Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The blast from town center sent a shockwave across the whole world, sending the hermits into a frenzy. Almost instantly, the group chat was flooded with messages, and hermits flew from all corners to the scene.

A large crater had appeared in the shopping district, in front of the statues of Tango and Cub. The smoke was still clearing as everyone peered over the edges of the hole.

Xisuma, feeling confident his armor could protect him from possible foreign substances, slid down the sides of the pit, hopping over rocks as he made his way to the center. The smoke began clearing, and a figure could be seen lying in the rubble.

"Hello?" X called cautiously. "Are you alive?"

"I'm real knackered..." The figure sat up slowly, revealing himself to the onlooking group. He sported a big black moustache, with messy hair that brushed the tops of his ears. His shirt evidently used to be blue, but wasn't anymore, and his jeans weren't much better. His shoes looked nearly worn through on the soles. With wide eyes, he observed the large group watching, and then turned to X. "Where did- how- who are you?"

"My name is Xisuma, what's yours? Where do you hail from?"

"Name's MJ. I think I got too buzzed, this is a wild fever dream..." He glanced at the group peering over the side of the hole, and examined X's armor with skepticism. "You'd think I was a swigger, the things I'm imagining..."

"You aren't imagining anything. This is Hermitcraft! We all live together and have fun. Shall we climb out of this hole, then?"

The pair made their way out of the crater, where Joe met them with a glint in his eye, but a worried expression. "Howdy MJ. It sounds like you're from the 1950's, am I right?"

"Yeah, '51. Ya make it sound like it isn't '51?" MJ wrung his hands.

"No, it's 2019. How bizarre..." X mused.

MJ ran jittery fingers through his hair. "Man, this blows. I don't- and there's- colors everywhere, and- and you're all just like me-"

"I mean, I don't exactly look like you," Doc chuckled.

"Nah, you don't get it. Where I'm from, I'm it. Sometimes ya run into a pig- a creeper if you're unlucky, but that's it. The whole world is grass and trees, as far as the Farlands. It's quiet, being the only one... aware." MJ went quiet, rubbing his arm.

"So you live in a Classic world... How interesting..." X began pacing unconsciously.

"Are you sure it's Classic? He knows creepers, weren't they added in Indev?" Joe quizzed.

"Nope, Classic. Depends on the version, but he probably knows pigs, sheep, zombies, skeletons, spiders and creepers."

MJ nodded at the only words he understood in their conversation. He was still fairly certain he was dreaming.

"Also, he's using 1950's American slang in a British accent- that error was removed in early Indev."

X nodded quickly. "You're right, I forgot about that."

"Can we all get to bed? We don't want phantoms killing MJ, who knows where he would respawn." Scar pulled out a couple beds, which hermits promptly hopped into.

"Phantoms? Why we gotta sleep? Are The Phantoms a gang?" MJ asked quickly as the rest of the hermits led him to the Stax-4-Stax Tavern.

"The longer you go without sleep, the more phantoms spawn, and they're deadly." Grian explained. "When was the last time you slept?"

"....never?" MJ watched the dark sky anxiously.

"Oh yeah... Let's get inside, quick!" Grian shoved him inside. The phantoms screeched, making Grian chuckle and MJ shudder.

—

The next morning, MJ’s mind was swirling with chaos and concern. Now fully rested for the first time in his life, he began to realize his situation. He anxiously danced around the small room of sleeping hermits for a few minutes, before he mustered enough courage to creep out the front door.

There was so much color in this strange world- even the grass looked different from what he knew. His head spun on a swivel as he took in everything he possibly could.

He started low, running his fingers through the long grass and smelling the colorful flowers scattered across the ground in front of the building. A chicken wandered across his path, so he decided to follow it wherever it went. The chicken, followed by an intent MJ, meandered to the shore by the ocean, which MJ noted, was filled with seaweed and assorted swimming creatures.

As they wandered further inland, MJ drifted away from his chicken guide, stunned by the variety of blocks in the buildings towering around him. He poked his head into a red striped building, but ducked out just as quickly when he couldn't name the shiny blue rocks or cylinders in the wooden boxes.

As he stepped out, however, something shot over his head with a loud explosion, sending him to the floor in a panic. The creepers were in the air, too?

"Heya! Enjoying my store?" A man fell out of the sky holding one of the striped cylinders. His hair was golden and shimmered in the light, along with his bright red eyes. His ears and teeth were pointy, and his combat boots completed the intimidating look. "What are you doing on the ground?"

MJ glanced around carefully, motioning the man to crouch down next to him. "There are creepers flying around here!"

The man gave him a blank stare, then laughed, standing up again. "Oh man, that's priceless! You mean me? Using a rocket to fly?" He pulled out a so-called rocket, and it exploded in his face, sending MJ into another fit of shakes. "It's okay, they're harmless!"

"You can fly?" MJ asked cautiously, afraid the answer might include more explosions.

"Let me show you!" The man crouched down, preparing another rocket, but stopped when he saw MJ's petrified expression. "Well, maybe we should start smaller. How about the Cherry Store?"

The man, who MJ learned was named Tango, lead him patiently to another store, this one made of wood. Wood was more familiar to MJ, although this wood looked entirely different to what he was used to.

"Look, this stuff is called redstone," Tango explained, displaying a nicely packaged bag of redstone, ready to be purchased. "You can make lots of hardware with it, which you can use to make machines!"

MJ opened the bag, running his finger through the red dust. Some of it sparked, glowing slightly. "What can you make with the parts?"

"Well, you can start small with an automatic fish farm, or you can build an iron titan, or you can make something like Sahara! Let me show you, it's super cool!"

Excited again, Tango led the way to Sahara, a large building in the side of the hill. After showing MJ the interface, they staircased up to the second level to get a look at the modules.

"Iskall made all of these himself- crazy, right? Grian tried to help, but he's definitely the builder of the Architechs," Tango laughed.

