Previously:

Grian gasped and muttered something under his breath. "Did he look like me?"

Mumbo considered it for a moment. "Yeah, he kind of did. A taller, muscular, harder version of you."

"Oh sweet netherack," Tango whimpered. "You've created a double."

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Grian stared at the floor, wondering what he was going to do. Somehow he needed to send Xequla back to where he came from, without messing things up. His other self had been pulled out from an alternate universe, but didn't seem to know that he hadn't always been in this universe.

Tango still sat in the same chair, almost as if he was afraid that the universe would fix the double and create a massive shockwave. Mumbo sat in another slightly less comfortable chair waiting for Grian to speak.

"So we need to get into the vault of the king and get the stone out?" Grian finally asked, mentally deciding it would be best to wait till he saw his other self.

"It will be harder than that." Tango pulled his hands through his vibrant feathers, making one of the red tipped ones fall onto the floor. The feather was bigger than Grian's hand, which made sense, since it had to hold up the weight of a Netherite. From what Grian could tell, Tango weighed about 150 pounds.

"We've already been through so much, what more is this?" Mumbo tried and failed to look optimistic. He had exhausted his energy reserves and was well pleased when Tango offered him an energy potion.

"The wrath of the Wither King himself." Tango sighed, almost wishing he had never come back. "That is not something you want to face, trust me. I barely survived."

Grian was shocked. What did the king do?

Tango saw the look on Grian's face and proceeded to roll up one of his sleeves. A jagged scar traced its way up from the wrist, all the way up the arm. It glowed red, and looked very painful. "It goes all the way to my heart."

Mumbo looked away, not wanting to see the horror in front of him. He turned his head again as Tango rolled the sleeve back.

"He used lava poison, and only a strong Netherite could hope to survive it. Anyone else would be instantly vaporized."

Grian gulped, sending a lump down his throat. He and Mumbo were both human, and he supposed they fit into the category of being instantly vaporized.

Tango continued speaking, since no one else was breaking the silence in the room. "How many of you are there here?"

Mumbo answered, since Grian had no idea. "We have Xisuma, Wels, Iskall, Jabbar, Cassius, and Grian's other self, Xequla."

Tango winced, knowing that it would be hard to get that many people out of the dimension quick enough. "Do you still have the protection on the portals?" He asked, pulling at his eyelids.

Mumbo nodded, affirming what they had to do next.

"I guess it's time we visit the king."

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"You want me to drink this?" Grian eyed the frothing potion with suspicion.

"Do you want to blend in with the rest of the guards?" Tango thumped his foot impatiently while Mumbo didn't look too pleased to have to drink another potion.

"I could just go through space again and-"

"NO!" Mumbo and Tango simultaneously interrupted. Tango looked nervously at his door. 

"We don't need another Grian, we don't even know what will happen when you guys meet."

Grian sighed and gulped down the contents, not crying out as searing pain spread across his skin and out his back.

"Yikes, you look scary." Mumbo looked ready to toss the potion away.

"You look like a Netherite." Tango told him, his red eyes looking for any inconsistency.

A mirror lay on the wall, so Grian turned to look at it. His eyes had turned completely red and golden horns towered above his close-shaven head. Dragon wings stretched out behind him, the cream color of the membrane glowing a little. When he pulled the wings into various different positions, he saw the the scales were red and gold, to match his horns.

"You just don't look the same without the messy hair." Mumbo sighed. Grian glanced at him, reminded that he was the only one who had changed.

"It needed cut."

Tango half glared at Mumbo as he picked at a loose feather on his wings. "When are you going to drink that?"

"Oh, alright." Mumbo gulped it down in one chug, and instantly started transforming, making Grian wish he had turned his eyes away.

Black scales covered the dark grey membrane of Mumbo's wings and he had red horns to top it off. His eyes weren't fully red like Tango's or Grian's, only the iris was the vivid red. A short dragons tail swept side to side with a spade tip, bits of what seemed like rubies and redstone wedged between scales.

Tango's eyes widened as he saw how Mumbo transformed. Mumbo let out a small burp and quickly covered his mouth.

"Well that hurt."

Tango nodded and seemed a little breathless. "It usually does. I never thought you guys would look like this."

"Why not?" Grian moved his arm and wing in unison, in sinc as if he had always had them.

"Usually everyone gets a general transformation. You guys have gotten special transformations, only five percent of them have tails." Tango replied, making him wish he had a tail. "You might have a little bit of Netherite blood in your veins."

