through him as he realized that the feather was coming from his arm. He quickly pulled it out, wincing at the pain, and hiding his arm.

Mumbo looked up from his inventory. "Everything fine?" He asked.

"Yup!" Grian smiled nervously.

Mumbo was about to protest when Jrumbot ran out from behind Grum and zoomed towards the two men. "Hewwo Papa! Hewwo Daddy!" He waved as he jumped up and down, still wearing the Mumbo for Mayor t-shirt that was much too big on him.

Mumbo smiled and greeted his baby. He bent down and kissed the bot on his screen. "Hello Jrum, my boy."

Grian still felt awkward about the whole "dad" thing, but he wanted to try his best to be a good father. He too bent down and gave the metal boy a kiss. Jrum giggled and a heart appeared on his screen.

"Where are the twins?" Grian asked Jrumbot, who pointed up at the shut down mayoral droid.

Grian looked at Mumbo questioningly. "You were here earlier, right?"

Mumbo nodded and started to head towards Grumbot.

"Did you do something?"

Mumbo stopped when he was almost under Grum's head. "I had an idea."

Grian waited for Mumbo to explain, but the fellow Architech didn't.

"Well? What was your idea?" Grian urged.

Mumbo looked back at Grian. "Oh, yes! I had an idea! We haven't really been working on the campaign, and I honestly don't believe I will win, so-" Mumbo clapped his hands together. "I decided that the campaign can be our cover!"

Grian studied the bigger robot, while Jrumbot tugged on his cloak. He picked him up in his arms, his focus still on Grum. "I don't get it. Whaddya mean?"

Mumbo pulled some blueprints out of his inventory. "We can turn Grumbot into your superhero super computer! Of course he'll still serve his primary function as a mayoral advice bot, but that's just so that if anyone comes to talk to him, he can still act normally!" Mumbo's eyes twinkled in a mischievous way, but he looked very tired.

"So...you're gonna turn our son into a crime computer? Won't that harm him or something?" Grian looked down at Jrumbot, who was messing with the pin on the cloak. "No, don't do that baby." He whispered to the boy before softly kissing his TV head.

Mumbo shook his head. "I asked him first. Grum seemed excited. Amy and Kit are already working on his new functions." He waved at the dark screen.

Grian paused. "Wait, they're inside his head, and they can see us?"

Mumbo nodded.

Grian thought back to the day where he had taken off his sweater to stretch his wings. At the time, he thought that Mumbo couldn't see him. But now he knew that he could, and that he probably did.

But Mumbo had played it off.

Grian was lost in thought when Jrum dinged like a phone. The baby bot held out his hand and a screen hologram came from his palm. It looked like a text message.

"Amewia says dey need da new boopwint" Jrumbot looked up at his papa after reading the message.

"Alrighty, can you bring this up to her?" Mumbo passed the rolled-up schematics to his son. Jrum nodded and hopped out of Grian's arms before running behind his big brother.

"They're connected?" Grian asked, referring to the robokids.

Mumbo smiled. "They're all on the same secured private network."

"Huh..." Grian trailed off, not really thinking about the robots.

Another zip of electricity jolted through him, causing the bird to twitch as built-up lightning zapped at the sides of the cloak. It didn't seem to affect the fabric somehow.

Mumbo glanced at Grian with a worried look. Grian met his gaze, holding their eye contact for a second too long before somberly looking at the ground.

Mumbo didn't look away at first, but after a moment he turned to the command centre. He pulled out another set of blueprints, as well as his Redstone shulker box, and taped the paper to Grumbot's smooth panels after setting down the box. He kneeled down, rummaging around and pulling out various redstone mechanisms.

"I'm not gonna be any help here, so I guess I can get started on our secret headquarters?" Grian spoke up.

Mumbo turned to look at him, somehow already covered in redstone. He had a redstone torch in his mouth like a flashlight. "Sure! That works!"

