'Scar! SCAR! Come back! Please! Stop running!' Cub chased his friend across the Boatem lands, barely avoiding falling into the Boatem hole. Impulse's base was ahead... Scar had to stop at some point, right? 'I'm tired! I can't run forever!' 

Scar finally stopped at the edge of the factory, realising he had nowhere left to go. He gave a resigned sigh and let Cub reach him.

'Finally...' The second vex panted. 'Damn, you're still faster than me...'

'Why are you here?' Scar asked grumpily. 

'Because you ran off. I wanted to see why you did.' 

'You saw the magic glitchy thing... everyone in there now has their proof.' 

'No... Scar... come on! I don't think it was you,'

'Why?'

'Because if you were doing evil magic stuff, surely you'd get me involved with it too.'

Scar laughed at Cub's reasoning, shaking his head. 

'Are you sure? Because from where Doc and Ren were standing...' 

'Nah... Grian will convince them otherwise.' Cub assured, though he wasn't too certain himself. 'Besides, if Doc's complaining at weird stuff that might or might not break the entirety of Hermitcraft, then he's a hypocrite.'

'You're right...' Scar looked up at the sky, and the setting sun. 'Another clear night...'

'Yeah. Well, I should get back to the my base to rest. And you should see if you can clear stuff up with Doc and Ren.' 

'Fine... bye, Cub.'

'Bye, Scar.'

The tycoon walked back to his starter base, entering again. Etho, who he hadn't seen earlier, was sitting there now too. Grian stood up at the sight of Scar, as did Ren. 

'Scar. You're back.'

'Yeah... What do you want?'

'The truth.' Ren growled

'Can we sort this out tomorrow? I'm tired.' Scar pleaded.

'Let him sleep.' Grian advised. 'We'll talk about this again another time.'

'Fine...' Doc stood up, with the other two following after, leaving only Grian and Scar behind. The latter turned to the first. 

'Scar? What's going on?' 

'Let me sleep... please... I'll tell you in the morning.' 

'Fine.' Grian set off to leave, but paused. 'Scar, I'm your friend. You can tell me stuff.' 

'I know. I'm just tired.' 

Grian left, and Scar turned back to the shulkers, moving them out the way until he found the book. With a sigh of relief, he covered it up again, before slumping down on his bed and falling asleep. 

''̶̨̨̲̖̘͍̰̰͂̇̆ͅH̷̥͕͉͖̲̫̫̀̆͜ę̸̨̜͔̰̖͚̯̯̍̅̉̎̔̇̀̕̕͜l̶̫̩̜̣͓̩̀͊̍l̷̡̨̲̗͕͑̾̓̄̌̅̓̒́̏̋͆̏̈́͝ơ̸̬̣͔̤̼͓̤̟̬̟͈͋͊̎͒̓,̶͉̥̐̕ ̷̛̛̟̘͔͎̹̭͉̣̼̇̓̐̒̿̾̌́͒͒̾̕͠ͅS̴̺̳̰̟͍̖͎͈͆͆̇͜c̶̬͍̞̠͉̠̪͍̗̲̭̱̼̲̼͂́͛̏͒́̾͗͛̕͝ạ̷̛̬͎̩͚̳̭̠͇̻̪͙͙͓͔̿̇͌́͋̇͋̌̍̓̚̚̕r̸̳͖̬̯̤̰̭̱͓̮̖̍͆̋̋̑̈́͝ͅ.̵̛̞͇̓́̈́̈̌̾'̵̨̨̧͎̦̜̭̦͚̮̦̙̤̲̎͋̉̾̄ ̸̧̨̛̰̪͔̗̬̬̱̑͛͛͐̆̓̽̉' 