"So, now that we have the disguises, how long do they last and what else do we need to know?" Mumbo look rather funny with a mustache on the Netherite skin.

"They last for a few days," Tango calculated. "Anything else would be that you are Netherite now. It isn't just a disguise, you have become it."

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"Next!" 

A large king sat in a huge throne made of black bones and magma bricks. Only a Wither King would find such a chair comfortable. This king was lazy and fat. Despite this, he was a firm ruler, and had taken the Nether Stone to safety. It shouldn't be entrusted to someone who had left his dimension.

As another Netherite came into the presence of the king, he yawned exposing sharp fangs. In reality, he was just a Netherite wearing a crown. The crown held power, the power of the Wither. To steal away health, and destroy things at the snap of a finger, even the most indestructible thing.

The power had a limit, otherwise it would be abused to no end. It would slowly eat away at the life force, making it ebb away. Simply wearing the crown reduced the lifespan in half. Only one with a true intentions could keep it at bay.

The last Wither King had used so much power when he poisoned Tango that he died not soon after Tango narrowly escaped. The king was only thirty when he died, which was very young. A Netherite lived anywhere from three hundred years to four hundred. This made relationships with humans, rocky.

The king was bored, sitting in his chair listening to the complaints of his people. He wanted something interesting, something powerful. Something that wouldn't take from his life force when it was used.

"Bring me Tango and the stone!" His Majesty barked at one of the guards who promptly flew away. The Wither King settled back in his chair and clicked his fingers against the obsidian.

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"So how does the king get chosen?" Mumbo asked as they walked along the long corridor. Grian didn't quite understand why they didn't fly, what was the point of having wings?

"The king is randomly chosen from the Wither Cup." Tango replied, setting a brisk pace for the others to match. "That will then be the king for the next hundred or so years. It all depends on how they use their powers."

"Wait," Mumbo huffed at the pace, not used to wings and a tail getting in his way. "One, how do you know a bad king won't take over, and two, how long do you guys live?"

"We live four hundred years." Tango nodded as they passed another guard in the dark quarters. "And we don't know if a bad king will take over. That is why another Netherite can challenge the king to a dual of the Nether magic. The stronger one wins."

Grian glanced at Tango and had to question a few things he said. "That doesn't seem like the best way to do things."

"There are systems in place that involve the magic. I'll tell you about it later."

"Wait," Mumbo walked a little faster so that he was right next to Tango. "How old are you?"

"Me?" Tango look over at him and studied Mumbo with his red eyes. Turning back, he continued. "I'm 122."

"No wonder you're wiser than us." Grian muttered to himself, but Tango's keen hearing picked it up. Choosing to say nothing, Tango halted.

"This is where we fly."

A small gap was in the roof, and through a force field, a huge lava lake sat over the entrance. You want us to go through there?

Tango seemed to read Mumbo's thoughts as he answered the obvious. "Netherites are fire resistant and lava resistant."

Spreading his magnificent phoenix wings, Tango crouched and leaped into the lava, leaving Mumbo and Grian to fly after him. Grian shrugged and spread his red dragon wings and flew after Tango, as if he had been flying all his life.

To say Mumbo was clumsy with wings was an understatement. He had always struggled with them, but he was used to the feathered ones that caught the slightest breeze and instantly responded to any command. Dragon wings were different, to say the least. They required constant effort and if one did not hold them precisely the right way, you wouldn't go where you wanted to go.

Grian followed Tango with his own dragon wings, while Mumbo looked on, a little bit jealous, as he stumbled slowly after the two expert fliers. Tango paused a moment to let the bumbling Mumbo catch up.

"Dragon wings take years to master, so don't feel so bad." Tango hovered where he was, massive wings cupping the hot air around him. Grian copied in a different sense, using the membrane of the wings to his advantage.

"How is Grian doing it?" Mumbo finally caught up, straining from the effort of figuring the best way to flap his wings.

"I have.... experience." Grian said in a barely distinguishable voice. If their situation wasn't so dire, Mumbo would have questioned him about it. He made a mental note to do so when they got home.

"The castle is just up ahead," Tango turned on his magnificent wings and glided towards a black and red structure poking out of the lava. Mumbo took the chance to relax his tired muscles as he spread the wings and effortlessly drifted after Tango, leaving Grian to soar after them.

When they landed at the entrance one of the guards spoke to Tango. "Your presence has been requested by His Majesty."

