Just a few moments after Mumbo suffered his death, all of the Hermits were yet again gathered, this time in front of the unused Town Hall.

Ah, yes. The Town Hall. The mayoral campaign was yet another thing that was set aside with Mumbo's disappearance. He was, after all, the entire reason it had existed in the first place. The diamond thrown had remined unoccupied, only changing when someone would purchase a plot of land in the Shopping District and add to it.

It was majestic and large; a luminous blue glow shone, illuminating the Hall as the the sun beamed down on the throne through the opening. It towered over the Hermits, enticing and regal. Certainly a sight to behold, it was quite a shame it had never gotten to be used. It was also, according to Scar, at least, delicious. Grian didn't dare try it, however.

Grian leaned against Mumbo's support column as he surveyed the other hermits. An excited buzz hung about the Hermits as they chattered amongst themselves. They were constantly glancing at Mumbo, who seemed a bit uncomfortable. He was smiling sheepishly as he greeted everyone.

The moustached man, after dying, had rematerialized back on the spawn island, rather than his base. Grian had to admit, he was a bit surprised that his friend had somehow managed to not die over the three month period he was gone for... Grian had also not yet gotten Mumbo to spill what he was doing for the time he was absent.

Hopefully that would change in just a moment, as everyone's communicators chimed with a message, filling the air with earsplitting rings that just barely didn't sync up. Grian raised his arm and tapped the screen, showing a message from X.

<XisumaVoid> Guys can you turn your attention to the front of the town hall

After a moment, another popped up, sending another ddddddiiiiiinnnngggg of chimes through the air.

<XisumaVoid> And quiet down

Grian did as he was told and looked to the front, where Xisuma and a very embarrassed-looking Mumbo stood. Soon, the chatter had died down and everyone was silent as they waited for Xisuma to speak.

"Okay, everyone," X started. "As you all know, Mumbo Jumbo here is back after being gone for quite a bit."

All of a sudden, the air filled with noise again. Shouts, a few cheers, you name it. Grian couldn't help but unsuccessfully attempt to stifle a giggle as X tried to calm everyone down, to no avail. He seemed to be saying something, but from where Grian stood, he couldn't make it out. Mumbo, standing right next to X, pursed his lips as the noise adamantly refused to die down.

Grian watched X as he raised his arm to type something into his communicator. No doubt it was another message telling everyone to just shut up. But he didn't send any message out, as he was interrupted by a voice cutting out across the talk. "Guys!"

It was forceful and loud, shocking the Hermits into silence. Not recognizing exactly who it was, Grian immediately looked at Doc, assuming it to have been him. But Doc seemed just as confused as Grian as he stared at... Mumbo. Grian turned to him as well, eyes wide in surprise.

The redstoner stood up straight, clearly having just shouted. That shout was Mumbo? Grian was a bit confused-- that was rather unlike his friend. A moment of complete silence followed, the only noise being the distant squawking of a chicken.

After a minute, Grian spoke up. Cocking his head and folding his arms, he asked, "Mumbo?" Though quiet, his voice rang out over the crowd, attracting his friend's attention. Mumbo glanced back at Grian, then swept his view across the crowd, seemingly just noticing the stir he had caused. A look Grian couldn't make out passed over his face as he seemed to relax. A small, embarrassed smile formed on his face as he rubbed his neck.  Well, Grian thought absently. That was interesting. 

He couldn't decide what it was, but something felt... off... to Grian. Perhaps it was Mumbo's disappearance, then him coming back like nothing had happened, or it was his sudden change in attitude, if only for a moment. Whatever it was, it confused Grian. But, Mumbo had been working on 'a project', and from what Grian had inferred, it had not been going well. He must be tense from stress. Grian made a mental note to talk with him later. For now, however, he simply stood there, waiting for the rest of the meeting to commence.  

"Hi," Mumbo started after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. He was answered with a chorus of 'hello's, though they were rather muffled and quiet. "It's been a while, apparently." He glanced around, finding Grian and locking eyes with him. "Three months, is that right?" He looked away as he said that, still speaking to the entire crowd, but Grian could tell the question was directed towards him. He gave a nod, and Mumbo flashed a thumbs-up, for only Grian to see.  "Yeah, three months," he confirmed.

