Chapter Text
It was early in the morning but Mumbo was already up and getting dressed, being mindful of the small sculk sensors that were currently growing on his body. He hasn’t carried them in a while, as he was putting more energy toward practicing with his developing Warden abilities, but a few nights ago he had spent time with the sculk sensor he had partnered with so long ago. The sensor had been giving him advice and supporting him as he tried to focus his energy into a sonic blast and he had managed to do it, bringing his hands together and firing off a concussive blast that made him stagger backward from the force of it. He had been surprised, but very pleased with himself, and had run to his partner and sank down next to it to grasp its tendrils in his hands and carry on happily about what he just did.
It had congratulated him, then suggested a celebration was in order, and the eagerness that flowed through their bond had immediately stirred heat in Mumbo’s blood. He had left the cave satisfied and freshly-seeded with its offspring. So now here he was, with ten little sensors thriving on his skin, and he was happy to be carrying them once more. He loved protecting them and teaching them about the world, watching them grow larger and larger, until they were ready to be moved onto the sculk of a Deep Dark and connect to a vast network of their kind.
As it’s only been a few days since then, the sensors were still little and didn’t talk much, but they were aware of him and each other, and communicated through simple emotions. They listened to their surroundings and he could tell he had their attention when he talked to them. When he was dressed, they had to curl their fronds closer to themselves, but it didn’t really bother them. He just made sure he wore looser clothing so there wasn’t too much pressure on them.
He was up early today because Hermitcraft was getting some visitors. Some of their friends from off-server were coming to play Decked Out 2, having heard about it and wanting to try it for themselves. Tango was planning on pairing each of the new players with a veteran player to help them learn it, and while Mumbo wasn’t going to be a mentor, he still wanted to be there to see how they did. So he was going to head to spawn to meet everyone when they arrived.
Their guests were going to be Skizzleman, Joel, Lizzie, Martyn, Jimmy, and Hbomb. Mumbo knew most of them from the Life games, but Hbomb was someone he hasn’t gotten to talk to as much. He was looking forward to getting to know him, though.
Mumbo finished getting dressed and had a quick breakfast, then spent some time brushing his hair and taming his mustache, wanting to look nice. He looked himself over in the mirror, turning a few different ways, checking how his suit sat on him. He looked good, so he gave himself an encouraging smile and then headed out. The Sun was starting to rise and he put on his sunglasses, protecting his light-sensitive eyes. He put on his elytra and flew to spawn. It wasn’t a long trip but he took it slow, enjoying the breeze in his hair. Elytra didn’t work as well for him as they used to because of how much larger he’s grown, but he wasn’t too worried about it. He could still get around.
When he got to their hub portal, he landed and greeted the others. Xisuma was already here, making some final checks to the server’s permissions to make sure their guests could get in. Grian was also here, as well as Tango, but the others were either on their way or still asleep.
“They’ll probably be here in a few minutes,” Xisuma said. “Oh hey Mumbo, good to see you.”
“You too. Good morning, chaps,” Mumbo said to the others and they nodded.
“Good morning,” Grian said, yawning. A few of his feathers were ruffled and Mumbo went over to groom them, and Grian spread the primaries apart with a pleased chirp, giving him access.
“Today’s gonna be fun,” Tango said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how these guys handle Decked Out.”
“I’m sure they’ll do well, they have some good mentors to show them the ropes,” Xisuma said.
Over the next few minutes, the other Decked Out mentors glided in. Bdubs, Scar, Cub, Etho, Pearl, and Impulse touched down and greeted each other, and talk turned to what they planned on teaching their guests once they arrived.
Then, at 7 AM, their portal flashed a brighter blue and six people walked through. Xisuma welcomed them warmly and the guests were quickly swarmed by the Hermits greeting them as well, shaking hands and exchanging hugs. They did react with visible surprise when they saw Mumbo, but none of them hesitated to take his hand or hug him.
“What happened to you?” Martyn asked as he pulled back from a hug, staring at Mumbo’s antennae. “You’re like… are you a Warden now?”