MJ walked down an aisle, marveling at the large machines. They were made of small parts MJ couldn't name, but he knew they were made of redstone. It was all incredible, but MJ didn't understand a bit of it- he considered himself more of a builder anyway.

"Oi! Trespassers!" Grian, as MJ remembered from yesterday, soared through a broken window. He smoothed his wild sandy-blond hair, a wide grin across his face.

"Don't mind us! I'm just showing MJ around!" Tango waved.

"Oh! You should come see my base, MJ! It's super cool!" Grian bounced excitedly. He had a lot of energy, MJ gave him that. Not usually his cup of tea in friendships, but beggars can't be choosers.

"I'll leave you two to it then! Xisuma wanted me to work on some code with him today anyway. See ya!" Tango flew away with another explosion, causing MJ to jump.

"Hm, I suppose you're not much of a flyer, huh?" Grian observed. MJ simply shook his head. "Guess we'll boat over!"

MJ carefully stepped into the boat Grian made, with Grian clambering in after him. They rowed out into the bay, MJ watching as the shore behind them faded into a shimmer at the horizon. "Here we are!"

MJ turned around and was stunned by the white building towering over them. Grian hopped out of the boat onto a glass bridge, motioning MJ to follow. He carefully did so, being sure his shoes were dry enough that he wouldn't slip.

"This is my base! Sorry it's kind of a mess, I have a chest monster problem," Grian giggled and soared down into the center of the tower. He rifled through a couple of the chests (as MJ had just learned they were called) and flew back to MJ with arms full of mysterious items. "Here's a starter kit!"

Grian tossed the items on the floor and sorted through them, giving MJ a run-down. "So that's full iron tools and armor, a stack of golden carrots, a stack of torches, and an elytra with rockets to get you started! Does that look alright to you?"

MJ nodded, entranced by the items- especially the strange golden carrots.

"...You don't talk much, do you?" Grian stared into his eyes. Despite his brown eyes being almost black, they sparkled with love and innocence.

MJ cleared his throat. "Ah, I guess I'm still feeling a lil buzzed from... however I got here." He shrugged, carefully picking up the gifted items.

Grian opened and closed his mouth several times, and then settled with a confused smile. It looked strange on his usually-energetic face. "Feel free to set up your base anywhere that's open. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to text anyone." He handed a small black box to MJ, which he held with reverence. "It's a phone- just press the name of who ever you wanna talk to."

"Thanks," MJ hesitated. "By chance are you a greaser? You don't have any beef, do ya?"

Grian cocked an eyebrow. "Maybe? You won't need any beef though, the golden carrots are way better for your health."

"...are you booted, dog?"

Grian blinked. "I think you have different slang in Classic, because I don't know what that means..."

"My bad. Just, nevermind. I'll leave ya to it. Thanks for the setup!" MJ, embarrassed, hopped in his boat and paddled off, avoiding eye contact with Grian. The guy was weird to say the least- MJ wondered if that was why he lived in the ocean alone. Hopefully MJ hadn't killed his reputation by talking to Grian, and he could find a more helpful person tomorrow...

Chapter Text

MJ was startled out of his thoughts by a chipper voice. "Why hello! Your name is MJ, right?"

The young man had wavy blond hair that curled around his ears cutely. He had stunning purple eyes, and freckles that made you smile just looking at them.

"That's my name, don't wear it out! I've always wanted to say that," MJ laughed. He instantly felt at ease with this man. "What's your name, dog?"

"Zedaph, pleasure to meet you formally! So, it seems like you don't know much about our world?"

"You're pickin up what I'm puttin down." MJ stuffed his hands in his pockets. Although he had explored for a couple of hours now, the landscape still felt stark and unknown to MJ.

"Would you like me to teach you the basics?" Zedaph's kind smile made MJ melt like butter.

"I would love some help."

"Excellent! Any questions right off the bat?"

"How on earth do you make a bed?"

The pair set off, gathering materials and chattering as if they had always been friends.

"So, for starters, have this book!" Zed handed a large green book to MJ, which he held with reverence. "I don't use it much anymore, so you can have it. It has every crafting recipe you'll ever need!"

"Snazzy! Thank you!" MJ skimmed a couple pages, spotting recipes for helmets, fences and something called ‘red nether brick’.

"So! A bed is your greatest defense against mobs. Just place in three wood and three wool like so, and-!" Zed procured his brand new bed proudly. "You can have this one."

"Thanks. Uh, how many things can you make in this book?" MJ sized up the book to about 200 pages, although he was never great with numbers.

"Well now I'm not sure!" Zed laughed. "I just memorized the ones I use. If I don't know how to make something, I ask for help or don't make it!"

"Huh... What are they all for? Why so many?"

Zedaph shrugged. "Most are just for decoration and style. But, if you want the really practical stuff, ask Tango or Impulse! They know a lot about redstone!"

"Oh yeah, I talked to Tango this morning. Is redstone in here?" MJ deflated, flipping quickly through the pages and not recognizing anything.

"You mine the redstone, and then you make it into other stuff, and you put them all together in patterns and they'll do work for you," Zed carefully explained. "I'm not very good at it, but Impulse isn't busy tomorrow if you wanna talk to him about it!"

MJ simply stared through the book's open pages, feeling a wave of emotion come over him. He swiped his tears away quickly and stood up. "Well, thanks for the book, Zed! Catch you on the flip side?"

"You okay? Your eyes are all red." Zed stood and held MJ's face in his hands with a frown. "What's wrong? Wanna talk about it?"

MJ nodded, not trusting his voice. "I-" he choked.

"Here, drink some water. Take your time." Zed rubbed his back gently as MJ drank the water gratefully, returning the bottle to Zedaph empty.

"I guess I'm just feeling overwhelmed, ya dig? There's so much to learn, and so many people! And, what if I never get back to my world? I miss home..."

"I can see why this is so hard on you... What was your home like?"

MJ smiled weakly and sniffled. "Ah, I was working on a new house in a forest. I'm really upset though, because it's not looking how I want at all! It's not even creeper-proof... Plus, I lost both my pigs in an explosion! Now that I mention it, I lost a full inventory of wood, too... Man, I was a mess." MJ laughed slightly.