A voice came to him as he slept, and the hermit tried to force it away,

'̵̢̢̢̹̦͍̠̭͚̝͙̎́͋͑͊D̶̥̦̻̔͐͆͗̊̎o̶̧̠̲̩̯̲̫͈̮̭̿͐̑̈́̈́n̴̠͕͍̈́͌̏̈́̿͋̃̈́̄̕'̸̨̡͕̻̦̦̬̤̳̱̦͚̫̒t̴̛̙̫̲̲̹̮̟̟͆̌̃̀͋̓̏̃͒̃̌͛͂ͅ ̷̣̟̱̹͈̥̬͇̱̻̞̤̭̀̈́̄̌̋̑̋̈̄́̌͘͘̚̕b̷̳͖͍̖̖͙̫̫̳̆ͅe̶̲̘̠͇͇͛̋͑̽̉̿͐̚ ̷̛̻͚̠͎̲̮͔͔̭̪̟̘̦̪̈̈́͑̍̾̔̐̈́̄͗͆͘ͅś̷͖̠̗͉̿̾c̶̢͔͈̫͖̯̒͐͗̄̾͐̔̄̀͘̕͝a̵̺̗͍̥̯̙͖̗͆̈́́͌̊͋́͋̀r̵̤̗̟̪̱͇̾̎̊̽́̅̄́̈́̇̓͒̃̅̚͜͜e̵̤̬͚̯͔̜̮̣̠̔̿͆́̇̒͌̕͜͝ḋ̷̨̼̟̬͈̲̱̞̱̣̗͔͉̓̋̐͊́́̈́̈͘ ̵̲̬̹̻͆̒͐̃͛͋͗͒͆̇̽̎̇̂̚͜ơ̵͕͉̻͛̈́͗̆̍̈́̃̔͐͘f̸̢̢̼̫̦̣̝̯͙̗̺͔͎̱͑̉͐̆̇̏́̍̾̓͝͝ ̵̫̤̩̱͉̘̞͋̌͌͊̀̂̐̾̄̓͘ḿ̵̛̠̲̣̻̘̝̙̄̓͛̉͑͘͜ͅẹ̸̡̡̫̤̻͔͚̞̤̽̏͗͜.̸̻̯̪̦͘͝ ̷̠̗͖̩̰̞̮̖̪̪͉̭̯̃̀͠Ï̵͙̽̂̈́̆̽́̽͝͝͠ ̴͖̲̝͖̎̓̓̐̆̾̓̇͘͜c̴̨͎̞̪̻͍̣̜̒͗͛́́̿̽̅̇͋͋ͅa̵̙̓̎͆̕n̶̠̟͕̠̘͚̫̲̬͂͗͌͛̈́̿̾̀́͝ ̷̛̦͖̀͊̎́̊͛́̏̄̓̚͠h̴̢̨͇̱̳̣̫̳͎͓͓̠̺͊ͅe̶̢̢̛̦͇̫̗̜̰͖̣͇̤̋͗̈́̏́͋͆̕͜͠l̴͉͙̗̫͈͇̓̇̎̓̾̓́̋͘͜͝p̸̗̦͍̘̹̭͉̖̫̗̻̖̟͒̚ ̸̘͉̤͚̮̼̝̮͙̋̓͜͝ÿ̴̢͇͙͓̩̼̤̠̙͉̫̗́̅͛̍́̀͌̐̔͋͛o̷̢̲̱̫̪̳͖͚̺͍̱̮͍̿̿̓̄̀̎̓͜u̴͓͎̮̮̻̬̥̼̭͋̎̊̎̍̈́͐̊.̷̛̻̱̰̙̊̑̀̉͑͛̍̈́͊̓͌'̶̛̘̞̳̣̰̖̘̣̞͕̠̩͛̄̔͐͊̐̀̾̓͒͛̍͊̍

'I don't need help...' Scar mumbled back. 