“Warden hybrid, I guess,” Mumbo replied. “But still pretty Warden. It’s a long story.”
“Did your eyes change?” Lizzie asked and Mumbo lifted his glasses, looking around at everyone so they could see his eyes.
“Yep, they changed color and they’re more sensitive to light now, so I gotta wear these during the day.” Mumbo dropped the glasses back over his eyes. “But the good news is I can see so well in the darkness I don’t even really need torches anymore.”
“What about mobs?” Hbomb asked.
“Heh. They don’t come near me anymore,” Mumbo replied, and vibrated his antennae, letting out a perfect imitation of a patrolling Warden. They nodded in approval, looking amazed. Jimmy seemed especially interested, looking him up and down, but mostly staring at his face and hands.
“Yeah, you look pretty scary,” Joel said. “But at least you’re not going crazy because we’re making noise.”
“I’m not protecting the sculk organisms in a Deep Dark right now,” Mumbo said. “The other Wardens hunt by sound because they can’t see, and as far as they’re concerned, anything that treads on the sculk is a threat that they have to eliminate. But I’ve asked the ones on this server to be kind to the Hermits, as long as they aren’t hurting the sculk, and they’ve agreed.”
“They’ve… you’ve talked to them?” Lizzie asked, confused.
“Yeah. They’re intelligent. Everything down there is. The Wardens, the sensors, the shriekers, the catalysts. And the rest of the sculk is like… wiring, almost, that binds them all together and lets them share their thoughts and feelings with each other. I can talk to them either with my antennae, or directly, by linking the sculk on my body to the sculk of the Deep Dark.” Mumbo tapped his hand.
“I wanna hear this story,” Martyn said.
The others agreed and Mumbo glanced at the Hermits, who nodded.
“Might as well tell them,” Grian said. “I want to hear about it again anyway.” He idly ran his fingers across his own sculk, which got the attention of their guests.
“Wait, you also have…” Joel started, then trailed off as Pearl showed the lines on her own hand, and Tango followed suit. “What the hell, is there some kind of infection here? Should we be worried?”
“No infection, just some very interesting sculk experimentation that led to so much more,” Mumbo said. “So, it all started when we first discovered the Deep Darks on this server, and having heard about the interaction between sculk sensors and redstone, Grian kindly went down into a Deep Dark and brought me a sensor to do some testing with. And well, things went in an interesting direction from there…”
For the next several minutes, he told them about his experiences. How he had become interested in the sensor that was brought to him, and when it responded to his exploration with curious exploration of its own, he had gone further with it. The others seemed at first shocked and even mildly grossed out when he told them everything he had let it do, and his description of the sculk being laced across his skin and baby sensors growing from it made a few of them feel itchy, scratching at their arms and shaking their heads in distaste. Mumbo couldn’t blame them. None of them have experienced it and it had to sound terrible from an outside perspective. Then he pulled his sleeves back to show them his current spawn.
They gasped then, staring at them.
“Oh my gosh they’re so cute! I’ve never seen ones that little!” Lizzie reached forward, then stopped. “Wait, is it okay to touch them?”
“They’re kinda shy, but they can feel that I trust you, so they’ll be okay with it. Just be gentle,” Mumbo said, holding an arm out. Lizzie carefully touched a finger to the side of a sensor and it waved its tendrils.
“It’s really soft. Aw, look at it.” She moved her finger to the center and the tendrils wrapped around her finger. Mumbo could feel its hesitation but he assured it that she was a friend, and it gave a tiny chirp.
“Baby sculk sensors. Now I’ve seen everything,” Hbomb commented.
“Wait, so did you guys fuck sculk sensors too?” Joel asked, looking at the others who had sculk lines.
Grian and Pearl both chuckled, nodding, but Tango shook his head. “I never did. But I needed a bunch of sensors and some Wardens for Decked Out, and Mumbo gave me a sculk line that I could use to talk to them when he’s not around. It was pretty weird at first, but I got used to it. It’s not so bad.”