"What do you miss most about home?"

"I-" MJ paused, a frown growing. "I'm not sure. I only had a small shack. Everything else is gone..." The tears returned. "If I don't wanna go home, where do I go?”

"Well, if you don't miss your home, and we can't find you a way home anyway, why not settle down here? Hermitcraft is full of amazing people you haven't met yet, and there's so much to learn- even I still learn things every day!"

MJ choked out a laugh and sniffled. "Really?"

"Totally! And, if you stick around, you can live with me for a while if you'd like." Zedaph offered.

"I'd really appreciate that... Thanks for everything, Z."

Chapter Text

"Hey Tfc, you called me?" Xisuma and Tfc stood in the shade of Sahara, Tfc holding his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, I found somethin I've never seen in all my years... I figured you might know somethin about it." Tfc displayed his hands which were filled with a strange rock.

The substance was crystalline, but seemed to dissolve at the slightest touch, constantly shifting hues. In the shade it looked purple, but when it caught the light, it seemed to glow red.

"Wow! That isn't redstone, certainly! That's called Metrolite... Where did you find this?" X broke a piece of the rock off, watching in awe as it dissolved between his fingers.

Tfc shrugged. "Just found it mining. I thought it was redstone, but it sure acts different."

"Curious... Mind if I take this?" X gathered the rock and dust into a bag and ran off, waving goodbye as he ran.

"Cool your jets, Johnny! What's lit a fire under your seat?" MJ called as he appeared around a corner, drawing X to a stop.

"Ah, Tfc showed me something that might interest you!" X opened the bag, making MJ gasp.

"Metrolite! Now that's something I recognize! But, why's that so thrilling? Isn't that just another thing in the world?"

"Well, it's naturally-occurring in your world, but not here. That ore was removed nearly five years ago, and yet here it is! I think it's related to your arrival, so I'm going to experiment and see if this can help get you home!" X was breathless, a huge grin on his face.

"That's fantastic dog! Thanks for going to all this effort for me, I..." MJ hesitated. The news should have thrilled him, but after his conversation with Zedaph yesterday, he wasn't so sure.

"Are you feeling alright? You did sleep last night, didn't you?" Xisuma held MJ at arms length, examining his features with concern.

"I appreciate your care, is all. I've never had any real pals, because I was all alone in my world. It's just nice to have someone care I guess." MJ shrugged, trying to ignore how open about his feelings he was being with these strangers.

"I'm glad we can help you, for as long as you stick around. I've got to go, but if you need someone to talk to, Tfc is chock-full of wisdom. He lives on the other side of that hill there!" X said his farewells, and MJ turned in the direction X pointed.

After poking around the huge Sahara building, MJ found a tunnel leading into the ground. The air grew cool and damp, and MJ found himself in the heart of a complex maze of halls.

"Hello?" He whispered, afraid to break the silence.

"Whadda ya want?" A gruff voice echoed, seemingly coming from everywhere. It sent a chill down his spine, and suddenly he hated the way the torches flickered in the dim halls.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I'm intruding, I can leave! Xisuma recommended I visit Tfc, but I must have the wrong place. Sorry!" MJ spun around, hurrying back towards the entrance. As he ran down the hall, he realized he should have run but got turned around in the identical tunnels. He flew around a corner, and screeched as he was flung into the air by some bizarre contraption.

"Oh, you're the new kid, right? What's your name?" A grey, bearded man meandered around the corner, smirking as he spotted MJ tangled up in a net. "I see you found the defenses."

"Apparently... Are you Tfc?"

"Yep." Tfc flipped a switch, dropping MJ to the floor in a heap.

"X sent me to talk to ya," MJ moaned as he rubbed his sore arm.

"Really, about what?" Tfc began walking down the hall, leaving MJ to scamper to catch up.

"I dunno, my feelings or something? He said you were the one who found the Metrolite." MJ shrugged.

"That doesn't seem to excite you very much?"

"Well it comes from my home, but I talked to Z yesterday, and suddenly I'm not sure I wanna go back home."

”Z?”

”Zedaph.”

"Mm. Help me mine, it helps you think clearer." Tfc tossed a pickaxe to MJ and began mining.

Entranced by the glowing aura the blue pickaxe possessed, MJ mined slowly. He was startled by how easily the item broke the stone, and quickly sped up, seeing how fast he could mine.

Hours passed before Tfc slapped a hand on his shoulder, startling him out of his mining trance. "Better stop before your pick breaks." He pointed out.

"Oh, sorry. You can have it back. Thanks for letting me do this, you were right! I'm smooth as butter now, thanks dog."

"I hope you stick around, you're a cool guy." Tfc winked and waved as MJ made his way back to the surface.

X was right. That Tfc was real bright, and had a wise air about him. After all that mining, MJ’s mind was at ease, and he contemplated his sticky situation.

On one hand, he didn’t belong in this futuristic world. Before today, he was perfectly content to live a simple life, breeding pigs and building his dream house. But he was here now, and everyone was treating him so kindly. Within the few days he had been here, all the hermits had welcomed him happily and offered to help him find a way home. That was the operative word though; find. There was no guarantee they could get him home.

Maybe staying here wouldn’t be too bad.

Chapter Text

Grian: Come to my base ASAP!!!

It had taken MJ some time to figure out how to turn on his phone, but even then he wasn't sure how to respond to Grian's message. Instead, he boated to Grian's base as quickly as he could, hopeful it wasn't an emergency.

"I'm here, what's wrong?" MJ yelled down in the base.

"Come on down, we're just waiting for Ren!" Grian called back.

MJ looked around, quickly realizing there were no stairs or ladders to be seen. "How do I get down without dying?"

Grian just laughed. "Use the elytra I gave you, silly!"

MJ rifled through his things, finding the silvery wings gifted to him nearly a week ago. He hadn't touched them, in fear of ruining the pristine wings. "I dunno how!"

