There is power in logic. You can predict everything and anything that could possibly happen. You can plan for even the most unexpected things. Numbers never lied, after all.

So what happens when the unexpected happens? Something that you couldn't possibly plan for?

Like magic.

Cub had always been a firm believer in the saying "knowledge is power". He believed in the more logical things more than the creative ones.

Cub loved solving unsolved mysteries and testing the impossible. He merged a Creeper with a man. It was amazing--it had worked, but he had, unfortunately, died. Apparently, even a Creeper hybrid couldn't survive its own blast. He'd made almost an entire human body metal, leaving just the head. Cyborg eyes. Weird mutations. Cub had done it all.

But when the incident happened, there was no way to prepare or avoid it. They came out of nowhere. It came out of nowhere.

It was a few days after the Creeper hybrid experiment, or Experiment 77, had failed. Cub was outside of the lab, just on the outskirts of the property. He was studying an outdoor experiment, using a golden flower, taking notes.

It was just a normal day. Nothing out of the ordinary. The birds were chirping, and the flower he was studying was in full bloom.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered Cub, but he was looking for something new. A new experiment, maybe? Since Experiment 77 had failed, he needed something new to occupy his time.

His eyes scanned the nearby area. The lab was in a relatively flat area and had a natural perimeter made by trees.

To the north, you could see the beginnings of a snowy mountain range.

Down south was a deep ocean.

Eastward continued the forest.

And to the west, there also stood a vast forest, but this one was different. The tree trunks were thicker, the leaves and wood darker. It was dark under the cover of the leaves. There were giant mushrooms taller than Cub.

Most mysterious, there was some sort of structure in the distance. It was made of the same wood in the forest and looked manmade.

The reason it was mysterious was that no one knew who built it. Cub had asked around, to which he got this answer.

"Why do you care about that building so much? It's in that forest. We should stay as far away from it as possible."

The scientists didn't want to go near the forest for some reason. When Cub asked why, they just told him that someone had gone into the forest and hadn't come back.

But Cub was more curious than the others. He came up with multiple questions that they had solved. What happens if you merge a human with a Creeper? How about making a nearly fully-metal human? Can you edit a flower's DNA to make it grow faster?

Now, he had a new one. What happened to the person who went inside that forest?

The forest was dangerous, obviously. It was also the least-explored area near the lab. The ocean? Mapped and charted. Mountains? They'd explored the entire range. The east forest? It went on forever, but Cub knew it like the back of his hand.

There was something in that dark oak forest. And whatever it was, it was enough to scare everyone out of there.

Well...not everyone.

Cub set out into the forest to see what secrets it held.

»»————-　★　————-««

"This was a bad idea. This was a really bad idea."

Cub tried to find a way through the maze of tree trunks. He could barely see. Was he prepared?

"I'm not prepared. I didn't bring food or a weapon. I'm wandering in here blindly with no way out."

Probably not.

How long had he been in here? It felt like forever. Had anyone noticed he was gone? Most likely not. Cub missing for hours, even days to find an experiment was normal. They probably thought he was looking for a cure to some sort of disease that stuck a dragon head on your face. But that didn't exist.

Anyway. Back to the situation. Cub didn't have a map. He had to look at a different angle.

"Well...it's dark. The leaves are thick enough to block the light." He had a realization. "The leaves are thick. They might be heavy enough to hold me up." He looked up at the trees. "If I can just find a way to get up there."

Many splinters and a torn lab coat later, Cub was on top of the trees--and he could see exactly where he was. He was going way off course, towards the ocean instead. The structure was near the middle. He started running towards it.

»»————-　★　————-««

The entrance to the structure wasn't looking promising. The interior was dark and musty. The good thing, though, was that there was no sign of life. Or was that bad?

Taking a deep breath, Cub stepped inside and winced. Nothing happened.

The walls were dimly lit with torches. The floor was carpeted, but beneath, the wood was rotting. Cub was careful of where he stood.

He was really tense. Something would pop up soon. This place wasn't abandoned. It looked old, but something was here. He was sure of it.

The first room he checked was empty as well. It was just full of chests, and even those didn't have anything inside.

The second room was a two-tiered farm for melons and pumpkins. Some of the crops were gone, and the soil looked healthy. Someone had harvested recently. That didn't help Cub's nerves.

The third room is where Cub encountered the first sign of life. He heard a grunting sound, and he jumped so loud the floor creaked. Something was in the darkness. Friend? Foe? Beast? Harmless animal?

He got his answer too soon.

It looked like some sort of mutated villager. Its skin was gray, and it wore dark robes. And, unfortunately, it had an iron ax. It spotted him and immediately charged.

