"M-Mumbo?! What are you doing..?!" Grian asked as the beast rose to his full height, a low growl coming from the creature that's glare was locked onto the trembling prince. Mumbo held the builder in his arms, the overprotective beast blinded by rage as he looked down at Iskall, the Swede horrified at the sight of the monster.

"Protecting you, Grian. I'll make Iskall pay for hurting you.." The beast said as he smiled at the human in his arms, Mumbo turning to one of the diamond trees as he placed Grian on a tree branch to keep him safe. The creature turned his attention back towards Iskall, Mumbo flexing his sharp claws as he watched the prince shakily raise their sword, preparing to fight the monster.

"No! Mumbo stop! You're only going to make things worse!" Grian said as he clutched his bloody arm, watching from the branch as the beast and prince approached each other, Iskall shakily raising their sword to fight the monster. Mumbo chucked at the fear that morphed the Swede's face, the redstoner ignoring Grian's helpless cries as he began to fight.

Iskall waved their sword through the air, trying to ward off the beast and scare Mumbo. That only seemed to aggravate the monster even further, as Mumbo flexed his claws, pouncing on Iskall as if he were a wild animal. The Swedish prince was knocked off their feet, the sword slipping out of their hand and clattering against the pavement.

The prince reached for their weapon, grabbing the sword and slicing the blade across Mumbo's chest. His wound wasn't deep, it had only torn his clothes, but the monster stumbled backwards to try and distance himself from the blade in Iskall's hand. Iskall smiled with confidence, standing ready to fight while their gloved hands gripped the sword.

Mumbo glanced to the harmed builder that was sitting in the Diamond tree, gripping his bleeding arm in pain, barely able to move from the deep cut. The monster looked back at the prince, growling underneath his breath. It was like all his instincts told him to protect Grian, all his logic and thoughts infected by rage and violence.

Iskall charged towards the monster, raising their blade as they began to attack. Mumbo attempted to use his sharp claws to harm the prince, but the Swedish royalty swiftly dodged the assaults. Iskall raised their sword, swiping the blade across Mumbo's chest. The beast fell back, on his knees as he slowly placed a hand on the cut, growling at the crimson blood that stained his paw.

The beast was on all fours now, as if he were a wild animal. He was focused only on Iskall, the smell of blood causing Mumbo's head to feel like it was filled with hundreds of swarming bees. He couldn't hear Grian yelling from the tree, telling the monster to stop. Mumbo pounced on Iskall once more, pinning their arms to the ground to prevent the prince from using their sword.

Mumbo's grin was malicious and cruel as his claws dug into Iskall's shoulders, tearing through the fabric and ripping through the prince's skin. They screamed in pain, Grian's eyes going wide at the sound of painful cries. The short hermit held his arm as he jumped down from the branches of the Diamond tree, running over to help Iskall.Grian stepped in front of the prince, narrowing his eyes at Mumbo.

The beast stepped back, although his cold eyes were glued to Iskall. They were laying on the ground with large scratches across their chest, Iskall's fancy suit stained with the deep red of their blood. Grian slowly stepped forward towards the monster, as a low growl came from Mumbo. He looked towards the human, his eyes cold and sharp, as if he were a wild cat.

"Mumbo, please stop. You and Iskall are friends.." Grian pleaded as he stepped forward, the monster's ear twitching as he heard the builder's voice. The human took a knee to become eye level with the feral beast, which was on all fours. Grian slowly reached out his hand, placing his hand on Mumbo's cheek to try and calm the beast.

"Mumb-" Grian stopped as the beast lifted the human in his arms, a light and calm growl coming from the monster, as if he was purring at the builder that he had 'protected' from Iskall. He seemed calmer now that Grian was with him, but it was clear that Mumbo wasn't thinking straight. The builder tried to escape the monster's hold on him, but Mumbo wouldn't let him free.

"Snap out of it!" Grian said as he fought Mumbo's hold on him, the beast tilting his head as he looked down at the human. The monster gently set the builder onto the ground, Grian thinking for a moment before he took Mumbo's paw, leading him towards the lake near the barge. The creature followed curiously, allowing the human to lead him towards the edge of the water, Grian pointing at the rippling lake.