“But they don’t look like you, so how’d… all this happen?” Skizz asked, gesturing at Mumbo’s body.
He smiled and kept telling the story. He told them about how his body had started changing. How his partner sculk sensor had encouraged him to let it happen. He told them about how he was able to mate with Wardens and he even started learning some of their abilities. He had to answer more questions every so often, but mostly they just listened in fascination, sometimes glancing at the other Hermits as though for confirmation, and the others would always nod and say yes, things really did happen that way.
“So that’s it,” Mumbo said at last, once he had told them everything. “I embraced the sculk in a way they haven’t been accepted in so long, since the original Wardens came to be, and they did this for me. They made me into something that could better understand them, and in turn let them understand me as well. I know it sounds disturbing. You probably didn’t know the sculk could do this kind of thing to someone. But it can, and as different as I look now, I’m still not sure it’s done with me. But I’m happy. I like this body. And honestly… this is really only what happens when you accept it. When you want to bond with it. If you don’t… it just kills you and takes your energy so it can spread. It can use you one way or another. But I’ve found the beauty in it, and I hope maybe… you all can see that beauty too.”
They looked unsure, and Joel even shook his head a little, taking a step back. But Jimmy seemed enthralled. He hadn’t spoken much, just listening and watching him, and Mumbo was intrigued by the look on his face.
“I still think the stuff is creepy,” Joel said. “But I’m glad you’re happy. Well, uh, now that we’ve all heard Mumbo’s crazy transformation story… how about that Decked Out 2, huh? Let’s go check that out.”
“Yeah, we should get going,” Xisuma said. “We can talk more at the Deep Frost Citadel. Here, I brought elytra and rockets for you three.” He passed them out to Joel, Hbomb, and Martyn. Jimmy, Lizzie, and Skizz didn’t need them, being a canary avian, fairy, and angel respectively.
They flew over to Decked Out and more Hermits joined them, wanting to say hello and see how the guests did at the game. Mentors were chosen for everyone and Mumbo watched with amusement as people bickered and Joel and Etho got way too into a discussion about neck kisses. But eventually, the first person went into the dungeon while their mentor and Tango went into the redstone below, and Xisuma had given them spectator permission so they could keep a close eye on the person’s progress.
There wasn’t much for everyone else to do but wait, and Mumbo leaned against the wall, getting comfortable. Then Jimmy came over to him.
“Hey, uh… can we talk? Somewhere private, maybe?” he asked.
“Hm? Sure.” Mumbo looked around and then gestured for Jimmy to follow him, leading him out of the lobby and toward his cubby. They stepped into the room and Jimmy took a curious look around, then focused back on Mumbo, smiling at him.
“Okay, so… I just wanted to say that I really liked that story you told us, about bonding with the sculk,” Jimmy said. “This might sound weird, but when you talked about how good it made you feel to become part of it, it made me… wonder what that was like. I almost wanna give it a try, not even fully because I like the sculk, but… I like you. And maybe it’d be nice… to be part of that with you?”
“Oh?” That took Mumbo by surprise. He had been close to Jimmy in Last Life, but hasn’t spent a lot of time with him since then. Mumbo just didn’t often leave Hermitcraft, he kept busy with redstone and building. He was glad to see Jimmy now though, and he thought about the nights where Jimmy had sought comfort and companionship from his fellow Southlanders, and Mumbo would invite him into his bed. Most of the time, they just held each other through the night. And a couple times… Mumbo had learned just how sweetly Jimmy could beg. And he had gladly given him everything he wanted.
As much as they liked each other though, Mumbo hadn’t thought Jimmy would be willing to join him in his journey with the sculk.
“I’m happy you’re interested, but… it’s a pretty big deal,” Mumbo said. “I like being a Warden, but it’s something I had to embrace. I had to work with the sculk to become like this, and it wasn’t all pleasant. I don’t know if you should do this just because I did it. You need to want it for yourself.”
“Yeah, I get that. I’ll think about it, maybe I should… try talking to the sculk like you did? But I want to learn more about it. It’s hard to explain, but I just feel… drawn to you, I guess? Like I want to be part of this too, but… ah, it’s weird. Maybe I’m just being weird.”