Grian flew out of the basement with a laugh. "You still haven't figured it out? I learned by myself in a day!"

"To be honest, I haven't really tried.."

What?" Grian gasped. "How do you get anywhere? Let me help you, cmon."

"I walk just fine," MJ defended as Grian pried the wings out of his hands, strapping them onto MJ's back for him.

"Now, grab a rocket, like this. You see that little string? Jump in the air and pull the string at the same time, and you'll take off! Just be sure you're pointing towards open air so you don't crash! Here, follow my lead."

Grian showed MJ how to place his feet, and how to jump to get the best air time. Then, Grian pulled his string, shooting into the sky with a whoop.

"He really is a greaser without the grease..." MJ mumbled. He carefully held his rocket, prepped to activate it, and jumped. When he didn’t feel himself take off, he noticed himself gripping the rocket tightly, but not activating it. He took a deep breath, and shifted on his feet again. He could do this, the other hermits did it every day. He crouched slowly, adjusting his grip on the rocket and jumped. In an instant, he was soaring, wind tearing through his hair and making his eyes water.

"You did it!" Grian cheered. "Isn't this way better than walking?"

"I guess," MJ laughed nervously. "How do I get down?" The exhilaration of actually succeeding wore off instantly, and the fear overpowering.

"With much difficulty!" Grian laughed. He looped around the base one last time before elegantly touching down. "Now you!"

MJ tugged on his elytra, trying to slow his fall as gracefully as Grian did. Quickly, he realized his touchdown would be more like a crash landing, and screamed.

Grian simply watched and laughed as MJ crashed into the glass, but instantly panicked as he received the message:

Mumbo Jumbo fell from a high place.

Grian: SOMEONE GET TO SPAWN

Grian: MJ DIED

Grian: I'M NOT SURE IF HE'LL RESPAWN HERE

Zedaph: Are there any supplies at spawn? Nether portal?

Xisuma: He likely doesn't know how to use a portal

GoodTimeWithScar fell from a high place.

Scar: He respawned here! :D

A wave of relieved texts flew past, and Scar assured everyone that he would bring MJ to Grian's base immediately. Five minutes later, a wobbly MJ flew into Grian's base, accompanied by Scar.

"Oh I'm so glad you're okay! I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't respawned here!" Grian cried and threw his arms around MJ.

"Ah, I'm glad too." MJ smiled, but it didn’t veil the thoughts running through his mind very well. In that visceral instant before he died, MJ had the thought he might respawn at his old home, and in that instant, he was happy.

Did he want to go home?

"So, your full name is Mumbo Jumbo, huh?" Scar giggled behind his hand.

MJ rolled his eyes with a grin. "Yeah, yeah. And you wonder why I go by MJ."

"You could have so many fun nicknames!" Grian bounced. "Like Mumbo, or Mumby, or Mum! Well, that last one sounds like I'm calling you my mother..." Grian laughed.

"I'll stick with MJ, thanks. And thanks for helping me fly here Scar!"

"No problem! Good to see you're coming around to the idea of elytra." He winked. "I'd better get going, good to talk to you, MJ!"

MJ waved goodbye to his new friend, then turned his attention back to Grian. "So Gri, what did you call me here for in the first place?"

"Well, while you were gone Ren came, so we can finally get started!"

"What's crackin, MJ?" Ren stood up from his seat on a chest, where MJ hadn't even noticed him. The man wore an expensive watch that matched the silver buckles in his suspenders, and had an air of cockiness about him. "Let's use the aviary, eh G?"

"Let's go!"

The trio carefully flew up into the cozy bird room, which held a strange fold out wall, blocking part of the room from view.

"What's with the..." MJ gestured to the wall.

"That's the changing room! There's a couple premade outfits back there already, you should try them on!" Ren herded MJ behind the wall, where a comfortable changing room had been set up. And, as Ren had said, there were a few outfits hanging on the wall. "Which one do you wanna try first?"

"Why do I have to try any? What's wrong with my outfit?" MJ protested.

Ren looked him up and down. "Baby, have you seen yourself lately? You look like a Steve that got mauled by phantoms."

MJ examined closer, and did admit his jeans were basically tattered, and his shirt wasn't really blue anymore. "Fine, fine. How about this one?" He grabbed a simple shirt with shorts curiously.

"Sure, we'll start there."

"...ah, do you mind?" MJ flushed, waving Ren away.

"Fine, fine! Just saying, we're both dudes, you didn't have to make it weird." Ren muttered.

"You made it weird first," MJ mumbled to himself. Ren was a weird guy, but overall one of the more approachable hermits he had met so far. He quickly changed, stepping out from behind the wall to display his new outfit.

"Ah, you look like a different person!" Grian clapped.

"Eh, the shirt is a little plain. Who wears plain white tees anymore? And the shorts are a little too short for your long legs." Ren criticized. "Go try another."

MJ shook his head, and went back to try another outfit. This one was definitely a Ren selection. "I don't wanna show you guys this one. I feel stupid." He called over the wall.

"It'll be fine, we won't judge!" MJ could hear the smirk in Ren's voice. He shuffled into view, just enough that Ren and Grian both burst into laughter. "It's so much better that I thought!"

"The- The ruffles really compliment your eyes!" Grian choked out through his laughter.

"You guys are the worst." MJ hid behind the wall, throwing the cotton candy outfit onto the floor. He pulled on the last outfit hanging up, and felt it was the best option yet. "Well?"

"Not bad!" Ren complimented. "I'm glad we kept my old outfit, it looks good on you!"

Grian nodded slowly. "I like the suspenders... I've got an idea. Ren, you take measurements while I grab fabric." Grian exploded out of the room, flying quickly to the shopping district.

"By chance do you know your armspan?" Ren quizzed.

"Uh, isn't it supposed to be the same as your height? I'm six foot five inches tall."

Ren tutted, pulling out a measuring tape. "Come here." Ren wrapped the tape around MJ's head, arms, legs and waist before Grian finally returned, arms full of fabrics.

