Mumbo woke up during a rather bumpy and rough ride in the back of a prisoner carriage, his head resting against the wooden floorboards of the wagon. He groaned at the splitting feeling of his head, weighed down by the net that was wrapped around his body. He couldn't move much, especially with how weak the silver made him feel.

"You up?" Ex asked, his voice rather bleak and defeated. Mumbo gave another painful groan as his response.

"These nets limit our powers and strength," TFC grumbled as he tried to fight against the trap that kept him bound. "If we could get out of this—"

"Yeah, but we can't. Even if we did, the bars of this cage are made of silver. We're still trapped." Ex snapped rather harshly, making Mumbo wince in pain at the noise.

He struggled to sit upright, being worn down at the net that kept him trapped. The two other vampires were being kept in the same cage as he was, the three wrapped and secured in their respective nets. Mumbo tried to look between the bars, though it appeared that there was a tarp covering the cage to prevent sunlight from leaking in.

Looking to TFC helplessly, Mumbo spoke up. "What do we do now?"

"I...don't know." He muttered a bit, slowly shaking his head while staring off into space.

Mumbo looked around through the darkness, trying to spot something that could possibly get them out of this mess. He frowned, as nothing seemed to catch his eye. "How long have I been out..?" The vampire asked, looking towards the other monsters for answers.

"Two or three hours." Ex responded with a huff, shutting his eyes to try and shut out the problem at hand.

The road was bumpy and rough, making it difficult for Mumbo to think straight. His mind was racing at the fact they had been caught, and not only caught. But they had been caught so easily, the king and his guards had managed to take down the three vampires in a mere matter of moments.

He could feel his skin burning at the silver beads, whenever his hand or face would accidentally brush up against the net, causing his skin to bubble and smoke. If he hadn't lost consciousness already, the sensation would've probably caused him to pass out completely. As it stood though, all he could do was endure the pain as he waited for the carriage to come to a stop.

Since he spent most of the ride unconscious, it wasn't long until they carriage began to slow its pace down, eventually coming to a complete halt. Someone lifted the tarp, preventing any light from burning the three as they opened the cage doors and stepped inside.

Xisuma pulled out his silver blade, walking over to Ex and kneeling beside the vampire. "The all powerful monster, now nothing more than a prisoner." He taunted, dragging the blade against Ex's cheek. The skin blackened like char and bubbled up, as if it were being burned, though the vampire refused to give X the satisfaction of wincing.

"What do you even want with us?" Ex spat out, his lips pulled back in an ugly snarl as he glared at the hunter.

"If it were up to me, I'd drive a stake through your heart." Xisuma said as he stood up, dragging a gloved finger along the tip of the blade. "But the king wants you three alive."

"I don't even know why you hate me," The vampire rolled his eyes. "What, you're mad about that little scar I gave you? Because you attacked me first!"

The hunter grit his teeth, raising his blade and slashing it down. He stabbed the dagger just inches away from Ex, right in the wooden floorboards. X looked into his eyes as he pulled his weapon from the ground. "You killed him. My grandfather."

Ex thought for a minute, studying the bits of Xisuma's face that he could see. "Wow," He muttered a bit. "You have his eyes. I can't believe I never noticed."

X brought the dagger to the monster's neck. "Don't speak of him like you knew him. You're the reason he's dead, beast."

"Wha—, no! I didn't kill him!"

"Save your lies." Xisuma grabbed the end of the net, tucking away his dagger as he began to drag the vampire out of the carriage. After he left, two more guards came in to drag Mumbo and TFC out as well.

They were kept in the shadows of the castle, clearly they were wanted alive for some odd reason. Mumbo was being carried over the shoulder of one guard, as if he were simply carrying a burlap sack of potatoes. As they were brought inside the castle, Mumbo could see the other creatures being unloaded from their cages, bound in chains and being poked with spears.

"The three strongest monsters, tied up and defeated." Scar clasped his hands together and giggled, gesturing towards the hidden staircase that was open and revealed from beneath his throne. "You can bring the beasts down here, there are plenty of cells to keep them in."