Grian heard muttering from next to him. It came from Iskall, who had just walked up to the brit. "Gone for three entire months, barely any notice, and he just comes back like it was nothing," Iskall complained under his breath. "How didn't he realize anything? Completely ignorant." Grian's friend fell silent, crossing his arms. Grian didn't say anything back, but thought about what Iskall had said. So he noticed it, too, he thought to himself. Not that it was hard to ignore or anything; Grian just didn't expect anyone to say anything about it.  

Meanwhile, Mumbo looked like he might melt into the floor. "Yeah, I was working on a project..." He kept saying that, not elaborating. It was not the most convincing speech. After a few awkward moments of this, Xisuma, who had hopped in with the rest of the Hermits, walked back up to the front. His voice sounded a bit taut as he said hastily, "Okay, I think we're done here, everyone you can disperse, go back to your business-" False, who was closest to the admin, opened her mouth to protest, but a strained glare quickly made her change her mind. X murmured something to Mumbo that Grian couldn't quite make out, and the redstoner nodded and walked into the Hall, followed by X, further adding to Grian's intrigue. 

A few minutes later, the Hermits had mostly dispersed. Bdubs and Doc had wandered off to argue about something or other, Scar went back to his base to work on his drill, and Stress and Cleo walked off, talking about something Grian couldn't make heads or tails of. Grian and Iskall were the only two who stayed put. They stood beside each other in pure silence before Grian couldn't take the quiet anymore.

That had been what he had hated most about Mumbo's absence. The silence. Mumbo was easily Grian's closest friend on the server-- of course, he was friends with everyone, but he was definitely closest to the suited redstoner. So, his absence really shook the builder. He had been very alone. Of course, not literally, but he had mostly confined himself to his base and stayed isolated for days on end. Grian had always preferred excitement and noise, even if it was just filler. He never liked the quiet. The still, deafening, suffocating quiet that smothers you until it-- or you-- are broken. And that kind of quiet, the quiet that comes with loss, is hard to break. 

So, when Grian had been standing around, twiddling his thumbs for a few moments too long, he spoke up. "So, Iskall," Grian started, turning to his friend. "how ya feeling about all this?" 

The swede thought for a moment before answering. "Well, earlier I thought you were crazy," he admitted bluntly. He stared straight ahead, not looking at Grian.  "But now it just feels a bit strange." He turned to Grian now. "Of course, I'm definitely excited." Iskall clearly wasn't lying. His eyes shone with exhilaration-- no suspicious-sounding words could hide that. "Not every day your friend comes back from the dead," he joked, a cocky grin spreading over his features.

"Quite literally," Grian agreed with a chuckle. He turned back forward, where Mumbo and Xisuma were leaving the Town Hall. "Speak of the devil." The two walked up to Mumbo, as X had flown away on his elytra before they got to him.  

Mumbo opened his mouth to say something, but Iskall cut him off. "Hallo, Mumbo," he started. "We haven't gotten a chance to talk yet, have we?" Iskall had a point. Earlier, with everyone there, no-one was able to really get any good conversations in. Of course, Grian had been able to chat with him before-- and X had just talked with him for a good bit in the Hall-- but no-one else had gotten any time.  

So, while he had been intending on prying and asking the brit what he had been talking about with X, Grian decided it would be best to leave the two be. He could always get another chance. He pulled his elytra over his shoulders, and took out a few rockets. "Well, I'll leave you guys to it. See you later." Mumbo looked like he wanted to say something, but Grian ejected himself from the area before he could do anything.

Minutes later, Grian arrived at home. He did something he hadn't done in a long time. He pulled out a shovel and began to dig. He dug for hours and hours until he had a symmetrical hole on the opposite side of where his first lay. Stepping back, wiping sweat from his forehead, he grinned. It had been a long while since he had done this. It felt good. Especially now that he didn't have to feel guilty for enjoying himself anymore. 

Grian was happy.

-(Author's rambling)-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA It's been awhile, hasn't it? Totally poofed for a bit. Don't worry, I'm back now and should be back in the swing of things. Unfortunately, I do have a life outside of Minecraft fanfiction, and it caught up to me. I AM back now, however, and I should be getting back into my schedule. So, thanks for being patient! Hope ya haven't forgotten about me~

Anyway, I tried to make this chapter a bit longer to compensate. And by a bit longer I mead 1661 words :P

Welp, see ya, and thanks for coming, my little Readers!~