The Rise Of CuteGuy

Come Home

Xisuma pov

I sighed quietly, glancing at the clock. Nearly midnight. If he was still here, he wasn’t making himself known again.

Leaning back in Mumbo’s chair, I let my eyes wander around the office, searching for any sign that I might have missed. Nothing. No more faint glow. No more shuffling. Just silence.

I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair, my antennas twitching slightly in frustration. Why now? Why leave clues but refuse to show yourself?

Maybe he wasn’t ready. Maybe he didn’t trust me.

Or maybe… he really was sick or injured.

I clenched my jaw. I couldn’t force him to come out, but I could make sure that when he was ready, I was here.

Slowly, I reached for my helmet, but I didn’t put it back on just yet. Instead, I sat there a little longer, watching. Waiting. Hoping.

As I looked at my helmet, I caught something in its reflection—just barely. A dim red light, faint but unmistakable, flickered from the vent above me. He was hiding. Probably covering his wings to dull the glow.

I didn’t want to scare him off.

So, instead of reacting, I slowly reached for my communicator and initiated a call.

Wels answered almost immediately, his voice bright and familiar. “Hey, Xisuma! Long time no see! How are you doing?”

Before I could respond, Hels joined the call as well, though he stayed silent.

I exhaled, glancing up at the vent without moving my head too much. My translucent panels were slightly pointed up, an unconscious display of tension. “I’m good… Tired, but good.”

There was a pause before I continued, keeping my voice steady. “Look, I wanted to call you two because… someone found Xavier’s badge. And his feathers.”

The other end of the line went silent.

I pulled the badge and feather from my storage compartment, turning them over in my hands. “The badge is old, but it’s intact. The feathers, though… They’re disintegrating.”

A sharp inhale from Wels. “That—That doesn’t make sense. If his feathers are disintegrating, that means—”

“He’s unstable,” Hels finished, finally speaking up. His voice was quieter than usual, and I could hear the tension in it.

“Or sick,” I added, gripping the badge a little tighter. “I don’t know what condition he’s in. But he’s taking food, water, supplies… and now redstone equipment.”

Hels was silent again, but I could feel the weight of his thoughts through the call.

Wels cleared his throat. “Xisuma… if his badge is still intact, then that means he is still intact. He hasn’t fully faded, but…”

“But he might, if we don’t do something,” Hels finished, a low growl in his voice.

I didn’t like the sound of that.

Keeping my movements slow and deliberate, I leaned forward, resting my arms on Mumbo’s desk. “I need you both to tell me everything you remember about Xavier. Everything. Because right now… I think he’s watching me.”

Wels swore under his breath.

Hels didn’t respond immediately, but when he did, his voice was almost eerily calm. “Then don’t scare him away.”

I glanced up at the vent again. The red glow flickered, barely there.

“I don’t plan to.”

I could hear faint movement in the vents above me, the soft rustling of someone shifting ever so slightly. The dim red glow flickered, growing just a little brighter, as if whoever was up there was listening—really listening—to what was being said.