After that it was mostly a blur to Mumbo, still a bit dazed from his previous head impact. He was fading in and out of consciousness from the burning on his skin, every part of his body that wasn't clothed covered in little black burn marks from the silver orbs that brushed up against him. He remembered seeing some of the other monsters being shoved into cells, some even being chained to the wall.

The guard who had carried the vampire finally dumped his body into a cell, tossing him carelessly to the ground. He pulled the net off of Mumbo, finally freeing him from the burning pain. Though, he still felt exhausted, barely able to keep his eyes open or even sit upright.

"You sold us out!" He heard Ex yell at someone, shouting a couple creative swears at whoever the traitor was.

"I-I didn't know," the traitor said, presumably Etho, if Mumbo remembered correctly. "I didn't think they would actually find the sanctuary! I thought I was giving them useless crap about the tunnel system!"

Mumbo shut his eyes, trying to tune out the noise. He curled into a ball, weak and tired. At this point, he was ready for a stake to be driven through his heart.

~•~

Grian was pacing back and forth, too anxious to sit still and wait, barely able to keep up with the thoughts that bounced around his head. Would Scar kill Mumbo? Would he kill all of the monsters? Or would he leave them in the dungeon, stuck in cages, rotting away for eternity? He knew Scar, they were friends, yet this seemed so heartless and out of character.

The door was locked, the windows boarded up, pretty much no escape from the castle bedroom. Obviously it was no dungeon, Mumbo had it far worse, though Grian couldn't help but feel like he was going crazy already. There were most likely guards situated outside his bedroom, so even if he managed to break down the door, it would be a hopeless attempt to run.

Scar didn't get it. He didn't know Mumbo and the others like Grian did. They were kind, harmless even. They only attack when threatened by the harm of humans. They wanted to be left alone; to live a normal life where they weren't hunted down, chased after, hated, reviled. They wanted peace and freedom.

But this wasn't peace and freedom. This was a cage and a fate of death. And all Grian could do is suffer and worry about what was happening. What would happen next?

Suddenly he heard the lock of the bedroom door click and twist, pulling the human from his thoughts that he had been stuck in for who knows how long. "Scar—," He began, trying to reason with the king. Though, the king hadn't come to visit Grian. Instead it was a familiar man in a suit of armor, his sky blue eyes cold and angry as a bit of his blonde hair fell into his face.

"We—...Wels.." Grian spoke up after a long pause, hesitant after seeing the hatred in the knight's eyes. "Are— are you—?"

"Okay?" He laughed a little at the question, though his eyes were serious and cold as he shook his head. "No, no I'm not. I wake up after, what, weeks? Find out I've been helping those disgusting beasts— feeding that bloodsucking parasite— used like some kind of mindless puppet!"

"Wels, t-they needed—"

"Oh, they needed? What about what I needed?!" The Knight asked, throwing his arms in the air before running his hands through his hair, taking a breath to calm himself.

Grian's eyes looked saddened, defeated. "I-I'm sorry," He shook his head. "But they aren't evil, I swear."

Wels pointed a finger at the architect, his eyes firm as they narrowed. "You're the reason this happened. You're the reason I'm covered in fang marks, why the king doesn't trust me anymore. You're the reason I was attacked and brainwashed. And yet, all you do is defend those demon scum."

"They're good! They're good, they're good, they're good!" Grian was beginning to cry now, shaking his head and repeating the words over and over. His hands grabbed at his hair, tugging at it as he sobbed. "Mumbo wouldn't—"

Suddenly he was struck, the knight using his gloved palm to strike Grian across the face with such force that he stumbled backwards a few feet. Wels stared at him, lacking remorse with a hand still raised, as if to say that he'd do it again.

"You're brainwashed." He spat, stepping forward to close the distance between the two of them. "Those beasts made you think they were kind and harmless, but all they did was warp your mind and use you for blood."

Grian had a hand on his cheek, practically cowering as Wels towered over him. "It's time for you to wake up and realize that the things you remember are nothing more than lies." The knight continued, "They shaped your mind to be their reality, to use you however they pleased. I broke free from their curse, now it's time for you to do the same."

The knight turned away after that, heading out of the bedroom while leaving Grian to cower and shake in a corner, tears dripping from his eyes as he continued to cry.