-(Author's Rambling)-

Wow, you have to read my rambling before the chapter this time? How odd. Well, the whole chapter is odd, I suppose. How so, you may ask? Well, for instance, you may have noticed that in previous chapters, there has only been one POV-- ie, the entire chapter is in Grian's perspective. For this one, however, that is not the case. I made an executive decision, as I don't want to split this chapter up into multiple parts. So, you'll just see POV indicators in various spots. Thought y'all should know before you read!

Also this is take two because Wattpad decided not to work. Yay...

Anyway, since I won't be able to say this later, thanks for coming and see you in the next one, my little readers!

Promise out!

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The moment the dawn broke the sky, Grian awoke with a jolt. In an instant, he had swung his legs over the side of his bead, hurriedly grabbing a handful of carrots for breakfast. He shoved a few in his mouth, not paying attention to the flavor. He was in a rush, after all, for today was the day he and Scar would-- hopefully-- figure out what was keeping Mumbo away for three entire months.

The rising sun shone upon Grian's back as he soared across Hermitcraft, his gray-purple elytra wings carrying him through the air. As he was flying, Grian realized he had no clue where he was supposed to be going. He and Scar had never discussed where to meet up. The brit chuckled sheepishly to himself as he decided to simply head over to his 'shop'; that was his best bet. As he expected, no-one was there when he arrived. After all, it was still just sunrise; no-one who had gotten any sleep was really up yet. While he waited for his comrade to arrive, he started to hum a random tune, making it up as he went along.

"Hummin' a song... While I wait for Scar to come 'long...!" The brit began to add words to his tune, unaware that his friend had arrived. That is, until he heard an ahem from beside him and turned to see a familiar Hermit in a wizard costume standing there, a small smirk visible of his face. Grian's face immediately reddened. "Oh- sorry Scar, didn't see you there," he mumbled sheepishly, rubbing his neck.

Scar laughed. "Nah, it's okay. Entertaining, to say the least." After a pause, he clapped his hands together. "Well, shall we go?" The sudden movement sent the star on Scar's hat bouncing, and Grian noticed what seemed to be a bright yellow shard of glass hanging from his neck.

The brit raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but first- what's that you got there?" His voice twinged upwards in a playful accusation as he crossed his arms. He knew what it was before Scar even started to explain. A 'magic crystal', of course. And his assumption was exactly right.

"It's a new crystal," Scar explained proudly, holding up the tiny glass-crystal-thing. "I made it special for today."

"Pssshhh, okay. Magic crystal." Grian rolled his eyes at Scar and his baloney wizardry. It was so silly, but Grian was impressed at how well Scar was able to keep the act up. It must be rather draining, acting like a wizard all the time. It reminded the brit of his former life as Poultry Man, the superhero no-one wanted. He chuckled a bit to himself as he pulled a few rockets out of his pouch. "Let's go!"

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Scar's POV-

Biting back a remark about how the magic crystals were definitely real, Scar shook his head. He shouldn't waste his energy on trying to convince Grian of their legitimacy, and simply appreciate that the magic worked for him. After a moment's wait, the Hermit followed Grian into the sky as they made their way to the Moustached Man's base. Soaring over the shopping district, the wizard marveled at how much stuff there was. There were the old ones, the ones that had been there since the start of the season-- Iskall's slime shop being a prominent one. There were newer ones-- Bdubs had recently opened up a custom map shop.

And there were the ones that no-one could ever forget about-- Grumbot was the first that came into Scar's mind as well as vision, for as he passed over the robot, the wizard noticed a familiar shaped figure standing at the base. Mumbo Jumbo. And neither Mumbo nor Grumbot looked happy. With his enhanced vision, Scar was also able to make out a much smaller, much furrier silhouette resting on Grumbot's body. Is that... Jellie? Why would she be out there, with Mumbo and Grumbot, of all people? It just didn't make sense. If he was being honest, though, nothing was making sense recently. That was part of the reason he had been so eager to help with the investigation; he felt something was off, and needed to know what it was.