Mumbo swallowed. He had felt drawn to the sculk all those months ago. It was his curiosity and willingness to change that allowed him to become like this, and he’s never been more comfortable and secure in how he looked and how he lived his life. Maybe Jimmy was meant for it, like he was.
“I can take you to talk to it,” Mumbo said. “Maybe later, after you play Decked Out. I get what you mean. I felt that pull too. So yeah. I’ll let you meet my partner.”
Jimmy smiled at that, nodding.
“But right now, let’s get back to the others.”
“Sure, sure. But one more thing…” Jimmy stayed close to his side as they headed back to the lobby. “I really liked sleeping with you in Last Life. Could we maybe… hook up again while I’m here?”
Mumbo let out a laugh. “Just with me? What about Grian, and our other Southlander buddies?”
“I like them too, but I just… I don’t know, I feel like I really clicked with you. Oh but I’ll definitely try to spend time with Tango too, I miss my Rancher buddy.”
“Your… oh, from when you were soulmates in Double Life? Yeah, I missed that one, was too busy here. Sounded wild though.”
“Mhm, it got crazy. I was really close to Tango though. We still talk all the time and meet up sometimes in the hub, but it’ll be nice to hang out with him here.”
“Yeah. Well sure, we can mess around later if you want.”
Jimmy beamed at that, looking excited for it.
They got back to the lobby with the others and Jimmy went to mingle while Mumbo went back to leaning on the wall. He liked just listening to everyone. He felt more protective of his friends these days. Likely his Warden instincts seeing his Hermits as his network, and telling him to look after them. He did so happily. He loved the sculk but they had their own Wardens down below to guard them. And up here, the Hermits had him. They didn’t exactly need his protection. But he still looked after them anyway. Making sure they were happy.
The guests did pretty well at Decked Out with the Hermits to guide them, though there were still plenty of deaths, and the Hermits were sympathetic to them. They listened to everyone who came back out as they talked about what happened, and offered advice. And then the next person would go in.
Everyone got a chance to do two or three runs for the day, and Jimmy returned from an attempt at taking on the Burning Dark in high spirits. He hadn’t actually survived long enough to make it back out, but he had gotten down there, and Tango was very proud of him. Tango had even come back up from the redstone to hug Jimmy and praise him for how well he did, and Jimmy wiggled happily and hugged him tightly. His wings gave a few flaps and Tango kissed his cheeks, then his lips.
“I just wish I hadn’t died, ugh,” Jimmy said when Tango leaned back. “I was so close.”
“It happens. But that was such a good run!”
They separated and Tango went to talk to the next person who wanted to go, and once night fell, they decided to stop. The guests wanted to see more of Hermitcraft and get some rest, and they would return in the morning to play some more.
Mumbo was definitely ready to head home. He looked at Jimmy, giving him a questioning look, and Jimmy’s face flushed. He hurried over to his side, nodding and taking hold of his arm.
“Yes, please,” he said.
“Of course,” Mumbo said easily. “Come on then. I don’t live too far from here.”
“Going home with Mumbo?” Grian asked as they walked out. “Wow, Jimmy, you horny bird.”
“Like you aren’t also a horny bird for Mumbo,” Jimmy replied.
Grian chuckled, shrugging. “True. Well, you two have fun. I might spend the night with Scar, myself. It’s been a while.”
“Ooh, have fun,” Mumbo said.
“I will.” Grian went over to talk to Scar, fanning out his tail feathers, and Mumbo drew Jimmy closer to himself.
“So what do you want from me tonight?” Mumbo asked.
“I’m really not picky,” Jimmy said. “I’m just looking forward to it not being in a death game, and we can get real comfortable and you know… have lube.”
“Oh we won’t need that,” Mumbo said and Jimmy gave him a confused look. “I make my own now.”
“That- okay. I definitely want you to fuck me.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
With that, Mumbo led Jimmy toward his base.