Grian chuckled at his companion before pulling out his own shulker box full of building materials.

He began work on the base.

Grian decided that an underwater base that led from underneath Grumbot's platform would be the best way to go about it. He worked on the tunnel, using water breathing potions to let him work for longer at a time.

By the end of the day, Mumbo and Grian had created the entrance. If Mumbo, Grian, or any of the robot kids entered the right code, Grumbot's command centre would open up and reveal a platform lift. The lift went down through a glass tunnel and opened up to a glass hallway. The fish swam above and under the tube, making it a very cool place to walk through. Grian had also finished the shell of the base, using sponges to soak up the seawater and dry up the inside of the hollow headquarters.

Grian soaked up the last bit of water and got in the lift. There was an electrical hum as he was elevated up to the surface. The back of the lift opened, allowing Grian to exit without the risk of being seen from the front of Grumbot.

It was a smart move on Mumbo's part.

The bird pulled out the purple cloak from his inventory and put it on. He reached under the fabric and touched his wings. He could feel the electric current in him grow stronger. He quickly pulled his hand away.

Grian looked around for his partner. The sun had set a couple of hours ago, and the stars were bright in the sky. He could see the glow of redstone from the entrance of the Jrumbot shop, and as he approached, he could once again hear Mumbo singing.

"Now different lives I lead, my body lives on lead, the last two lines may read incorrect until said..."

Grian peeked inside. Mumbo was sitting on the shop counter, singing, while the twins hummed along as they swept the shop. Jrumbot was laying in the bed that Mumbo had set up days ago and had only used once. Jrum looked asleep, but could robots sleep? He had one arm around Charlie the chicken and his other around Gellie. Both animals were sleeping with their heads resting on the baby bot.

"The lead is terrible in flavour, and now you double as a papermaker-"

Mumbo spotted Grian, but continued the verse.

"I despise you sometimes" 

Grian inhaled sharply at those words, knowing full well that it was just a song. But Mumbo had been making eye contact.

He was being highly irrational, and he knew it. Still...it was hard to stop thinking negatively about himself.

" I love to hate the fight, and you in my life is like sipping on straight chlorine."

Mumbo stopped singing and hopped off the counter, now standing behind it. The warm torchlight caused the redstone dust on him to twinkle and shimmer. It was cold outside, especially since Grian had the cloak instead of his normal sweater.

Mumbo motioned for Grian to come inside, a happy look on his face.

The bird stepped inside, feeling the glow of the torches. The twins waved and Grian returned the greeting. He made his way behind the count and stood next to Mumbo, who's arms were leaned on the front desk. He was watching the twins organize the stock and give each other looks. Every so often, one or both of the twins would start laughing.

Grian looked at Mumbo when this happened.

"They can message each other with their thoughts, since they're connected computers." The redstone expert explained.

"Ah I see." Grian watched the twins a bit more.

"How are you doing? You've been working hard." Mumbo turned to look at Grian, putting his arm around him.

"I'm alright. I drained the water from the inside of the base, so now it's ready for the interior." He answered, tugging at the cloak.

"You don't have to wear that in here." Mumbo pulled his arm back.

Grian started to protest. "But-"

"No one's gonna come in here. We'll just close the door." Mumbo put his hands on the pin of the cloak. Circuit rushed over to the door of the shop and closed it.

Grian stayed still and allowed Mumbo to carefully unpin the robe and slowly remove it from the bird's shoulders. He folded it up neatly and set it down on the counter beside them.

Grian moved his wings a bit. He shifted uncomfortably under Mumbo's gaze.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Grian looked to the side to avoid eye contact.

Mumbo's reply was a laugh, the kind that warmed Grian's heart. "Sorry, I'll stop." He chuckled, and returned to watching the kids as they non-verbally communicated.

Grian stepped next to Mumbo and extended his wings, wrapping it around Mumbo like a hug. The tall Englishman smiled and stroked the feathers that came around his shoulder. He could feel a slight current in them, but he was used to electricity. He looked over at Grian, who kind of stared straight forwards, zoned out.

