MCYT One-Shots

Caught (part 2) | Angst

Time and Setting – Directly after part 1

Focus Character(s) – Mumbo, Impulse, Etho, Grian, Scar, other HEP and Resistance members are there, Zedaph is there for 3 seconds

Ship(s) - n/a

Trigger/Content Warnings -

Background – Grian's been found, and we're gonna learn what happened to him. Well, somewhat.

Not a request

A/N: this probably took me too long to write but oh well :]

---

Mumbo had never seen Grian look so broken before.

After spotting him for the first time in a month, naturally, Mumbo and Impulse and Zedaph had crept closer to see how he was going, and while physically, he looked fine (aside from the flowers and grass blades scattered through his hair?), his eyes looked hollow.

Empty.

Impulse had pulled Mumbo away before Mumbo could get a better look and had ended up calling an emergency meeting in the Resistance base after Zedaph was dropped home (Mumbo was using Grian's pearl slot), where Impulse announced that him and Mumbo had found Grian.

Well, seen him.

Impulse had then asked Mumbo to explain what they'd seen, since Mumbo had gotten the best look of Grian so far, and while he wasn't the biggest fan of needing to speak in front of the others, it was a direct order from one of the temporary leaders, and who was Mumbo to say no?

Mumbo was never good at rebelling against authority, he had to admit.

"He was walking by Scar's side, sorta facing the ground?" Mumbo started.

"Not in any way of admiring the paths or anything! It was almost like he'd been told not to look up?" Mumbo described. "He looked tired, and his clothes and skin were dirty, so he probably hasn't bathed since. Normal outfit. He needs a haircut, and he had grass and flowers sticking out of his hair."

"Most importantly though, he looked empty. When I saw his eyes, they looked empty. Like something had happened, and that he was really upset about it, to the point of losing emotion." Mumbo finished, looking around at the other resistance members, his eyes wide.

"Last any of us saw him, HEP took him, right?" Ren asked, and Impulse nodded his confirmation.

"He was caught by Cub in the HEP base, and he told me to run as he was dragged inside." Impulse said.

"So if something did happen, then it was probably someone from the HEP." Stress concluded.

"Then what do we do now?" Mumbo asked, and Etho sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"I have no idea."

---

"You know, you'll make a good little mascot for us, Grian." Scar hummed, almost skipping through the shopping district. Grian trailed behind, just barely, still staring at the ground.

He looked up when Scar spoke again, flinching slightly when Scar turned to look at him.

"And a wonderful example. You won't tell us who the other Resistance members are, but I think we can weed a few out using you. Tell them that nothing bad will happen if they turn themselves over, and threaten to do the same to them as we did you if they don't." Scar smiled at Grian, a warm look in his eyes.

He reached forwards, ruffling Grian's hair, and Grian let out a whimper when Scar's hand brushed over one of the flowers, the stalk bending.

"Oh right. Sometimes I forget that they hurt you." Scar hummed, reaching forwards. He plucked one of the flowers from Grian's hair, twirling it around in his fingers.

"Cub's smarts are a wonder, don't you think? With the proper funding, and tools, who knew he was able to turn an already living person into a plant hybrid?" Scar said, dropping the flower to the ground.

He once again smiled at Grian, a warm look in Scar's eyes, before he turned back to walk, leading Grian to the HEP tower.

Once there, it seemed like there was a meeting going on, Scar strolling in and taking his seat.

"Good day, everyone." Scar said cheerily, gesturing for Grian to sit on the floor next to his chair.

"Now, as you all know, since we caught Grian, Cub's been doing a little bit of playing around, and with the appropriate funding, Cub found a way to turn players into plant hybrid. Since our boy, Grian, was obviously on the Mycelium Resistance, we've turned him into a grass hybrid." Scar explained, yanking Grian up by the back of his shirt and pushing his head onto the table, Grian letting out a groan when his head hit the hard wood.

"He'll be a wonderful mascot for us, don't you think?" Scar asked, ruffling Grian's hair. He then plucked a second flower from Grian's head, Grian letting out a whimper of pain as Scar tossed it onto the table.

"It's 100% grown from Grian. If you check the stalk carefully, you can see there's blood where there would normally be sap." Scar said, Tango nodding his confirmation as he examined the flower.

"So what do we do with that then?" Bdubs asked, and Scar smiled.

"I'm so glad you asked. As a matter a fact, Keralis and I figured out that if we advertise photos of Grian, we can put posters around the shopping district. We can tell the Resistance that they either hand themselves over with minimal punishment, or end up like Grian, a part of what they seek to destroy." Scar explained, a smile on his face as he did so.

He then let go of Grian, letting Grian slump back onto the floor with a pained whimper. His head hurt so badly, and he wanted to cry, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't turn out well if he did start to cry on the floor of the HEP base.

Scar just smiled again. "Now, I already have plenty of photos of Grian. Should we head to the town hall to put the posters together?" When Scar received a positive answer. He smiled, and turned to Grian.

"Stay here, and don't move." Scar instructed. "If I find that you've left, and find you again, you'll need to be severely punished." Scar said.

Then Scar and the other HEP members left, leaving Grian all alone again.

---

Surprisingly, Etho had found an idea pretty quickly.

After the Resistance meeting, Etho and the others had reset their ender pearls, and Etho had headed over to the shopping district, to check for Decked Out boxes.

It was simply a coincidence that he checked the HEP base first. 100% a coincidence.

Grian was there.

He was next to a chair, curled up on the floor asleep, and Etho felt a pang of guilt as he gently scooped up Grian's sleeping form, checking both ways before he flew out, Grian in his arms. He knew he'd seen Scar at the town hall a few minutes prior to finding Grian, so instead, he headed for The Barge, asking for Impulse's help via dms. He needed help to get Grian back to the Resistance base.

Impulse answered pretty quickly, fortunately, and afyer they located, and entered the real base, Etho set Grian down on a new chair, before calling a meeting. He dropped down into his chair after a few moments, the other Resistance members also there.

"Good news." Etho said, looking around. "We found Grian."

Small chatters broke out between some hermits, although the offending players were quick to silence themselves.

"Bad news." Impulse spoke this time. "I think whatever they did, is much more than just putting some grass in his hair."