Grian stood back to admire his work. Before him stood a tall townhouse-like building. Mostly made of sandstone and brick, it was a perfect replica of the one he had created in the prior season. He dusted his hands off as he looked up at his new shop. Well, not exactly new, per se, but new for this season. As he stepped back, a prideful grin spread over his face. The process had been a lot simpler, as he had already done it once before. Even so, he felt a great satisfaction in finishing the build.

It had taken him quite a bit to collect the materials he needed, and the entire process had taken Grian two days from when he had begun to get everything he required to finally finishing the build. All he had left to do was work on the doorbell and entrance mechanism. While working with noteblocks was fun it was also extremely difficult to get the timing just right. Additionally, he needed to gather a bit more redstone-- a trip to Iskall's redstone shop would be necessary. 

A tap on his shoulder jolted him out of his trance and he spun around to see Scar standing right behind him. The Hermit had since changed back into his wizard costume, minus the fake beard this time. The little star stitched to the top of the hat bobbed up and down as he stepped back to give Grian some room. Folding his arms, he started, "Well, well, well; seems Sherlock Grian is back in business."

The brit chuckled, as that was exactly what he had been doing. He had been recreating his old Sherlock Grian headquarters from the last season. Grian had even put his detective outfit back on. "Yep, I am," he said with a cocky grin and wink. "Got a new mystery that needs solving, and who better to do it?"

Scar shook his head with a laugh. "Glad I'm not the target of your detective skills this time. Though you also get no cookies, so..."

Grian remembered the shenanigans of The Jangler from the last season. It had turned out to be Scar himself, which Grian had discovered with the help of Doc and Ren. He suppressed a chuckle as he reminisced about the events of last season. There were so many good memories; so much excitement. The brit was glad that Xisuma had brought him through the portal that had brought him here. He certainly felt more comfortable here than he had in his late place of residence. Poultry Man, the Salmon Ghost, Area 77 and the hippies...

Scar gave an exaggerated shrug and continued, bringing Grian back out of his own thoughts for the second time. "So, what are you investigating this time?" The Hermit exaggerated the last two words in a jokingly-exasperated tone. 

Grian's smile became less of a joking one, and more determined as he explained his intention on finding out what Mumbo's 'project' was. "He can't keep a secret from Sherlock Grian for long!" Scar nodded along thoughtfully. 

"Ooh, sounds like a good mystery," he said, nodding in approval.

Grian opened his mouth to say something else, but was disrupted by the feeling of something brushing against his leg. Looking down, he saw a gray tabby cat rubbing against him. It let out a little mew as stared up at him, amber eyes glistening innocently. Scar quickly bent over and scooped the cat into his arms. "Oh, hi, Jellie! I was looking for you," he cooed as Jellie began to purr. Scar looked back up at Grian and said, "Sorry bout that; she ran off earlier. Couldn't find her for the life of me."

"No, it's fine," Grian said, brushing off some cat hair that had gotten on his pant leg. "I'm just a bit furry now." He stood back up. "So, anything else you need? Any other mysteries needing solving?"

Scar shook his head. "Not that I can think of at the moment... Actually, Grian..." He paused for a moment before continuing. Whether this was to phrase his next thought or for pure dramatic effect, Grian had no idea. "I'd like to offer my services to Sherlock Grian." The Hermit raised an eyebrow and smiled at Grian. "Mind of I join you as a fellow detective this time?"

Grian thought for a moment. He was slightly taken aback by that, having not expected Scar to ask to team up. Additionally, Grian had been planning to go solo. However, he could use a partner, especially if he actually wanted to figure out what Mumbo was working on... Grian stuck his hand out. "Glad to have you on my side this time, Jangler."

Scar shifted the now-asleep Jellie to one arm and shook Grian's hand with the other. A cocky grin spread across his face. "Great!" As he dropped the builder's hand, he glanced up at the sky, which was beginning to turn a warm orange. "It's getting a bit late..."

