Prompt by JustNotBothered!

"I wasn't the one who threw a jacket potato in the machine now, was I?" Iskall growled.

"Well I wasn't the one who miscounted how many shulker boxes we needed! I hunted for days Iskall, and you didn't even use them!" Grian cried.

"Yeah, well maybe if you learned some basic redstone you could figure how many boxes we needed yourself!"

"Maybe you could learn basic maths!"

"Shut up!"

"No! You're not the boss of me!"

"Well you're not the boss of me!" Iskall stalked across the room, forcing Grian to back up.

"Oh yeah, then why am I the CEO?" Grian grinned with a glint in his eye.

"Shut up!" Iskall shoved Grian a little too hard, and the smaller hermit tumbled out the open window with wide eyes. His scream was cut off as a death message popped up, announcing his death. "Oops."

Mumbo stood, his chair scraping loudly. "Iskall, look what you've done! You and Grian have been fighting for weeks now, and it's led to physical violence! Why can't you just get along so we can actually run our business?" Mumbo yelled, tears forming in his eyes.

Iskall backed away slowly, startled by Mumbo's rage. "I- I didn't think-"

"Exactly! You never think! I might as well be running this store by myself! Get out!"

Iskall happily accepted, flying out the window as quickly as he could.

Mumbo sighed, swallowing his tears. Alone in the meeting room. Again. He stood silently for a few minutes before breaking out of his melancholy.

Mumbo glided down into the ordering room; maybe talking to some other hermits could distract him. He waved to Impulse, who was waiting for his order.

"Hey man! You look exhausted, are you good?"

Mumbo shrugged. "It's a little more stressful running a business than I thought it would be..."

Impulse nodded with an understanding smile. "It's the other two boys, huh? I know how that goes. Sometimes you just need to trap them in a room and force them to get along!" Impulse laughed. "Well, good luck man, get some rest!"

Impulse walked out, and Mumbo began to think. At this point he was willing to try anything. His legs carried him back home without his realizing, and he quickly set to work.

Gathering supplies from his base, Mumbo was left to his thoughts, and he couldn't help but think about Iskall and Grian. Their banter had started playful, but it was getting out of hand without them realizing. He hoped it was just stress from other projects catching up to them. He wasn't sure what would happen if two-thirds of the Architechs couldn't stand each other any more.

It was all going to be okay though. Mumbo could fix it, he could fix anything! With this new plan, he knew he could make everyone get along again.

He had to.

—

Mumbo sighed, sitting up in bed. He'd been working on his secret project for over a week, and he hated every second of it. It wasn't like the project was difficult, but every time he worked on it, he thought about Grian and Iskall.

He hadn't seen the two since he kicked Grian out of his base a week ago. He hoped Sahara was running alright without his help.

He dragged himself out of bed, groaning as his joints complained. He pulled on his shirt slowly, then sat on the edge of his bed for a while. He couldn't seem to muster the will to stand up.

His phone buzzed on his bed, and he slowly picked it up.

"Hello?" He winced at his rough morning voice.

"Hello Mumbo, I hope I didn't wake you!" Xisuma's cheery voice came through the receiver. He was always a morning person.

"Nope, I needed to get up anyway. What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you may be able to provide me with some gunpowder! I know you have a farm, and I'm a little nervous to check Sahara," Xisuma laughed, but it was strained.

"What happened to Sahara?" Mumbo perked up.

"Well... Leaving Grian in charge by himself isn't terribly wise. Don't worry, nothing is broken! But, everything is out of stock, and I'm afraid Iskall may attack me from the rafters like a phantom," X laughed.

"Don't worry, it's all under control. I've got this." Mumbo hung up before Xisuma could reply.

His body sagged, but he stood anyway. He needed to finish this, for the good of the server.

Four hours later, Mumbo stumbled back, looking over his work. It looked complete, although his vision faded in and out, so it was hard to tell. Too exhausted to care anymore, he texted Iskall and Grian.

Mumbo: comee to mh base

Grian: omw!

Iskall: u good bro?

By the time Grian showed up, Mumbo was passed out on the ground. "Mumbo! What happened?" Grian lifted Mumbo's head gently into his lap, tugging his mustache.

"Mumbo, where are y- Mumbo?" Iskall dived to the ground, stumbling at the impact. "Oh. Of course it's your fault," He seethed.

"Hey, I found him like this! I got his text just like you." Grian turned back to Mumbo, who's eyebrows were furrowed in his sleep.

"Here, let me take him." Iskall reached out to take Mumbo, but Grian pulled him away.

"I've got him," he muttered. "You can go home now."

"No, we need to take him to Stress, which is right next to my base. I'm going to take him, hand him over," Iskall growled.

"No! He's fine, leave us alone!"

"No! He needs a medic!"

"Well if you've got everything covered maybe I'll just leave!"

"Well maybe I'll leave too!"

Grian stood, Mumbo's head thudding to the floor. He ran off Mumbo's beach, exploding into the sky in an instant. Iskall sprinted the opposite direction, flying into the middle of nowhere.

When Mumbo awoke three hours later, he had a splitting headache and 54 messages on his phone, with more rolling in.

Cub: and this is why you shop ConCorp, folks

Tango: tea? 👀

Zedaph: has anyoen seen any Architechs since Xisuma got attakcedn

Zedaph: *attacked?

Stress: X got attacked?? And where's Mumbo??

Xisuma: Iskall did startle me at Sahara, but it's okay. Mumbo hasn't been seen since Sahara has started falling apart.

Stress: but where's Mumbo??

Stress: oh sry

Wels: Someone needs to check his base.

Ren: I'll go, but I need a buddy 😳😭

Doc: I'll help, I could protect you any day 👊

Ren: thanks babe :DD

Impulse: ew, take it to dms 😂

Stress: good luck boys! Report back soon!

Mumbo groaned as he laid back down. It didn't help his headache much, but it did help his sore muscles. From what he gathered, Ren and Doc would arrive soon, and they could get him some medicine.

"What's this thing?" Ren's distinct voice reached Mumbo, forcing him to sit up. He waved weakly, but Ren didn't see him. "This redstone is insane!"

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it," Doc mused. "Should we fire it up?"

"What if it's a trap? I don't wanna get caught up in these Architech shenanigans!"

"Fine, I'll try it."

Mumbo tried desperately to get their attention, but the machine whirred to life, drowning out his weak calls. The machine sputtered, roared, then died suddenly with a puff of smoke.

"Well. Not what I was expecting, honestly." Doc shrugged. "Doesn't look like that's going to run any time soon."

Mumbo flopped back to the floor in tears. His magnum opus. His solution to everything. Broken instantly.

"Mumbo! Doc, he's over here!" Ren knelt gently beside Mumbo, lifting his head into his lap. "Are you okay?"

"Mmmmph..." Mumbo whined painfully.

"He needs medicine, a bed, and some sleep. Cmon."

Ren lifted Mumbo into his arms, and they sailed in a boat to the main island. As the boat rocked, Mumbo drifted in and out of consciousness. The last thing he remembered was his determination.

He could fix this. He would fix this. And he would do it without involving or harming anyone more than he already had.

He had to.

Part two coming soon ;3

Love you, my little stars!
-RaeTheStar