The odds were unfair. You didn't need to know math or logic to see that.

Cub ran away as fast as possible. He chose to run the opposite way instead, deeper into the building. He only attracted more mutated villagers along the way.

"Upstairs," Cub panted to himself between breaths. "Go up the stairs."

There was a set of small cobblestone stairs at the end of the hall. Multiple Millagers (Illagers? Evillagers?) were on his trail.

The stairs skipped the second floor and led him up to a secret third floor. It was definitely smaller than the first. Cub remembered the structure of the building. There was an extra area that popped up from the main building. That was where he must be now.

"Please don't tell me there are more...whatever those are...up here. Just one minute. Please."

More grunting. Cub groaned. "Of course. There's that sweet irony."

This one looked different. Its robes were lined with gold trim and it held no weapon. That didn't make it any less intimidating. Cub shifted to the side, hoping it didn't spot him.

And, immediately, it spotted him.

Instead of pulling out some sort of hidden weapon, it raised its arms up in the air. For a twisted second, Cub thought he was surrendering. Then, its hands glowed.

Cub gaped. How was that possible? It defied half the laws of science. Unless some sort of thing that got into their system changed something in their DNA.

The villager mutation then did something, something that Cub couldn't explain. Three new creatures appeared. They had malicious grins, held stone swords, and didn't seem entirely solid. They were slightly transparent. If that wasn't horrifying enough, they could fly, and it didn't make sense. No wings. How did this exist?

The creatures took one look at him. Cub braced himself for the inevitable attack. It didn't come.

Instead, they stared at him. It was probably the weirdest thing he ever felt, but Cub felt a connection to the monsters. It was unbelievable--he must be losing his mind.

But, apparently, the creatures felt it too.

Vexes. They're called Vexes. Yeah. Cub was losing it.

They flew closer to him, kind of invading his personal space. It was like they were inspecting every single part of him. When they were done, the Vexes flew slowly over to one wall. Cub followed them, curious. They flew through the wall.

Cub sucked in a breath. "Great. Now they can go through solid objects." He looked back at the mutated villager, talking half to himself and half to the mutation. "What am I supposed to do?"

Sighing, he went the old-fashioned way and broke the blocks himself.

The room he was in was much smaller and had no decoration. The only things inside were the Vexes, Cub himself, and...a portal? Teleportation? Or...magic?

But as much as he denied it, magic was real. And, somehow, he was connected to this kind of magic.

The Vexes weren't scary to him. They were neither good or bad. Just...there. They seemed to be gesturing towards the portal. Cub frowned. "Am I supposed to go through that?"

The Vexes just continued to smile mischievously. Cub sighed audibly and took a step towards the portal. "Well, teleportation has inputs and outputs. Wherever I go, there will be a return portal."

He stared at the portal. "This is really stupid." He stepped through it anyway.

»»————-　★　————-««

Cub stepped on the other side and stopped, confused. "Uh..."

This was the forest to the right of the lab. The ongoing oak one. The one that wasn't so scary. Cub was standing in a clearing, but he wasn't alone. There were two others nearby.

One was female and wore some sort of dress and crown. The other...oh, no. Cub thought he died. Apparently, he had survived. For a moment, he was ecstatic that the experiment had worked. But this probably wasn't the best moment.

The girl saw him first. She waved cheerily as if this were normal. Experiment 77 turned around. He recognized Cub. His eyes narrowed. "You."

"Oh, you two know each other?" The girl asked. "Oh, how exciting!"

"Not right now, Stress," E77 muttered.

"But, Doc..." The girl, who was apparently named Stress, pouted.

So E77 had a name. That name was Doc. But there were more important things to focus on now.

"Hey, listen, uh...Doc..." Cub started shifting around awkwardly. "That experiment? It was for science, okay? I mean--"

"For science?" Doc looked really mad. Cub scolded himself. If a group of scientists experimented on you, wouldn't you be mad? "You didn't care if I died or not. To you, I was just--"

"Okay, enough, both of you!" Stress snapped. "You're both acting like little kids!" She took a breath. "Listen, it's getting dark. We'll go back to the shelter my friends built, and you two can fight however long you want there. Okay?"

Doc sighed and followed Stress. Cub looked behind him, seeing if he could go through the portal.

But, of course, there was no portal. The receiving end was gone. Just his luck--he got lost in a dark scary forest, almost got killed by weird mutated villagers, and now...

Cub groaned. "Great. Now I'm stuck here knowing that magic exists with an angry former experiment and a cheery yet scary princess. Yay."

Nevertheless, he followed Stress and Doc through the forest.

(WC: 1903)