Scar put his hand on the stone brick wall to support himself as he walked down the darkened hallway, the mayor's breathing labored as he trudged through the dungeon underneath the town hall. The redstone torches on the wall lightly crackled, providing little light to the prisoners.

"Mayor Scar-" Mumbo started to speak, moving to the vex to try and help him walk, but Scar shook his head.

"Get....get in the cell..." he huffed, pointing to one of the empty prison cells. Mumbo nodded, obeying Scar's orders without hesitation. He entered the open cell, closing the door made of iron bars, the HEP member locking himself in the small room.

Scar let out a sigh as he shakily raised his hand, snapping his fingers together to release the HEP agents from his control. The vex was still exhausted, but at least he didn't have to use any more of his strength to control the hermits.

Five of the prison cells were in use, one holding Mumbo, one holding False and Doc, one holding Cub and X, and the final cell had Tango and Keralis. While most of the HEP agents were confused, as they couldn't remember how they ended up trapped in the prison cell, both Xisuma and Cub had frowns across their faces as they scowled at the mayor.

"You can't keep us down here forever," X said with a cold tone, his arms folded as he tapped his foot against the stone flooring, his eyes narrowed at Scar. "We'll get out of here, and when we do-"

"You'll do what, Xisuma? You may be the admin of this server, but I have these-" Scar held up the admin's gloves, which had a small keyboard-like attachment to them, allowing for X to type commands and debug the server. The Brit just shot a cold glare at Scar.

"You'll never control me the way that you control the others. I may not be able to type commands, but my magic is stronger than yours will ever be. I will never obey you." Xisuma spat with an angered voice, Scar had never heard the admin speak with such rage before.

Cub had been lurking in the darkened corner of the cell, but he stepped forward when Xisuma finished speaking, placing a hand on the admin's shoulder.

"X is right, Scar. We're going to get out of here eventually. You may have all of HEP, but Xisuma and I are resistant against your magic." Cub said as he stepped closer to the bars, his eyes locking with Scar's.

"Scar, I know what this is like for you, we went through this in season six, but we went through it together. I'm a vex too, and no matter how hard you try, you can't control me. I know the thoughts that are running through your head want you to control everything and everyone that's in your way, but that's not what you want! Where's the old Scar, the Scar that I know and love?!" Cub's rage-filled broke down into weak sobs, his hands gripping the bars that separated the two, the mayor biting his lip as he took a step backwards.

"T-that's enough out of both of you! I can control you both, and soon I will! I just need a little boost in power.." Scar grinned as he looked to Doc with a half grin, Cub's eyes widening.

"S-scar, I know what you're thinking, but it's too dangerous!"

"Silence!" He growled with a flick of his wrist, sending a swirl of energy towards Doc, the creeper stepping backwards as his eyes widened in shock, the magic fading right through his chest. The creeper's robotic eye changed it's hue, shifting from a crimson red to an icy blue.

"Doc-"

"Move." He growled carelessly while shoving past False, Scar opening the cell to allow his loyal subject to join his side.

"Scar! Stop! Please!" Cub begged helplessly, his tears like a never ending waterfall that fell down his cheeks. "We don't know if this could kill you!"

"Enough, Cub. Doc has extracted our magic since area 77 was formed in season six. It has to be at his base somewhere, and then we can simply reverse Doc's machine, and I'll be able to have all the magic that he has stolen from me! Then I'll have enough power to control every hermit with ease, including Xisuma." Scar laughed as he spoke, the admin of the server shaking his head.

"It won't work-" X began to argue, but Cub placed his hand on the admin's shoulder, shaking his head.

"X...If Scar gets all of his vex magic back, it would be hopeless to fight his control. I don't think even you could fight it.."

"B-but you'll still be okay! H-he can't control another vex hybrid!" Xisuma said panicked, but Scar laughed as Cub opened his mouth to answer.

"That's why I'm bringing him with me. Cub will be my little test subject, then he'll be back to his true form!" Scar said with a grin shot towards the former vex, Cub frozen with fear upon hearing Scar's plan.

Doc opened the cell door, grabbing Cub by the collar of his shirt, Xisuma frozen with panic and horror in his eyes. The creeper slammed the door shut, forcefully pulling Cub along without loosening his grip.

"Scar...p-p-please.." Cub begged for his life, the mayor chuckling as he walked down the hall of the dungeon.

"You're the enforcer, Cub. You're supposed to be on my side, but clearly, you need a reminder."

-

"Let me out!" Cub screamed helplessly as he banged the iron door of the machine. Doc was at the control panel, typing in a new set of commands to reverse the effects. What used to prevent Cub from turning into a vex was going to revert him back to the way he used to be.

The machine had two modules, with tubes and wires and other strange mechanical components that connected them. Cub was locked in one, while the other was still empty. Scar turned to his brainwashed subject with a frown.

"Where is all the vex magic that you've been taking from us?" He asked, Doc continuing to work as he spoke.

"I've hidden it safely, sir. Magic is like energy, so I couldn't destroy it, so instead I made a vault to keep it protected." Doc explained as he stepped away from the control panel, walking down the hall of his house. He came back a few moments later with two shulker boxes in his arms, setting the purple boxes in front of the empty tank.

"This is all of Cub's magic." Doc said as he opened the shulker box, revealing hundreds of metal tube-like containers. "Every time I would remove your magic, I would get about 20 of these little containers, but when I first removed all your vex magic, I got about 100."

"Hook it all up to the machine." Scar commanded, Doc nodding his head as he took the shulker boxes into the empty module, beginning to finalize the vex-infusing machine.

After a few moments of rewiring and adding the magic-filled containers, Doc stepped out of the machine, the iron door shutting behind him. He walked to the front of the control panel, typing in a few commands before nodding at the mayor.

"Everything is ready to go, sir." Doc said as he looked at Scar, waiting for the command to start up the machine. Without looking away from Cub, Scar nodded his head with an unchanging expression. Doc turned back to the controls, as he typed in the command to start the machine.

Screams of pain and agony echoed through Doc's basement, but neither of the two hermits even reacted, unfazed by the bloodcurdling screams. After a few long minutes of screaming and pleading for help, the whirring of the machine began to slow, and the panicked cries for help stopped.

Doc hit a button, the metal door sliding open with a light 'click'. Cub was on his knees, his head lowered as his fast breathing began to steady itself.

A pair of large wings tore through his lab coat, Cub's vex wings larger than normal. His fingers turned to claws, his ear pointed, and his teeth now sharpened, a sinister grin spreading to the ends of his face as he rose to his feet.

Cub laughed as he opened his hand, magic escaping his palm and dancing through the air at his command. He locked eyes with the mayor.

"Good to have you back." Scar said to his fellow vex.

"It's good to be back..I forgot how powerful I feel in this form." He said while staring down at his hands, a light blue glow radiating in his palms, which Cub then clenched into fists. Scar smiled, looking to Doc.

"Hook up the machine to the rest of my magic, and once you've finished returning it-" The mayor paused, looking away from Doc to examine the machinery.

"Destroy the machine so that no one can take away my magic, ever again."