W̴̨̛̯̯̱̬͕͖̫̹̮̘̹͇̟̑̈́̐̏́̄̓̊͘͘̕h̷̻̉̀̄͠͠e̵̢̢̼͕̣͙̖̝̼̰̬̲̻̊̌́̄͐̇͛̀̑͗͆̀̈́͝n̸̨͎̦͓̼̰͉̐́̽̃͝ ̷̘̤̫͎̱̈̂́͒̑̒͛̏͆̍̐̄͝͠͠y̵̡̨͚̰͖̖̮͉̙͖͐̒̒̀̾̔̒̅̉͊͌͑̕͝o̶̢̥̗̮̜͙̗̙̞͔̪͈̅̃͒u̸̡̬̹̦̥͋̐̊̃̈̋͌͘̕͜͝͝ ̴̧̧̠̣̟͖̗͇̞̀̾̌̏̓͘͠d̵̹̋̆͛͒̓͒͝ǫ̸͙̜̖̲͚̖͖̎̈́,̷̧̛̪̯̼̫͉̹̥͉͔͔̝̎͂̃͠ ̵̡̥͆̎̓̑̅͘ǡ̶͙̯̙̣̘̪̥̜͐͋͌̂͂͘ͅl̶̡͔͖̱̬̻̣̗͈̲̙̀̂̂̓̈̈́͂̅l̷̻̙̞̗͚͚̹̬̙̙̰̻̰͊̂͒͂̈́̅̄͝ ̶̯̦͋̔͗͒͋̀̎̇́y̶̛̼̝͇͇̣̣̹̏̅͘ȏ̵͉̘͒̇͆̅u̴̢͍̖̭̤̭̫͍̘͇̮̤͇̳̇̌̿̄̾̆͋͛̀̄͆'̸̥̖͚̯̗̦̉̒̆̿͗̐̔̾͒͆̌͠͝l̵̦̞̫̳̍̉͌̌̅̐̈̕͝ĺ̶̳͚̎̐̃̅͝ ̵̛̦͙̳̩͐̂̎̓̀̄͝h̶̤̯̳̰͖̮͚̓͋͊̚a̴̠̭̦̘̹̩̞̽v̶̧̗̫̭̱̠̯̪̹̗̞͛̾̇͊̃̏̏̃͠͠ê̸̡̺̤̫̫͎̲̖͙͍̠̄̈̈͠ ̶̜̹̹͉̂̔́͑͂͜͝t̴̳̳̫͇̹͉͓̻̜͇̗͋͜͜͝ó̶̢͖͔̹͓̆̔͗̓̄́̈́̄̀͋͊̐ ̵̛̣̭͇̺̟̟̜̝̪̖̑̈́̈́̅̊͋͊̑̐̓̈́̊̂͜d̴̨̟̀̈͋̎̐ȍ̵̢̖̮̗̜̗͓͔͉̃̃͜ ̵̨̛̥͇͙̐̓̅̃̋͝į̸̪̱̯̥͉͎̤̣̈̀s̶̼͖̠͉̋͠ ̶̢̛̥͖̗̼̈́̐̅̀̐́̋͂̒͗͌͂̔b̵̡͎͕̮̞̣͔̗̌̎̽͛̌͘ͅṛ̸̞̹͚̩̗̬͚̱̺̉̇̇̈́̓̌͌̏̍́̃̄̂̕e̷̛͚̟͜a̵̧̢̩̪̲̥̲̖̠̲̗͔͌͂͆͗̈́̀̏̏̊̏̒̀́̚k̴̻͙̝̂̀̋͋͋̄́̆͝ ̷̥͍͈̜̣͕̿̎̈́̈͗͒͋̑t̸̻̣̝̩̗̯̟̙̼̀̆̔̈́̽̍̆̊́̔̿̂͜͝ͅḧ̵̢͈̩̮͔̜͙͉̜̻̲́͐̉̇̾̔̀̽͛̊̍̍̊̚͜͝ͅḙ̵̰̤͚͍̙̞̻̭̹̥̦̫̏̊̆̿̈́̑͌̽̊̔̅͂͜͝͠ ̷̧̞̰̮̞̱̬̩̜̙̙̬̦́̒̾̂́̌̑̀͑̆͘ͅp̷͖̫͍̯̳̝̉͋̆̑̃͆̌̐̔̕͝ͅo̵̳̥̟̖͍̯̽͆́l̸̨̳̉̅̈͛̾͆͑̍̓͂͘͝e̷̫̮̼͖̞̪͍̘̺̘͕̲̺̰̔̒̏͛̋͒̾̑̆͘͘͜.'

'The... pole?'