"Let's get down to business!"

Six hours later and Grian appeared, exhaustion evident in his eyes. "Done! I'm so glad I finished it today, this will be perfect! Go try it on!"

MJ eyed the outfit as he changed into it. "It's a little formal, ain't it?" MJ tugged at the tight starched collar.

Grian's eyes shone. "You look INCREDIBLE!!"

"Wow, with some hair gel you'll look perfect!" Even Ren seemed impressed.

"It's just..." MJ unbuttoned the suit coat and collar, loosening the red tie. "That's much better!"

Ren was beaming now, a wide grin splitting across his face. "Stunning! The handsome rouge, the ladies will love it! Let's give you a haircut!"

Almost an hour of hemming and hawing later, and Ren deemed him ready for the public. MJ was concerned by the amount of hair that was cut off, but Grian had assured it looked great.

"Do you guys have a mirror?" MJ didn’t consider himself a vain man by any means, but when Ren is doting over how good you look for over an hour, you’ve gotta take a look.

Grian procured a mirror, and MJ nearly gasped when he saw himself. He was like a different person, who had really good fashion. "You sure with this much hair gel no one will think I'm a beatnik?" MJ teased.

"I don't know what that means, but you look incredible!" Grian grinned ear to ear. "Let's go to the shopping district and show everyone!"

"Ah," All of a sudden the full day of activity caught up with MJ. "Maybe tomorrow? I need to get back to Z's digs before night."

"You're staying with Zed? Nonsense, I have an empty island right here! Come be my neighbor!" Grian was bouncing with excitement, rambling about all the fun they would have as neighbors.

MJ laughed. "Man, now people are really going to think I'm a beatnik, hanging out with a greaser like you!"

Grian froze, confusion filling his large eyes. "What's a greaser?"

"Uh... I guess, it's someone who gets into trouble a lot, because he wants to fight authority." MJ withered when he saw confusion filling Grian's eyes.

"Like, a criminal? Do you think I'm a criminal, MJ?" Grian had gone stone-faced, a painful contrast to his normal bubbly self. MJ took and instinctive step forward to comfort him, but Grian took a step back.

"No! Not at all, it's just that- you've got your preps, and they follow the rules to a T, and you've got the greasers fighting the norm. It's not good or bad, it's just different!" MJ scrambled to save himself, but evidently only made it worse.

Grian let himself by held by Ren, who eyed MJ oddly. "I don't know what things are like where you come from, but you could at least be nice about it. Cmon G." Ren and Grian took off, leaving MJ alone in the aviary.

For a long time MJ just stood, not entirely sure what had just happened. After some time, he realized he ought to leave in case Grian came home and found MJ still standing there. MJ flew. He couldn't quite see where through the tears, but he hadn't gotten far when he crashed into a sandy beach, and sobbed as his emotions finally caught up to him. "I just want to go home! I don't belong here. Lord, science, however I got here, send me back. I just want to go home..."

But you are home!

"Huh...?“

MJ opened his eyes to find his forest, with his half-finished house tucked neatly on the outskirts. His animal pen was full as well, pigs oinking loudly for his attention. MJ rose slowly, and walked through the door. The house was unfinished, but he quickly noticed his inventory filled with wood.

"But I thought... But it was all gone! What is happening?"

The hiss of a creeper from the front door sent MJ scrambling across the floor, throwing the back door open and sprinting away. "Not again! Not my house!"

Clattering bones came from the trees, filling his brain. "Stop! Leave me alone!" He cried. Arrows whizzed past his head, snagging his coat sleeve. "Hey! Grian made  me this! STOP!" He tripped in his distraction, scratching his face and palms on the pines needles coating the forest floor.

Then the zombies came. As much as creepers annoyed MJ, zombies were the worst. They moaned, grabbing MJ's clothes, tearing it to pieces. Their strong grip was impossible to resist once they had a hold on MJ's arms, dragging him in opposite directions. He screamed, but he couldn't hear it over the clattering and groaning in his brain.

"GRIAN!! GRIAN PLEASE, SAVE ME!!"

It's okay MJ!

"STOP STOP STOP I CAN'T DO THIS, STOP STOP-!"

A swift slap to the face shut him up quickly, and he shivered, crying silently. "You good, man?"

MJ pried his open, finding an unfamiliar face. He had a beard lining his strong jaw, and wore a large green jacket. Most notable however, was his left eye, which was made of iron, and glowed green.

"Oh good, I thought you would never wake up! That must have been some nightmare, you butt-dialed me in your sleep! It's lucky you did so I could come wake you up!" The man laughed, and it made MJ want to laugh despite the fact there were still tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Thanks, I think. What's your name?"

"Iskall! The redstone half of Architech, since you already know the builder half. You were yelling Grian's name a lot, what were you dreaming about?"

MJ shivered remembering his nightmare. "I was back home, but there were so many mobs... It was a nightmare.”

"Huh, wonder what caused that." Iskall's harsh gaze made MJ wither as he recalled what happened before he passed out.

"Oh yeah. I forgot already."

"What happened, man? You called Grian a criminal?"

"I guess Grian told you? I didn't call him a criminal, okay? I was asking if he was a greaser! It's not bad, I was just wondering what I was getting into, being his friend!" MJ defended.

"A greaser? Dude, Grian did not tell me that's what you said!" Iskall laughed. "Oh, sweet Grian, so oblivious sometimes."

"Wait, so you believe me?"

"Why wouldn't I? Everyone's been texting about how nice you are for the last week, and you think I'm not going to believe you?"

"How can I apologize to Gri? As much as he's a weird kid, I wanna be his neighbor..." MJ smiled slightly at the thought of something so simple.

"Eh, he'll get over it. Buy him some tnt or something." Iskall waved. "More importantly, we need to get going! You've got an appointment with Impulse in ten minutes!"

Chapter Text

"I have a meeting with Impulse? How did you know? I didn't even know!" MJ rubbed sand out of his hair as Iskall pulled him to his feet.