"You alright, buddy?"

Grian looked up, and moved his wing back to its usual position. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You seem...tense."

Grian laughed. "I am extremely sore all the time nowadays."

"Hey Father, you should rub his shoulders. I read that it helps with soreness." Amelia looked over at her parents.

Grian looked at his daughter. "Why were you reading about sore muscles?"

"Dad asked us to look up stuff that would help. He said it was because you said you were sore this morning." Circuit jumped in to explain.

Grian looked over at Mumbo, who chuckled. "I wanted to help you."

The bird smiled. Mumbo wanted to help him.

He hopped onto the counter and crossed his legs, his back facing Mumbo. "Well, go ahead." He smiled.

Mumbo rolled his eyes with a smile and rubbed the bird's tense shoulders. He could feel the electric current running through Grian.

Grian relaxed his wings, letting them fall low. Just the touch of another person made him feel better.

Mumbo leaned in next to Grian, and whispered in his ear. "I have an idea."

Grian couldn't help but laugh at the action. "What is it?"

"We should build a new body for Grumbot. One that's more...android-y, like Amy and Kit's." Mumbo spoke softly, and Grian could tell he was in dire need of sleep. "He deserves the same love that the other kiddos get."

Mumbo stopped massaging Grian's shoulders and hugged him from behind, resting his head against G's.

Grian felt warm inside.

"I like that idea."

Mumbo smiled, his eyes closed.

"You should go sleep." Grian put his hand on Mumbo's redstone-dusted hair.

"Fine." Mumbo yawned and stood up. He walked over to the bed that Jrum was in and scooped the droid, the chicken, and the cat into his arms. His shoes were already off and by the door, so he just got under the blanket and set the animals and robot on and next to him.

Gellie moved sleeping spots to the pillow next to Mumbo's head, and Charlie sat next to Gellie, not minding the fact that she was a cat.

Mumbo cradled his baby in his arms and mumbled, "Good night"

Grian smiled and nodded to Amelia and Circuit to follow him. They exited the shop so Mr. Jumbo could get sleep, turning off the redstone lamps on the way out.

The twins went over to their big brother. His power was off, even though all the redstone operations had been finished already. He was safe to turn on, but they hadn't yet.

Grian thought about what Mumbo had said. It was true. Grumbot didn't get the same type of love that the other kids got. Specifically, Grumbot was stuck where he was, and was too big to hug properly.

The bird entered Grumbot's boot-up code and stepped back.

The bot turned on and looked down at Grian. "Hello Dad!"

Grian smiled, the awkward feeling returning. "Hey Grum"

He sighed and focused on growing bigger. He wanted to try and give Grum a better hug.

He opened his eyes and he was once again 8 feet tall. He concentrated, trying to summon his energy. Maybe he could be bigger.

It kind of hurt, but Grian was able to grow to roughly the size of Grumbot.

He opened his eyes again and tried to shake away the panic of the situation. Grumbot watched patiently.

Grian slowly stepped towards him. "Hi." He whispered, not wanting to be too loud. He felt unstable in this form, but he pushed through it.

Grumbot looked very happy at his big dad. He held his robotic arms out for a hug, and Grian put his own around Grum.

The big robot beeped happily and Grian felt that same pride that Mumbo had shown.

"I love you, Grum."

"I love you too Dad! I can't wait to help you be a hero!"

Grian chuckled. He hugged his son for a minute or two before he started getting lightheaded. He stepped back and shrunk down before stumbling around. His vision got blurry and he tripped over his own foot. Grumbot caught him against his hand.

"Note to self: Being a giant is not fun. Quite a headache." He rubbed his head as his vision returned to normal. As his eyes refocused, he spotted small purple feathers on the back of his hand. His smile faded. He looked at the feathers sadly.

How long did he have left?