Tango raised his eyebrows and walked forward into the massive chamber, Mumbo and Grian hot on his heels. The king was still lounging lazily in his chair, but a hungry light appeared in his eyes when he saw Tango.

"Who are they?" He asked dismissively. He didn't really care, he didn't know half his population, but the one with the tail intrigued him. Only a Ilmiuths had the tail in their gene line. 

"Your Highness," Tango bowed, Grian and Mumbo mimicking the posture. "This is Grian Zorthreth," He gestured towards the one with red wings. "And this is Mumbo Xarzal."

"I would have thought Mumbo would have been an Ilmiuth." The king narrowed his eyes, thankfully not noticing Tango pale ever so slightly.

"His mother married a Xarzal, sir."

"I see." The king waited for his subject to ask why he was summoned here. It brought him joy to see that Tango didn't know everything, even if he was older by a few decades.

"Why do you require my presence your Highness?" Tango's expression showed no hint that he wanted to meet with the king before he had been summoned.

"I think it is time I get what I deserve."

Beside Tango, Mumbo paled, making him as white a sheet. A hidden servant brought the red Nether Stone forward, perched on an enchanted plate. The king intended for the powers of the stone to be passed from Tango to himself.

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This had not gone well. Tango had planned on pleading to the king to let him have the stone, but that looked like it was out of the picture now.

"Is there a problem?" The king drew his lips back in a loathing smirk, revealing razor-sharp pearl teeth.

"No sir." Tango's denial make Grian flinch beside him. "Trust me." He hissed out of the corner of his mouth. Mumbo's tail poked into his leg, and Tango thought he was doing it to tell him he was being foolish when he realized Mumbo was speaking morse. 

Can't you challenge him to the duel?

As Tango stepped forward to do the king's bidding, he seriously considered it. There had to be an alternative however, Tango didn't feel like he was king material.

"I need you to transfer the stone's power to me. I'm tired of my life force ebbing away just by sitting here. I want power."

"The stone doesn't work that way," Tango tried to change the king's mind.

"I want it!" The Wither King slammed his fist on the daises, making everyone jump.

Tango had no choice to obey. He looked first to Grian and then Mumbo, they both nodded their heads the tiniest bit. They were ready.

He reached for the stone and let some of his magic swirl around it. The red Nether stone rose slowly up in the air and shot off a few beams of light. The kings eyes gleamed in light, looking like someone had possessed him.

Tango focused on the stone that had been apart of him for years. He knew its powers, and its limits. He also knew the price of asking for a magic such as the king demanded.

Tension rose in the room as the stone eerily floated higher and higher. In one sudden movement, Tango pulled his arm back and the stone shot into his hand. Upon contact, it traced red glowing lines up his muscular arms. He thrust his wings to their full extent, and they lit on fire. His phoenix tail swept out as the red lines faded.

"I should have known," The king growled, and rose to his frightening height. Tango responded by flapping his flaming wings to stay above the floor, constructing a flaming bow and arrows in his hand. "A Phoenix guardian. I should have known when I saw your wings. The tail was hidden, wasn't it?"

Tango didn't respond vocally, instead notching an arrow to give his silent answer. Beside him, Grian rose up, looking as threatening as he could be, which was much easier with the shaved head and horns. Mumbo flew up and managed to stay aloft on his precarious wings. He did not look as menacing.

As Tango aimed the arrow, he thought about what Mumbo had told him. Challenge the king, then he could set his friends free. He certainly would be a better king than this one.

"Wither King the Seventy-Fifth!" He yelled out, making all the guards freeze in their tracks. "I invoke the Netherite code and challenge you to a duel of magic!"

"Foolish move." The king summoned the deadly magic, a black bubbling mess in his hands. Lava poison would instantly kill his friends, but Wither dust would not. Tango would fight with the power of the phoenix to save his friends.

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Yeah, I know. Tango's character has changed a little. I also decided that he should be older, it just made sense. He would have the experience of one human life that he could use. So will Tango take the Wither Throne? Will he be corrupted by its power? And a not as pressing question, but equally important, where did Grian learn to fly using Dragon wings?

You know, I have about a paragraph at the end of each chapter to say anything I want, anything at all. I don't even know what to say anymore. Anyways, Ideas are always welcome, after this story is done, the oneshots will continue. I have some in store for later, including one that was mentioned by HermitsFan. I will try to answer your questions, and maybe Grian will pop in from time to time.

Love you all!

-Buurn