"He mentioned it in the group chat. Do you know how to use your phone?"

MJ pulled out his black box hesitantly. "Uh, this thing? Grian sent me a message once, but I couldn't respond.."

Iskall shook his head with a grin, taking MJ's phone. "Look, this is the group chat, where we all talk to each other. Everyone can see these messages. I can turn on your notifications so you know when people are texting so you know what's going on." Iskall returned the phone. "Let's go!"

The pair quickly flew along the shore until they reached Impulse's bay, where he waved at them from the dock.

"Hey Impulse, I found MJ!"

"Nice! Hey MJ!" Impulse greeted as they landed. Impulse had tidy brown hair, and wore a loose t-shirt over cargo shorts. He also wore sandal-like shoes with socks, which looked ridiculous in MJ's opinion, but in an endearing way.

"Sup dog!" MJ greeted with a wave.

"You ready to learn some redstone?" Impulse rubbed his hands together.

"I'll sure try." MJ laughed.

“I gotta go, don’t get into too much trouble!” Iskall teased as he flew off, leaving MJ and Impulse alone.

"Good enough! Come downstairs, I've got a few things we can work on." Impulse led the way, diving straight through the waterfall flowing into the bay. MJ cautiously followed, shuddering as he fell into a cave on the other side.

"Sorry it's kinda cold, but it really suits the aesthetic of the place, don’t you think?" Impulse led the way down the corridor, and promptly jumped down another column of water, disappearing from view.

MJ peeked down the shaft, noticing bubbles floating down instead of up. In the column next to it, the bubbles went up like normal. Even something as simple as water was confusing in this world.

Impulse appeared in the second column, drenched and smiling. "Are you coming?"

"I just swim down?" MJ tested the water with his finger.

Impulse laughed. "No, the magma block at the bottom pulls you down! It saves a lot of energy and time!" He jumped out of the 'up' shaft directly into the 'down' shaft, disappearing again.

MJ dipped his feet in, already feeling the current tug at his ankles. He slipped in, nearly swallowing a gallon of water in surprise. The current pulled him swiftly down, and in an instant, he burst out at the bottom, gasping for air.

"Tried to breath water, huh?" Impulse joked. "I think we all did our first time. Cmon, let's get started!"

They started simple, learning how to make redstone lines, how to power it, and the difference between powered and unpowered. MJ picked it up easily, so they moved on. Next was repeaters, pistons, sticky pistons, buttons and levers. MJ especially liked the levers. ("They're so satisfying to flick!") Finally, they looked at comparators, droppers, hoppers, dispensers, and how to put them all together. They also reverse-engineered some of Impulse's creations, to see how things work in tandem.

"Well, that was the redstone crash course, congrats on passing!" Impulse laughed.

"Oh, six hours was a crash course?" MJ sighed.

"Nah, that's really about it! Now that you know how all the parts work, it's all about trial and error to make something that works!"

"Huh. So I could go home and make a... villager farm like yours? Or an iron golem farm?"

"Yeah, that's the idea! Pretty cool, right?"

"How do people live without machines? Z said he doesn't touch the stuff." MJ sat on the floor with a tired sigh.

Impulse shrugged as he sat next to him. "Probably like you did back home. They would just rather farm things manually I guess. Zed says he loves being out in nature, doing things with his hands."

"Huh. Yeah...."

"Uh, I hate to pry, but do you know when you're going home? I think Xisuma mentioned he had a way to send you back in the group chat."

MJ whipped out his phone, eyes widening. There it was, just like Impulse said.

3 hours ago

Xisuma: Might have found a way to get MJ home! I'll send an update as soon as possible :)

Tango: 👀👀

Ren: Wow, you're so fast! 💕

Iskall: That's what she said ;3

Stress: ISKALL

Stress: NO

1 hour ago

Xisuma: I did it!! Everyone meet in front of iTrade in an hour to say goodbyes!

Zedaph: Yay! But aww :(

Now

Wels: I'm running late, is everyone already there? 😬

Stress: omw!

Xisuma: I'm here, and we're just waiting on a few more hermits, including MJ

Iskall: Flying atm, and Grian might not make it

Impulse: I've got MJ, we're on our way right now!

"So, ready to go home?"

"I don't know, this is so surreal." MJ followed Impulse in a daze. He was really going home. Right now. No more crazy hermits. No more confusing redstone. No more colorful blocks. No more beautiful builds. He’d been dreaming about home ever since he came here, and now the day had finally come. But he was scared, and it didn’t surprise him, much to his surprise. He’d been through so much in the short week he’d spent with the hermits, and the memories made him reluctant to leave.

"Hey MJ, you excited?" Tango slapped him on the back. He didn't even remember walking into the crowd of hermits, but they were all hugging him, wishing him safe travels.

"I-"

"I'm gonna miss you, pal. Keep the book, to remember me by." Zed hugged him tightly, and MJ could feel his shuddering breaths as he cried into MJ's chest.

"I'll never forget you, Z. Never." He felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"Hey, Grian says he's sorry he couldn't make it. He wanted to apologize for how he acted, and he hopes you're happy back home." Iskall gave MJ a smile, but it was full of pain.

Finally, MJ made it through the crowd, finding Xisuma practically glowing. "Hey MJ! I wasn't sure I could get you home at first, but finding that Metrolite a few days ago really helped! Are you excited?"

"Uh... I'm not sure what to feel." He answered honestly.

"That's okay, I understand." X got a wistful look, but shook it off. "Anything you want to say before you go?"

MJ turned to the crowd, and nearly burst into tears. Despite the fact that he didn't recognize a lot of the faces, he felt such a strong connection to the group. In the week that he had been in this strange world, they had all welcomed him with open arms. Zedaph had taken him under his wing instantly, and let MJ share a base with him. Tfc had given him some solid advice on how to manage stress healthily. Iskall had talked him through a nightmare, and even believed him over his own friends. Impulse had spent the whole day teaching him redstone, despite the fact that they had never met before. Ren and Grian came together to make him a new outfit. Grian...

