Cub stood on the balcony of the town hall, his eyes glassy and unfocused as he stared off into the distance, past the shopping district and out into the sea. Xisuma stood further back, guilt resting in the admin's eyes, though he tried his best to ignore regret he felt. He had done what he had been tasked. He had banned Grian and Mumbo, altered code of players, even adjusting their own memories to ensure loyalty. The vex should feel relieved that he had Cub and Scar to guide him, to lead him with these decisions that would protect the server.

Then, why did he feel sad?

He shouldn't be sad. The wonderful mayor had helped to protect all the hermits from the influence of the resistance! Grian had only ever caused trouble on the server, he was reckless and ignorant to oppose HEP, and Mumbo was no better! The entire resistance was lucky that they hadn't been banned, manipulating their recollection was the only way to protect them from the influence that the 'mother spore' had on them. They had been infected with lies and evil, Xisuma was helping them!

Still, that little seed of doubt in the back of his mind just wouldn't go away. Was this...wrong? He couldn't tell. The admin no longer knew the difference between right and wrong. He had forgotten long ago, before he was a vex. Scar had always known, he had been the one to tell Xisuma what to do and what to think. He needed direction. He needed instructions. He wasn't supposed to be like this, he was only supposed to take orders—!

"Xisuma!" Cub suddenly yelled with a harsh tone, snapping the Brit back to reality with a shock.

"Y-yes?" The admin stuttered, his wings beating nervously.

"The meeting." He growled, "I asked you about the meeting. What is on your mind that is so important?"

"N-nothing," Xisuma said underneath his breath, his eyes shamefully cast to the side. "I'm sorry, Cub, I just—"

"You got distracted." The enforcer said, taking a step closer to close the distance between them. His eyes narrowed as his posture straightened, like he was looking over the admin. X could feel himself shrink in fear at that very moment.

"You know who else got distracted? Hm? Mumbo. He let that mother spore take over and distract him from his goal of serving HEP. Scar got distracted by Bdubs and used all the power he had to get his little prince. Now he's stuck in bed, too weak to even stand. I can expect it from those two, but you?" Cub scoffed. "I thought you someone like you would be more adamant on protecting the server."

"I-I am, I swear! I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean for this to happen. My mind, it just keeps making me feel pity and regret. B-b-but I know what we did helped protect all the hermits! I didn't mean to let it get out of hand.."

The vex scoffed at him. "Control yourself." He said, rolling his eyes while walking back to the balcony. 'Scar's magic must be weakening on the hermits he used to control.' Cub thought to himself silently, glancing over his shoulder at the admin, who nervously shuffled his feet while avoiding any sort of eye contact. Another problem that would need to be fixed, wonderful.

Xisuma's mind was breaking away from the brainwashing. It was likely that the other hermits who had formerly been controlled by Scar were suffering the same fate. That would mean that all of HEP would soon snap out of their mindless loyalty. Cub couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

Hermits had begun to flood into the shopping district, gathering at the staircase of the town hall. Cub overlooked them all, the enforcer's grip on the railing starting to tighten. Everything that he and Scar had wanted, from power and control over the hermits, to all the wealth and diamonds on the server, it was theirs. But now, his partner was a human again. Everything that he had worked for, what he had been after since season five, would be lost.

"Go and take care of Scar, Xisuma." The vex commanded blankly, his eyes fixated on the hermits below him.

"B-but sir, shouldn't I be here for the meeting?"

"I'll fill you in. Bdubs could use the help, our 'lovely mayor' has been refusing to eat or drink anything." He said, somewhat sarcastic while referring to the mayor. The admin slowly gave a sad nod, his body disappearing into a puff of light blue smoke as he teleported away.

Cub's posture straightened, noticing as the last few hermits began to join the crowd of vexes. All of the resistance members had been turned, along with Etho and Iskall. Despite the fact they truly didn't need to be hybrids, the enforcer liked it better this way. He had more control over them. And now, every hermit on the server had vex magic flowing through them. Now, every hermit was perfect. They were complete.

With Scar unfit to rule over the army he had created, Cub knew that he was the only person that could step up and fill the role. The enforcer felt a strange sense of pride, but he didn't question it. He just knew that it was meant to be. He had been the first. He had been the one to accept the vexes, to harness their power. It was only right.

His large wings unfolded, opening to their full length. "Your formally glorious mayor is no longer worth your praise!" Cub's booming voice echoed through the shopping district, holding the full attention of every single hermit. "He's weak. Powerless! That fool gave up every bit of his strength for a boyfriend, and now he can barely manage to stand on his feet. Scar is not fit to lead you anymore, but I can."