"Look Mumbo, you're a monster again.." he said with concern as the beast peered at himself, Mumbo's feral eyes slowly fading and returning to his normal shade of brown. The beast fell to his knees, looking at the ground as his monstrous form faded, slowly returning Mumbo to his normal human state.

He looked exhausted, his hair now knotted with dark rings around his eyes. His mustache was wild and his clothes were mangled and stained with Iskall's blood. There was a long cut across his chest from the Swede's blade, and he was only wearing a torn white dress shirt and black pants. The former beast sat up, rubbing the side of his head and groaning in pain.

"Mumbo what happened to you?" Grian questioned with worry as he sat beside the redstoner, the taller Brit pausing as he tried to recall what he had done.

"It's all fuzzy. I knew I was myself, and I knew what I was doing, unlike when I was in that fairytale. But I didn't stop myself, I felt so confident and angry and I couldn't control my actions.." Mumbo explained with exhaustion in his voice, looking to Grian with regret in his eyes.

"It's like my rage and anger overpowered my logic, and before I knew it, the only thing on my mind was protecting you.."

"So even though we're mentally free from the fairytales, we're still physically effected by the potions. Like how I still need these glasses.." Grian said as he took of his spectacles, studying the lenses before placing them back on the edge of his nose.

"But I thought I was free from my curse when we completed the fairytale!" Mumbo said while holding his bloody chest, Grian placing a hand on his chin and shaking his head.

"We still don't know how the potion completely works. You could be like a werewolf where you only transform into that beast every now and again, or it could only be when you're angry." Grian explained as he pulled out a small notebook, flipping through the names of the hermits and what fairytales they were stuck in.

"Here, Wels and TFC are mermen at the moment, they're in 'The Little Mermaid'. So when their story is finished, they'll most likely become human again, but it's possible that they would transform into mermen anytime they're in water." The hermit said as he tapped a pen against his chin, Mumbo continuing to scratch his head in confusion.

"So we're only mentally free..but we still have the effects from our fairytale.." Mumbo said with dread filling his voice. Grian placed a hand on the redstoner's leg, trying to help Mumbo keep himself calm.

"It could only be for a short while. You're only a beast at certain times, and you're aware. That's drastically different from when you didn't have your memories and you were always a monster. That means you're getting better, right?" Grian said while trying to cheer Mumbo up, the taller Brit smiling as he moved his hand on top of Grian's, holding the builder's hand as he nodded.

"Right. It's going to get better.." he said with a weak smile, Grian helping Mumbo to his feet. The redstoner frowned as he looked to Iskall, who was unconscious and bloody.

"I-I still can't believe I did that to Iskall."

"It's alright, Mumbo," Grian said as he pointed to the town hall. "Let's take Iskall there. We can treat our wounds and take care of Iskall before they wake up. Then we'll help them rescue Stress and they'll remember everything."

Mumbo nodded as he walked over to the unconscious prince, lifting Iskall in his arms. The two hermits walked up the stairs, the sun beginning to set over the shopping district. The Redstoner set the Swedish prince onto one of the couches in the stairwell, the mustached hermit tearing a piece of his already-mangled shirt and wrapping it around the large scratch marks on Iskall's chest.

"Do you have any healing potions?" Mumbo asked while Grian rummaged through his bag, nodding as he handing a glowing cherry-red potion to the male. The Redstoner uncorked the bottle as he poured the glowing liquid onto Iskall's wounds, the potion sinking into the Swede's injuries. The healing concoction would take time to heal, but Iskall would be alright.

Mumbo took Grian's hand, leading him towards the corner of the room and helping the builder take a seat. He tore another piece of his shirt, pulling out another healing potion from Grian's bag.

"That's the last healing potion I brought, you need it more than I do." Grian urged as Mumbo shook his head, uncorking the bottle and dipping the torn cloth in the glowing potion.

"I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about you, that cut on your arm is really bad." Mumbo said as he wrapped the makeshift bandage around Grian's arm, firmly securing the cloth to add pressure towards the wound. The redstoner's shoulders started to relax as his eyelids began to grow heavy, his energy had been drained when he became that beast.

Grian smiled as he looked up at the sleeping male, before looking down at his bandaged arm. With a stretch and a yawn, the smaller male relaxed his head against Mumbo. He felt safe near the Redstoner, Grian knew that he would always be protected by Mumbo, no matter what the two encountered. The builder let himself drift away, falling asleep feeling secure and calm.