"GRIAN?" MJ pulled out a rocket and took to the sky in a fraction of a second, darting directly for the small red figure soaring above him.

"MJ, look out!" Grian cried.

"Grian, I-!" MJ flew directly into Grian, and the pair tumbled out of the sky, screaming.

Iskall thought fast, throwing slime blocks across the ground for the pair to crash into. At their speed, they bounced for nearly a minute before landing with a laugh.

"I'm so sorry, Grian!"

"No, I'm sorry MJ! I should've just talked to you about it. I don’t even know what I was upset about!” Grian laughed breathlessly.

"Can you ever forgive me?"

Grian frowned. "I have to, you're leaving forever..."

"I'm... I'm not leaving." MJ laughed. "I'm not leaving! I'M NOT LEAVING! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!" He laughed, feeling lighter than a feather for the first time since arriving here.

"Yes! I knew it! Welcome to Hermitcraft MJ!" Zed leapt onto the slime blocks, hugging MJ tightly.

The hermits took that as an invitation, and soon everyone was in a pile on the slime blocks, hugging MJ, or hugging each other, or yelling at everyone to get off of me, I'm trapped on the bottom!

After many tears, it was decided that today would be a holiday, and so a picnic was planned immediately. A full afternoon of celebration later, they decided to break up the party before anyone got too wasted. ("It's fine, I'm German!")

"So, as much as I love having a bunk mate, are you gonna make your own base now?" Zed asked as he and MJ strolled toward that side of the island.

MJ laughed. "Yeah, yeah, kick me to the pavement why don't ya?"

"Pavement, huh? I thought you used American terms in a British accent?" Zed grinned.

"Eh, I've been hangin out with a lot of Europeans, I guess it's rubbing off!" MJ shrugged.

"Well I think it's nice. Didn't Grian say you could use the island next to his? Let's go check it out!"

They flew over the bay, spotting the island right where Grian said. As they flew in closer, MJ recognized the sandy shore, and could almost make out where he had slept the night he had a nightmare. Even 24 hours later, it felt like forever ago that he was worried about whether he would go home or not.

"Aw, it's cute! There's just one tree right in the middle!" Zed hugged the tree with a giggle.

"It's perfect!"

"Well, I'll let you get settled then. See you around MJ?" Zed reached out for a handshake.

MJ took his hand with a smile. "It's Mumbo, and I'll see you around."

Chapter Text

"Alright, just tell me already. What on Earth are you doing, Grian?" Mumbo stifled a laugh.

"Don't worry MJ, I got this." Grian stuck is tongue out, aiming his trident carefully.

"Actually, it's Mumbo now." Mumbo grinned as Grian hopped up, beaming.

"Does this mean I can call you Mumby?"

Mumbo shook his head with a laugh. "Fine, fine. Now really, what are you doing?"

"Oh yeah!" Grian threw the trident one last time, and the pair fell into the floor, landing with a thud in a white room.

"Woah, what-?" Mumbo reached out, but couldn't find the wall. He spun around and found Grian and Iskall smirking down at him from their quartz chairs. (He proudly knew what the block was called, because he used some in the comparators with Impulse)

"Mumbo. Oliver. Jumbo. Take a seat." Iskall hid a laugh as he placed a dinky wooden chair on the floor, which Mumbo sat in uncomfortably.

"Do you know why we've called you here today?" Grian asked.

"Uh, no?"

"We are the Architechs." Iskall pulled out a small banner with a little sun and cactus on it. "We proudly run Sahara, a capitalist business venture."

"We have been looking for a third member. Another redstoner." Grian stared pointedly at Mumbo, who jumped.

"Me? Oh, I'm no good at redstone! Why not ask Impulse, he's way better-"

Iskall pounded his fist. "No! He's a member of Team Zit, and we will have no double-crossers on this team. We need a clean slate."

"That's a tiny bit hurtful, but okay."

"So, Mumbo Oliver Jumbo, will you join the Architechs?" Grian failed to hide his excitement.

"I suppose I will!" Mumbo laughed.

"Yes!" Grian hopped up, doing a dance on his chair. "Okay, can you fix Sahara for us?"

"What?" Iskall and Mumbo cried at the same time.

"I can't fix that thing, I don't even know how it works!"

"It's broken? Grian, what's wrong with it?"

"I dunno, I tried to use it this morning, and it didn't bring my order!" Grian shrugged.

The trio quickly flew to Sahara, spotting a hermit waiting in the lobby. "Welcome to Sahara!" Grian yelled.

"Grian! Your fing is broken!" A short brunette called back as they landed next to her. She wore a sweet pink cardigan and shorts, and her hair was pulled into a cute bob.

"Yeah, we noticed." Iskall chuckled. "We're here to fix it!"

"Let's go boys!" They flew up to the warehouse, and Mumbo could only stare in awe.

"You want me to fix this?" Mumbo ran his hand across one of the units, only to have Iskall slap him.

"Don't touch that!"

"Well you two are the redstoners, figure it out! I'll go keep Stress while you work." Grian ran off.

"So..." Mumbo glanced at the walls of redstone surrounding them. "Where do we start?"

Nearly three hours later, and the problem was finally resolved. Iskall and Mumbo flew back to the lobby, exhausted but grinning.

"We found the problem!" Iskall declared.

"Really? What is it?" Grian asked.

"It's... complicated." Mumbo chuckled. "But your order should be arriving any moment Stress!"

"Ah, there it is! Fanks boys!" She grabbed her order thankfully. "Nice ta finally meet ya, MJ!"

"It's Mumbo, nice to meet you too! Where do you live?"

"I live out by Iskall in the ice plains! You ought ta visit me sometime!"

"I will! How does tomorrow afternoon sound?"

"Sounds like a date! See ya then!"

"Bye," Mumbo grinned.

Iskall threw an arm around his shoulder. "So, somebody's got a date, huh?"