Grian looked up as well. The sun had begun its creep back down the horizon, casting a warm glow over the shopping district. Grumbot shone a cool blue, in stark contrast of the sky around Him. Grian made a mental note to visit Him-- it had been nearly a week since Mumbo came back, and Grian hadn't yet checked up on the bot to see how He was doing. He turned back to Scar. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? Do you want to meet up in the morning, to discuss... Well.... Detective stuff?" The Hermit wasn't too sure himself what would actually be happening. But, he supposed, that was what meetings were for.

Scar nodded. "Alright, sounds good. See you then, partner. Now, I'm going to go sleep." He turned and walked away back to his base, still holding the cat. Grian turned back to his build. He'd sleep as well... Right after he finished the house's doorbell.

---

The doorbell mechanism ended up taking longer than expected. Having not lit up the area surrounding his shop, Grian also suffered quite a few run-ins with creepers and other nightly horrors. By the time he had finished, the sun was already beginning to show its face in the sky again.

So much for sleep.

Grian quickly made a trip back to his mansion to grab a few things for the meeting. A notebook and pen were his top priorities, but he also ended up also taking some snacks. Snacks are always needed for a good meeting, after all.

Flying back, Grian looked down upon the shopping district. Grumbot stood proud in the middle of the ocean, reminding Grian to come visit Him later. He passed over Iskall's redstone shop, the red orb of redstone glowing brightly. And there, right on the opposite coast stood Grian's shop, carved into another hill, just like the previous season. Swooping down and landing in front of it, the brit noticed something off about his building. A window was broken. What was tha-... He saw something shift inside of it, then Scar's head poked out. Grian let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. What had he been worried about? Who else could it have been? Or what, for that matter.

Scar waved to him and disappeared back into the room. Shaking his head, Grian pulled out a few rockets, then shot through the window. He didn't have a chance to slow down and crashed into a bookshelf on the wall. It appeared that he would not be making a dignified entry. "Ow..." He stood back up, rubbing his shoulder. He haphazardly stuck some books that had fallen out back onto the shelf then turned around to see Scar stifling a laugh. Grian rolled his eyes and Scar let out a snort. He immediately straightened, plastering on a mock-serious face. "So, Grian, what exactly are we discussing today?"

Grian pulled out his notebook and pen. he placed it down on the table between the two friends, opening to a page on which he had written:

Mysteries to solve-

•Mumbo's -secret- project

Grian had  scribbled out the word 'secret.' That made it sound too much like he and Scar would be prying. After all, it was just a harmless investigation. Which might involve some snooping. And some breaching of Mumbo's privacy. And possibly- Hm, maybe the two would be prying... just a bit. Eh, nothing anyone could ever do here could ever be hidden for long. It would just be a matter of time anyway before someone found it out. Better to simply speed up the process. Grian just hoped that Mumbo wouldn't-

"So, have you thought of anything else? Any other mysteries?" Grian quickly started talking to stop thinking too hard about the repercussions of his and Scar's mission. Scar shook his head 'no' and folded his Jellie-less arms. 

"Nope, just that one," he confirmed. "Though we might have to add Jellie to the list if she doesn't stop running off for hours on end. I haven't seen her all morning!" Scar and Grian shared a laugh, but it trailed off as an uncomfortable silence hung over the two. Scar rocked on the balls of his feet and Grian just stood there, both silent, for a moment before Grian grabbed a few loaves of bread out of his pouch. He handed one to Scar with a shrug, who took it and broke off a piece. The two ate in silence until they had finished their snacks. 

"Well, it's been a nice meeting-" Scar started.

The sudden noise made Grian jump. "O-oh, yeah." He laughed a bit, embarrased. The two had gotten literally nothing done in the time they had been there. He had a feeling that the two were missing something, but he just couldn't put his finger onto it. Surely it was important, right?

"See you around." Scar made his way to the window to jump out, but Grian had a sudden realization.

"Oh, Scar wait."

Scar turned back around. His hat got stuck on the inside of the window frame, so the star dangled between the Hermit's eyes as he said, "Yes?"

 "We have to figure out a time to start the investigation!" That's what it was. It's important to know when to begin the actual research. Scar stepped down from the window, realization shining in his gaze. 

"Ah, so that's what this meeting should be for." He thought for a minute, moving his head in miniscule amounts and his eyes stared straight through the wall, as if he were planning things out in his mind. Which, he probably was, seeing as he said next, "How about we meet up in three days? That way we have enough time to prepare, but we can also jump into things soon." 