Making a note to tell Grian what he just saw, Scar shot off a few more rockets to catch up. Grian must've heard the noise of the sudden acceleration, because he turned around to see Scar catching up. A cocky grin spread across Grian's face as he himself shot off just a few more to make himself go faster. Oh, you're on, Scar thought with a laugh. He activated a few more, getting just ahead of the brit. The two continued like this-- each one getting just ahead of the other, cutting them off, dodging and twisting and swooping-- until they reached Mumbo's base. It was a tie. They dove in and landed, the pure glee on their faces temporarily pushing away any uncertainty in Scar's mind. That had been fun.

Of course. That was the other, the more important reason Scar was doing this.

Because it was fun.

However, Scar's breath caught as he stepped back to see Mumbo's changed base. The base was completely different from when he last saw it. The ruined look was practically gone. The large structure in the middle, having used to have vines and moss giving it an old, tattered feel were gone. The messy cobble replaced with flat, bright concrete and iron, it was hardly recognizable. The only things that gave a hint at what the build used to be were the same waterfalls flowing down the side of the similarly-shaped building. The only feature that reminisced about the past theme of the build was the hedge harden and stone heads that had remained untouched.

"Woah... That's... Different," Scar murmured under his breath. He hadn't been specifically talking to Grian, but the Hermit standing beside him, also staring at the sight, nodded.

"Yeah. Mumbo just scrapped his ruined feel. It's too bad as well, I actually quite liked it," Grian agreed. The two fell into an awkward silence until Scar piped up.

"Oh, Grian. I saw Mumbo at Grumbot while we were flying here."

Grian turned to the wizard. "Oh really?" The brit folded his arms.

"Yeah. He seemed to be talking to him, and he did not seem pleased." After a moment's pause, he added, "Jellie was there as well."

"Jellie?" Grian's eyes widened. "Why was she there?" He seemed startled at the mention of Scar's cat.

Scar shrugged. "I'm really not sure; I was wondering that myself. Why would Jellie be with Mumbo? She keeps running away and acting different." He laughed distractedly. "Maybe we can investigate her next." He was half joking, but Grian nodded seriously and pulled out his notebook, scribbling down:

•Jellie

Well, Scar could only assume that's what he wrote. Grian's handwriting was atrocious, and even Scar's vision-enhancing crystal wasn't making deciphering the scribbles the red-sweatered Hermit called letters any easier. And Grian's writing seemed worse than normal-- it was quick and maybe even a bit shaky. "What's wrong? Was mentioning Jellie wrong?"

Grian shook his head as he placed the notebook back in his pocket. "No. It's just that I ran into her yesterday. Not literally," he added as Scar's face widened in worry for his cat. "but she was actually running here. It was weird. And when I tried to pick her up... she scratched me." The brit rolled up his sleeve to reveal a small cut on his arm. "It's not bad, but-"

"That's so unlike her," Scar finished. "Unless you picked her up wrong-- and I'm sure you hadn't-- she wouldn't ever harm anyone..." Jellie harming Grian? That, added to everything else-- the eyes, her unphased reaction to lightening-- just put it all over the top. If he hadn't done his and her little trick, the Hermit would've been sure that this was, in fact, not his cat. He'd have to talk to her later. "She's been so strange lately," Scar muttered. For a moment, Scar debated mentioning his run-in-- or, rather, fly-in-- with Mumbo, but decided against it. Maybe now wasn't the best time.

After another brief moment of uncomfortable silence, Scar turned back to the entrance of Mumbo's build. "Should we... go?" It felt a bit strange, their good mood dampened, but he supposed that the search would bring their morale up. This was supposed to be fun, after all.

Grian nodded. "Yeah, let's go!" He slapped on a grin and walked inside.