"Ah, I suppose so!" Mumbo grinned bashfully.

"Omg, do you have a crush on her?" He sang.

"No I don't!" Mumbo protested, throwing Iskall's arm off. "She's just nice, and I want to get to know her!"

"Sure," Iskall chuckled.

"So what's going on here?" Ren strolled into the lobby, grinning conspicuously.

"Not much, just Mumbo here getting a date!" Iskall laughed.

"That's not true!" Mumbo huffed.

"Aw, MJ, I thought I was gonna be your first date!" Ren pouted, grabbing Mumbo's hands in his own.

"I, what? I mean we could hang out today if you-" Mumbo stumbled over his words, his nose turning pink.

"Aw, you're so cute when you blush! Your little nose turns pink, I could just eat it up!" Ren leaned in, booping Mumbo's nose with his.

Mumbo couldn't form words anymore, simply flushing even more.

"Cmon MJ, I wanna show you my favorite spot in the whole server. Don't follow us, Iskall." Ren threw a look at Iskall, who was dying of laughter.

"Aww, but- but I-" He gasped for air.

"Nope, see ya!" Ren held Mumbo's hand gently, leading him down the road.

"Are you sure we can trust Ren with Mumbo for the day?" Grian asked, stifling a giggle.

"Eh, he'll be fine. Ren treats his dates well."

Chapter Text

Three months ago, MJ joined hermitcraft rather painfully. Three months later, I've become a new person, and I've made a base, friends, and lots of redstone farms! Despite all that, I still learn something new about this strange world every day.

-Mumbo Jumbo <3

"End busting? What does that mean?"

"You know shulker boxes? You harvest them in the End, and every so often me and Grian go raiding to get more. I figured since you're part of the Architechs now, you'd like to come!" Iskall grinned. "You'll need armor, a shield, a bow, and above all, an ender chest."

"Uh, what's an ender chest?" Mumbo rubbed his head.

"Eh, don't worry about it, I'll bring one for us to share. Let's go, Grian's waiting!"

They stepped into the End, and Mumbo collapsed. The air was thin, and Mumbo gasped for air as Grian and Iskall laughed.

"Sorry, forgot to warn you about that. Be careful here, it's full of nasties."

Mumbo caught his breath, looking around to find countless black creatures milling about the island. They were tall and lanky, with their only defining feature being their glowing purple eyes. "What are they?" He whispered.

"Those are enderman, they're extremely dangerous. If you go within fifty blocks of them, they turn into a cloud of poison gas that kills you instantly," Iskall crouched behind a block, staring intensely into Mumbo's eyes.

Mumbo paled, crouching with Iskall out of sight of the creatures.

"We need to harvest their eyes for our project. I'm going in, boys." Grian crept out into the open, sword in hand.

"Grian, no!" Mumbo hissed.

Iskall shook his head. "It's too late for him. Poor Grian."

From out of sight, Grian shrieked. His voice echoed across the empty void, then went silent. A shiver crawled down Mumbo's spine. Just like that, he was dead.

Iskall snickered, then exploded into laughter as Grian ran back into view. "We got you so good!"

"Wait, what?"

"The enderman are harmless as long as you don't look in their eyes!" Iskall choked out through his laughter.

"You guys are the worst!" Mumbo huffed.

"Alright, alright," Grian giggled. "We need to get started. Architechs, roll out!"

"Is he aloud to say that, legally?"

About an hour into their raiding, the first accident occurred. A screech bounced off the walls of the city as Iskall was slain by an enderman.

Iskall: Grian/Mumbo, grab my stuff!

Mumbo: I've got it!

"Put it in a chest before it despawns!" Grian called from the top of a tower.

Mumbo gathered as many items as he could, quickly searching for the nearest chest. He spotted an ender chest in Iskall's items, and threw it down in the corner. He stuffed as many items as he could inside, running back out to pick up the rest.

"Did you get it all?" Iskall called as he soared in.

"Got it! Here's some, the rest is in the chest inside." Mumbo threw some items at Iskall, flying off to kill more shulkers.

A few minutes later, Iskall called up to him. "Hey, where did you put my stuff?"

"I put it in the chest down there!" Mumbo yelled back.

A moment of silence. "There's only an ender chest!"

"Well yeah, I put it in there!" Mumbo glided down, landing next to Iskall.

"I can't get them if you put them in there!" Iskall laughed.

"What? Why not?" Mumbo opened the chest, displaying Iskall's belongings. "They're right here!"

Iskall wiped a tear from his eye, catching his breath. "Oh... No Mumbo, that's not how it works! Only you can access your ender chest!"

Mumbo grinned sheepishly. "Oh. Well here you go." He bashfully handed the rest of Iskall's items to him as Iskall laughed uncontrollably.

"What are you two doing down here?" Grian glided down, arms full of boxes.

"Mumbo's just being a dull fork." Iskall elbowed Mumbo with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm not a dull fork!" Mumbo folded his arms. "I'm not even that sharp..."

Grian giggled. "I guess that makes you a spoon then!"

Mumbo snorted, laughing loudly. "Oh my goodness, that's brilliant!"

Pretty soon, all three of them were on the floor crying. As soon as one of them stopped laughing, the other two's laughter would make them dissolve into a fit of giggles again. It was only an enderman walking over them that shut them up.

"Ah, I guess we're not getting any more raiding done today..." Grian wiped a tear from his eyes.

"Yeah... How many did we get?"

Everyone emptied their pockets, and found they only had 63 shells.

"Huh. Not even 32 boxes. That's really bad." Iskall snickered.

"Bad? That's better than nothing! How many do you need, you pig?"

"Pig!? There's 32 for all three of us to share!"

Mumbo flopped over, grinning as Grian and Iskall bickered above him. Three months ago, the only thing he was worried about was his pigs. Hermitcraft was a lot busier than his old life, but that's how he grew to like it.

Some days he missed the simplicity. Some days he was overwhelmed by all the new blocks and mobs. But some days, he hung out with his friends, and everything was right with the world.