Grian nodded. That sounded like a good plan. He did, after all, have a few things at his base he was working on. Some snow was still managing to stick to his roof, so he had to fix that. He could think of countless other things to keep him occupied, but that wasn't exactly needed at the moment. "Sounds good," he said, flashing a thumbs up. He watched as Scar pulled his elytra back on-- it was a good thing Scar hadn't jumped out before, or he would've been dead before he even realized why-- and flew off. 

This was going to be fun. 

---

As Grian went to go home, he noticed Grumbot for the third time. He supposed that this would be as good a time as any to check in on his and Mumbo's robot. Flying over, he recognized a familiar figure standing on the platform, at Grumbot's base. It was the moustached man himself, Mumbo Jumbo. Grian swooped down and landed next to the brit. "Hey, Mumbo," he said cheerfully. "How are you?"

Mumbo had been looking down at a slip of paper that undoubtedly came from Grumbot with a somewhat sour expression on his face. Apparently Grian had startled him, because the Hermit jumped nearly a foot in the air and turned to Grian. "Oh, hi Grian; didn't see you fly in. Oh, I'm alright but I've got to go work on something talk to you later byeeeeeeeeee-" By the time Mumbo had finished, he was already a ways away from Grian. Well that was weird, Grian thought. He shrugged. It's also Mumbo, so that wasn't completely abnormal. Grian noticed the slip of paper that Mumbo was holding on the floor. The redstoner must've dropped it in his rush to leave. 

After a moment's contemplation, Grian bent over to pick up the paper. One answer wouldn't hurt, right? And it wasn't like Grian knew what Mumbo had asked, so the words would be pretty much meaningless. But, Grian suddenly wanted to know really badly what the Hermit had asked when he read the slip. Because in big letters just one word was written on the answer sheet. 

"NO."

Grian looked back up at the bot, who was staring calmly back down at him. What had Mumbo asked? And there was no way of knowing how forceful this was, as Grian hadn't seen Grumbot's face as the message came out. For all he knew, Mumbo could have been asking if he should have mushroom stew for dinner that night. But, then again, Mumbo didn't seem very happy with the answer. Was Grian missing something? He felt extremely curious. Almost reflexively, he pulled the notebook back out. He scribbled down his newest mystery underneath the prior one so the list now read:

Mysteries to solve-

•Mumbo's -secret- project
•Mumbo's question to Grumbot

Grian stuck the answer sheet into the notebook as evidence and stuck it back into his pocket. Being a detective was certainly exciting. But, he had come to say 'hello' to his robot friend-son-thing, so he pulled out a diamond on which he had scribbled:

"Hello, Grumbot. How are you?"

His handwriting was atrocious. It wouldn't be out of the question that he was the only person in the universes that could understand it. He was lucky that Grumbot was a sort of supercomputer and could easily decipher the scribbles he called letters. After a moment of thought, Grumbot sent out a response, his face remaining neutral.

"I AM ALRIGHT."

Well, that was something, at least. It wasn't very informative, but at least Grumbot seemed to be in good shape. Grian smiled up at the robot, and he could've sworn he saw a hint of one flicker on the bot's screen as well, if just for a second. It seemed that He was gaining more sentience.

Or Grian was simply going crazy. That was also a possibility.

Grian took some rockets out of his pocket. He had done what he had come to do; it was time to go. The sun was still high in the sky, so Grian would be able to get a fair share of work done. He could come back later to see Grumbot again and have a chat. For now, it was time to return to his mansion.  

-(Author's Rambling)-

Well well well, my little readers, I am a tad late again. Just a day though. But, this chapter was about 2500 words, so I think that makes up for it.

That goes into something I'd like to have a little chat about. My chapters are a bit short (at least event-wise) compared to some other au's. So, here's a poll. Do y'all want me to A. Write more long chapters like this one, and have them spaced out a bit more; or B. Write shorter chapters and have less time in between? (Warning: You probably know by now how... inconsistent I am with schedules)

Anyway, thanks for coming and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

PS: Don't you love when the strike-through doesn't actually work? Yeah, me too