Inside were a bunch of shelves on the walls, covering in various redstone trinkets, tools, materials, and other things. It looked mostly normal, mostly as it had before the... remodeling. The large nether portals still stood proudly in the center, the purple glow casting a cool feel across the room. The two Hermits stood at the entrance to the base for a moment. "Well," Grian started. "You want to take that side, and I'll go this one?" Grian pointed to one side of the room, then to the other. "We can... search the shelves, I guess?"

Scar nodded. "Sure!" Fingering his magic crystal, he walked over to his side and began to search, moving thing out of the way, looking under some objects, and the like.

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Grian's POV-

Walking the opposite direction of Scar, Grian started moving things around. However, he was a bit distracted by his own thoughts. He knew he was supposed to be enjoying this, but it was just so hard when things seemed to be going all wrong. He had been so relieved when his best friend miraculously came back, but he was acting so strange, and Jellie as well. Since when did Mumbo hide things? And just a few days before Grian, Grian, helped Mumbo with redstone. If there was any situation less likely, that would be a surprise to the brit. While he absently looked around Mumbo's shelves, his mind flitted back to the events of the past few days.

Mumbo's strangeness when he first returned. Mumbo's misplacing of the observer-- though Grian had first passed that off as simply the moustached man being tired, he was beginning to be doubtful. Then there was Jellie. From his experience, plus Scar's apprehension, something was up with her too.

Or, he was thinking far too much about this.

There was also the possibility this was a prank.

Both were highly probable.

Grian pushed those thoughts out of his mind. This was supposed to be a fun investigation to find out what Mumbo's secretive secret was. He focused on his work, looking under different objects for anything he could use. He wasn't quite sure what, exactly, he was looking for. Grian supposed he was imagining some sort of paper with notes scribbled on it, maybe a secret lever or button. But all he found was various trinkets-- a fishing rod, some old sketches of his base prior to the redoing, some bits and bobs of redstone supplies, among other things. He brushed away some redstone dust, causing him to cough.

Grian turned around as Scar looked up from his work, calling, "You good?"

"Yeah-- some dust got into my throat," Grian confirmed, turning back. He heard some laughter followed by coughing. "Mumbo's got a lot of this stuff around, doesn't he?"

"Yeah. So messy," Scar agreed, mockingly disappointed in the brit.

They were silent for a moment, both focusing on their work, before Grian piped up, a curious grin on his face. Picking up a crumpled sheet of paper revealed a small, stone button. Grian could tell that this wasn't just for decoration. It was too random, too hidden. With a jolt, Grian realized this may be exactly what he and Scar were looking for. "Scar, c'mere! I found something!"

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Scar's POV-

In an instant, the wizard was beside his's friend, inspecting the button. "Yeah! It looks like something, at least!" Getting a closer look, Scar realized that a partially-obstructed past of red dust connected to it, leading under the base. That must've been what all the dust he and Grian had found was for. "And it definitely does something, I'm just not sure what..." Could this be the answers he and the builder were looking for? And if it was, should the two find out? A wave of doubt passed over the Hermit as he realized how far he and Grian might be going. After all, Mumbo must've hidden this for a reason.

It seemed that Grian didn't share Scar's concern, because he turned to him with bright eyes. "I wanna press it. You know I want to press it really bad."

"Please don't. I'm not going to lie, though. I'm surprised you didn't press it already." Scar turned around. Those words hadn't come from him. Instead, a familiar moustached man came strolling into his base, a light smirk on his face. Grian turned too, eyes widening at the sight of his friend.

"Oh- h-hi, Mumbo!" Grian quickly dropped his hand to his side. "We weren't snooping around your base!"

Scar stared at Mumbo, who looked back at him, neither of them seeming to have forgotten the events of a few days prior. In the corner of his eye, Scar saw Grian glancing confusedly between the two before shrugging. The uncomfortable moment was broken, however, by a tiny figure making her way into the room. Jellie? Scar quickly walked up and scooped her into his arms. "Oh, Jellie! Nice of you to finally make an appearance." He glanced from his cat to his friend and back down. "Did you tell Mumbo what we were doing?" His tone was light and airy, the exact opposite of the atmosphere just seconds before.