'̵̧̢̯̬̖̼̮͉̈́̊̀̒͆̈́͗̈́̔̑̌̀̑̕T̷̤̲͎̭̐̈́͂̄̒̉̋̑̈͘̚̚͝h̶̛͙̠̘͓̙̺̣͓̏͒͑̀̒̓̈́̈́̓̍̿͝e̶̪͖͋̏͋̎̈̐̄͛͋̉̄͊͝ ̶̫̱͙̂͛͂̊̍͐p̶̡̯̯̟̺͉̈́̏̒͜ọ̵̡͔̲̣̭͈̜̞͓̫̬̇͂͒͛͒̿̎̍̂͒̕̚͘ͅͅl̸̢̢̻̣̯̮̩̰̪̰̾̈́͒̎͆̓̋͑̑̓̍̂͝è̵̥͉̯͙̑ ̸̡̧̢̟̜̱̳͚̫͖̖̞͂̈́͗͝ó̵͎̲̺͉͍̞̦̼̯̗̣̭̮̿̔̔̎̓̀̔͝͝ͅf̴̢̢̲̯͚̟̟̦̥͎͚̗̮͇̬̎̄͂̊̇͗̌͆̕͘ ̴̡̾̑̆͆̏̉̑̏̌͋͘͝y̴̨͉̞̤͔͐͆̔̑̒͂̉͐̀̀̿͝ŏ̶̢̢̫̝͍͇̲̦͈̋̿̍͂̿̍̑̈͂̍͘ṵ̷̢̩͓̫̖̂̃̒̚͝ͅr̴͓̀̽̑̂͝ ̴̡̡̤͇͚̭͈̥͔̦̝̜̥̣̀̃͒̈́̑͌̑̓̐͑̈̈͘͘͜l̶̢͍̝͎̗̰͕̲̟̪͙̺͉̜̞̆̌͊̐̔͠͝ì̴̳̻̣̝̘̟̟̀͌͜t̵̙̠̦̲̯͖̞̉̈́̽̿̃͂ͅt̴̨̛̮͎̱̰͈̰̤̒̌̃̆̔̈́̈͆̒̉͒̕̚l̴̛̺̲̮͈͈͒̈́̔̋̎̎̍̆͊͂͊̈́́̓e̶̪̰̼͊̑̍̔̊̈́͜ͅ ̶̨͈͕̲͙͙̖͍̘̲͕͈̪̼͚͆͆͊v̷̠͂̿͐̃͝i̸̅̓̅́͘ͅl̴̩̲̮̜̥̺̯̻̭̤̀̊͌͌l̴̞̜̀̃̐̊̐͝a̵̧̡̨̭͍̦̦͇̻̖͕̪̱͎̟̓͂̈́̈́̑͑̔͑͌̓̂̕͘͠ḡ̴͍͎̺̼̯͈̻̥̼͙̫̀̃͂̿͋̾͛͒̂ē̶̡̫͙̲͕͓͚͐̅͐̑̓̏̈́̃̓̔̌̚͝.̸̨̫͇̞̜̩̙̭̩͆̆͜ͅͅ'̴͉̠̰͙́̔̋̈̌̈̈́͆͌̃̚͘͝͠

'The Boatem pole? I'll bear in mind that I'll never break that thing.'

'̵̢̢̛̜̳͎̩̩͖̹̹͇̞̇͑̄̉͊Ẇ̸̨̛̫̲̹̹͇̜͛̈̎̌̑͑̚ẻ̷̜̈̍͂̚'̷̥̗͚͈̤͇̱͙͓̻͕̤̺̹͆̂̄̃̃̕͝l̵̡͎̥͂̒̃̔̓̿̀̀͌̃̀̚͝ļ̵̭̠̝͚̳̦̪̼̬̼̱͈̰͔͋̉͊̈́͑͐̅̀ ̷̛̠̹́͊ş̷̡̝̭̝̙̗̻̤͓͂͑̈́̎̈̅̐̽͑̑̚ͅe̴̛͕̫̯̣̻͛ḕ̶̛̲͎̪͔͎̳̠̟̗̩̰͚̞̮̝̈́̏̿͊̈́̒̾̈́̈́̕͝'̷̡̛̟̣̥̦̤̦͇̤̹͍̟̦̦͍͌͑̏͂̾

'Go away.'

'̷̲͕̣͑̐̓́̈́̇͠͝G̷͎̭̱̪͚͙̩̗̱͙̜͋ͅo̴̡̥̥̪̩̳̰̘͍̤͉̟̔̔̾̿̅͐̀̉̕͜ơ̷̧̛͎͚̦̗̺͈͉̗͔̩̓̑̓̍̊̌̎͌͗̂̓͠ḑ̴̡̧̤̞̦̻̦̺̣̌́ņ̸̪̠̘͈̬̰͇͙͍̳̑̅͒̿̉̚ͅi̴̭̔̒̅͆͊̎̌̇̈́͑̕͝͝g̶̮̗̱͕̱̅̒̿̒͘ḫ̶̛̮͙͊̓̋̊͊t̴͈̣̽̃̎̍̌̾̓̓̓͗̀͝ ̶̧̨̧͙̦̥̦̾͌S̸͓̾c̵̨̡̡̹͉̰̠͉̤̈́̀̍̒̃͊͆̂͜ã̷͙̜r̸̡͔̠̘͚̳̰̞̠̱̱͙̎̎̔͌͝.̷̧̛̯͕̥͓̜̯̯̣̻̳̠̋̒́̈́͑̉͘̕̚͝ͅ'̶̧̳̥̠̮͇͖͇̖̯͗̉͐̐͆̀͑̀̿̽͂̔̚͘͝

The voice disappeared, and Scar woke up.