With a wave of his hands, light blue magic flew over the crowd. It resembled powdered snow being carried on the wind, before slowing falling over the hermits like a calm winter storm. The sparkling aura melted as it made contact with the hermits' skin, causing their eyes to radiate with the vex magic.

They began to cheer, just as Cub had wanted. "So it's settled, then. Perfect." He laughed, his pointed teeth twisted into a manic smile.

"Things are going to change! Now, the vexes will lead us, just as they should have been since the very beginning!"

—

Bdubs knew that Scar was getting weaker by the day.

It was something that he hated to admit, though it was true. The mayor was guilty, ashamed, full of self-hatred, and it was only getting worse. He would spend the days in bed, barely strong enough to walk, laying alone in the darkness. Something inside of him had finally snapped, and he had given up.

The vex was sitting at the edge of the bed, holding a plate that held a slice of cake. "Please eat," he urged sadly. "I don't know how much longer I can stand to see you like this."

"I don't want cake..." Scar mumbled, hiding underneath the blankets. He spoke with a slur, too tired and weak to talk properly. "It was the only thing I ate as a vex.. I'm sick of it.."

That was true, cake is one of the few things that can satisfy a vex's hunger. It refueled their magic and strength, so it was the only thing that hermits would eat nowadays. Cake was basically for every meal, but it never negatively impacted their health. Vexes could basically eat endless amounts of cake with no repercussions, without ever getting sick of it!

Still, the human wanted nothing to do with the frosted treat. Bdubs sighed in defeat, setting down the cake on the nightstand before crawling into bed. Scar slowly pulled the blankets away, revealing himself from underneath covers where he had been hiding. He pulled the mayor close to cuddle, before softly pressing their lips together. They kissed in a dazed sort of way, like they were both half-asleep.

His lips moved away ever-so-slightly, remaining close to Scar to continue at a moment's notice. "You need to eat someth—" the vex muttered, quickly being silenced as their lips were brought back together.

The green-eyed hermit just wanted to stay with the builder and ignore the outside world forever, he wanted to stay in bed and never leave. He didn't want to be reminded of his friends and what they had gone through, from Mumbo and Grian, to HEP and the resistance members. Scar knew that he had ruined the lives for every single hermit, and he knew that it was all his fault, but he also knew that he couldn't fix it. Not with Cub standing in his way.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something..?" Someone suddenly asked from the corner of the room, causing Bdubs to pull away and glance towards the voice, while the mayor simply buried his face in the builder's chest to hide himself.

"Oh, Xisuma! How long have you—"

"Not long." The admin hummed, his gaze fixated on Scar. "Cub has assigned me to assist you with our mayor's recovery."

"He could just use some food, preferably not cake."

Xisuma nodded, though he didn't move to leave. He shuffled his feet a bit, clearly struggling to speak his mind. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over towards the door, though paused as his hand gripped the handle. "Can I..ask you something, sir?" He said, only glancing up from the floor when he referred to Scar as 'sir'. The mayor was silent, though he reluctantly gave a nod.

"Why...why did I ban Mumbo and Grian? They could have been fixed. A-and I know, you said that Grian would only continue to do mischief and cause trouble, but Mumbo was confused and misguided..It just...doesn't add up for me."

Bdubs could feel as Scar's grip tightened on him, the terraformer sucking in a tense breath while his eyes slightly watered. "I didn't mean to," he muttered in barely a whisper, shaking his head while he spoke. "I wish I knew why, but I don't. I-I guess, they were in my way, and I wanted them gone before they could ruin everything that I was trying to accomplish. I was...insane, power-hungry. I hate myself every moment for what I did to them."

By the end, his voice was breaking, and the mayor cuddled back up against the vex's chest to sob quietly. Xisuma thought for a moment, pulling his hand away from the knob. "You're saying that becoming a human again was...good?" He asked, tilting his head to the side out of confusion.

"Y-yes." Scar muttered into the builder's chest, though he slowly pulled away to meet the admin's eyes. "Being a vex made me do thing that I would never want to do otherwise. I-I was pure evil, I let two of my closest friends get banned, trapping them in a lifeless and endless void. For that, I'll never forgive myself..."

The Brit was silent for a few long seconds, his eyes flooding with empathy for the broken man. Xisuma was confused, he didn't know which side was truly good or evil. He loved the mayor and would do anything for him, but the mayor was no longer a vex, but did that change anything? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that his friend was in pain, and that was reason enough for Xisuma to help.

"What if I brought them back?"