Mumbo laughed at this. "No, I found her hanging out at Grumbot earlier when I had gone to have a chat. I figured I'd find you later and return her... but it seems you're already here!"

"Yes, and speaking of 'being here', I just realized I have something very important to do back at my base so I got to go I totally am not leaving to avoid explaining anything bye Scar bye Mumbo byeeeeee-" Grian shot a few rockets into the air and flew off, screaming this back at the two other Hermits. The dramatic exit was followed by a still silence before Mumbo sighed.

"Sorry about the other day, I was in a bit of a dim mood from my project, that is not going well." Mumbo rubbed his neck, not meeting Scar's gaze as he spoke.

Scar smiled. He figured this had been the case, but was glad Mumbo brought it up. "No problem, we all have those days. So how is your project going, anyway?" This was still an investigation, after all. Scar might as well try to learn as much as he could. Of course, he was genuinely interested in Mumbo's progress as well, this wasn't purely professional. But why not ask for the sake of his detective work anyway?

Mumbo pursed his lips in thought before answering, "Well, it's going all right. Can't say how well it is, though. It'll come together eventually, though!" Mumbo gave a rather weak thumbs up, and Scar could see clearly how much this project had been taking out of the redstoner-- he seemed like practically an entirely different person after he emerged from wherever he had been, working on his 'project.'

Looking at him closer, Scar noticed something else. He hadn't noticed this before then-- maybe it was his magic crystal doing its job. Staring into Mumbo's eyes, he realized they nearly matched the same hue as Jellie's but with one difference. Slicing through his irises were streaks of a metallic silver, resembling the same color of his base. Was he always like that? Scar wished again that he had payed more attention to eyes in the past-- he kept getting caught up studying them.

"Well, I think I should get going as well." Scar shook his head out. He was over thinking this; the wizard needed to take a break from all of this detective work. "Nice chat, Mumbo! I'll see you sometime!" And with that, he was off, waving back to Mumbo with one arm while holding his cat in the other.

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M⚍ᒲʖ𝙹's POV-

He watched as Scar flew away, a light smirk dancing on his face. The silence that followed was not uncomfortable, not strangling. It was, in fact, relieving, kind. Firm but not hard. He quite liked this silence, though he knew it wouldn't last long. Without a word, he turned and walked back over to where his button lay uncovered. After quickly fixing the line of redstone, he gently pressed down his palm on it. The dust glowed a bright red and a loud noise of pistons pushing blocks around ensued. Suddenly, the floor opened up beside him, revealing a large spiral staircase.

Still smiling, he took out a torch made of the same materials that now littered the base and began his descent. His footsteps against the hard floor were the only sounds, the thump-thump providing an almost rhythmic beat. The torch in his communicator-banded hand cast a warm, red glow across the stairway, though it provided little light as the floor closed back up again above him. That didn't really matter, however, as when he reached the bottom, he was met with the bright light of normal, fiery torches, lamps, and other ways of illuminating a place.

He dimmed his redstone torch and threw it back into his pouch as he stepped off of the stairway and entered the main room. Its main attraction was a large machine with two cells, connected by a pipe-looking part. A small screen which resembled one of a communicator flickered on a podium in front of it. The rest of the room was a dark gray, mixed with shades of dirty browns and mossy greens.

He walked up to and plopped down onto a couch parallel to the machine, eyeing the familiar moustached figure in one of the two cells as he did. Pushing away a few untamed bits of hair, the self-satisfied grin on his face did not falter and his amber gaze remained even with the figure's dull green one as he finally broke the silence.

"I've got to say, Mumbo Jumbolio, being you is right exhausting!"