It was another annoyingly normal day outside, but something was definitely going on. With a groan, the tycoon left his wagon, heading over to where all the Boatem, plus the Goatem, Etho, and Cub were standing.

'W...what's going on?' Scar asked tiredly. 

'We wanted to see what was going on.' Grian began awkwardly. 'And this lot wanted to find out as well.' 

'It wasn't even me...' The tycoon muttered furiously. 

'Then who was it?' Doc responded calmly. 

'I don't know! But I'm not to blame for everything on on this server to do with magic!'

'Really dude? Then give us some proof why it's not you.' 

'We just want to know...' Pearl tried to help by saying. 

'Yeah, this wasn't supposed to be mean or anything.' Impulse agreed. 

'I don't know who did this. But it's not me. I promise.'

'How do we know you're telling the truth?' Etho responded.

'Because why would I do this? Why would I want to cause harm to any of you?!'

'So the Convex was just an entirely peaceful, harmless, danger-free collaboration between you and Cub?' Ren coolly retorted. 

'That's different! That was just pranking, wasn't it Cub?' 

'Mostly.' The other vex agreed unhelpfully. 

'And, if it wasn't you, then why am I a cat, and what the heck was that glitch explosion yesterday, dude?' 

'There was a weird book in my base. I have no idea where it came from, and I didn't have any time to do anything with it.' Scar decided to reveal. 'It must've caused something to happen...'

'So... did this book appear before or after you had an opportunity to tell me and Cub about it?' Grian grimly asked.

'Before? I'd just found it though! I've not done anything bad with it!'

'Why do you have it?'

'I don't know! Can you stop asking questions?!'

'Only when you tell us the truth, dude.' Ren replied.

'I am! What more do you want from me?! Ask Gem what's happening if you want to know!'

'Why am I a cat if it wasn't the Convex?!' Ren burst out furiously. 'Doc's a charged creeper because he's already part creeper, Etho's an arctic fox because he's clever and agile, Pearl can turn into different animals because... because it's cool. If this wasn't you just wanting to bring back a prank, then why aren't I a dog or a wolf?!'

'The Convex is over! Why would we just do something like this when we don't even hang out just any more?'

'If it's over.' Grian began, arms crossed, 'Then why do you still have a vex mask in the back of the mess of stuff?' 

Without warning, Scar shoved the builder, straight into the Boatem hole, before running. Ren barked for someone to catch him, and it didn't take long for Pearl (in the form of a cheetah) to pin him and help Impulse drag him back to the circle. 

'I didn't want to do this, my dude.' Ren sounded genuinely apologetic, and Scar frowned, nervous. 'But we want answers.' Doc dropped a cage on the floor, opening it and tentatively pulling out a certain grey cat.

'Jellie! No! Give her back!'

'Why are you doing this?' Ren questioned. 'Why do you want to hurt us?'

'I don't! I'm not to blame! Please! Cub, back me up, this isn't the Convex! This isn't me! Just because I have magic, doesn't mean this is my fault!'

'Cub? Is Scar lying?'

'I... I'm not involved with this. This isn't me.' Cub raised his hands in surrender. 'I don't know.'

'Cub?! They're going to kill Jellie if you don't help me here!'

'I don't know. I genuinely don't know.' The former pharaoh walked away. Ren looked back at Scar. 

'Things aren't looking good, Scar.'

'Why won't you believe me?!' 

'What's going on?' Grian rushed out of his house, respawned after his fall into the void. 'Doc, what are you doing with Jellie?'

'Finding the truth.'

'Ren, I don't think Scar did this.'

'Really? Then who did?'

'Maybe it's someone outside the world? But I don't think it's Scar.' 

'Alright. Who here thinks it's Scar?' Pearl intervened. Ren, Etho, Impulse and a tentative Mumbo raised a hand. 'And who doesn't think it's Scar?'

'Well, that didn't help...' Grian snapped, seeing that the vote was split equally. Scar, knowing that his fate was sealed either way, stabbed the closest person to him - Pearl - before trying to run again. 

'KILL THE CAT!' Ren howled. Scar turned, just in time to see Doc kill Jellie. 

Why has Doc ended up as the villain-who-thinks-Scar's-to-blame again?!