Im Back!

Enjoy <3

Doc stood in silence below Stress's room window. It had been a few days since he had lured Bdubs and his friends to the brits apartment. Doc knew that Stress wouldn't recover immediately, but it was a small price to pay. Besides, she technically offered herself anyway. The villain sighed as he leaned against the hard brick wall, his head tilted up towards the window of the apartment above. He could hear voices from above as Bdubs sat with Stress.

"Im fine Bdubs, you can go now." She said in a sure voice. Bdubs response however was not so sure.

"No, I'm not leaving until I know that you are 100% back to being yourself." His pitch raised a few octaves as the last words slipped out. Doc could hear a silent sigh from Stress.

"Bdubs luv I'm fine. It's just a few nightmares every now and then. The pain in my head has stopped and I can fully control my arm again." She said, wiggling the arm she had broken when Doc dropped his control on her. He knew after controlling a person for longer than an hour would cause headaches and pains for the person but never nightmares.

"Wait you never told me about the nightmares!" Bdubs said, his hands slamming down onto a table.

"Well I didn't want to worry you!" Stress said in a high tone.

"Well what are they about? The dreams?" Bdubs asked, his voice lowering to a less jumpy tone. Doc, interested in her answer, leaned up closer to the window.

"Well...they differ from time to time. Sometimes it's like I'm seeing through the eyes of someone...in pain. Someone who is broken. I could feel all of their emotions while dreaming. One dream they would be cold and harsh, the other they would be loving and kind. I can never see their face though. It's weird." Stress continued, her voice lowered. "You were in one Bdubs. Or at least I think it was you. You were there and...and I couldn't tell what they were feeling, hate? Love? Fear? It was all such a jumble." Doc remained silent. "Though over the past few days the dreams have been fading. I haven't been having as many and when I do I can't feel anything from them anymore." Stress tried then to look at the positive, but it didn't seem Bdubs was.

"Well I'm glad they aren't as frequent anymore." Bdubs said, his voice was much calmer now. Bdubs sighed "I'll be next door if you need me." There were footsteps, then the door shut. Now only hearing the air vent that roared next to him, Doc decided to go next door. His hands gripped the bar of the fire escape that was next to him as he hoisted himself up to Bdubs balcony. He watched as the man opened the door into the dimly lit apartment. Through the glass, Doc could see Bdubs face. He looked calm, but his eyes were stuck with confusion and tiredness. If he went in there right now, Doc was sure the short man would explode on him no matter how tired he looked. The cyborg turned from the light of the apartment and down into the darkness of the alleyway. He would think of something later and besides, he had a game to play.

Bdubs woke up to the screech of the alarm clock. The unexpected noise shook the man awake, his ears ringing from the horrible sound.

"Dang it, I thought I turned that off!" He said aloud as he snagged the screaming device off its stand. The off switch clicked loudly, the room falling into a quick silence. Bdubs sat in the sweet silence for a moment to try to get the ringing out of his ears and once he could hear himself again, stumbled out of his room and into the rest of the apartment. Bdubs passed the kitchen and sat down on the couch. His eyes looked around the familiar view of the apartment but stopped when he saw something on the counter. He stood up and walked over to the counter where a cup of coffee sat. The cup was fresh, a faint steam rising from the drink. He picked up the suspicious cup to see a small piece of paper. He lifted it up and gazed over the writing. 'Enjoy your coffee~ -M'. Bdubs felt a shiver run down his spine as he set the note back down. He scoffed before taking a sip 'Pfft, it's probably some off brand coffee.' he thought to himself. He took a sip of the coffee, his eyes lighting up. It was amazing! Bdubs took another sip as he passed over to the glass balcony door, sliding the lock. Looks like he would have to lock his door now, to stop the crazy villain from entering his apartment and bringing him good coffee.

Mumbo pushed open the glass door to the Pesky Bird, causing its little bell to ring. His eyes ran across the small cafe until he spotted his familiar swedish friend.

"Glad you could make it Mumbo." Iskall said as Mumbo walked over, who sat down in the small booth and greeted him. The mechanic rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Well your way of getting me here was ridiculous!" He said as Iskall burst into laughter.

"You can't be that mad! I think the spoon was funny!"

"You threw a spoon at me that had a sticky note on it that only said 'A spoon for your coffee'?!'' Mumbo groaned, taking the very same spoon out from his pocket. His other hand rubbed the spot where the spoon had collided with his head.

"A spoon for a spoon! And the coffee bit hinted at you coming here, I think it was clever!" Iskall giggled. Mumbo chuckled a bit with the swede.

"Ok you got me here! Now what do you want," Mumbo said. Iskall scratched the back of his head and turned away from his friend.

"Hermit Challenges," He said with some added jazz hands. Mumbo cringed at the swedes words.

"Oh come on Iskall, I stopped working at the arcade like a year ago! Haha I don't have to partake in that silly employees game!" Mumbo said as his hands covered his face. Iskall frowned and let out a loud laugh.

"You made up Hermit Challenges Mumbo! One does not simply leave Hermit Challenges." He smiled. Mumbo's eye poked out from between his fingers as he looked back at Iskall.

"Oh my goodness Iskall, Fine haha-" Mumbo then sighed and raised his hands, beginning to do very unenthusiastic jazz hands. "Hermit Challenges...." Iskall's smile grew as he quickly dug around in his pocket. He pulled out a small leaf that he then put on the table with pride.

"I already premade a challenge so you will have to think of one on the spot." Iskall commented as Mumbo went to inspect the leaf. On the face of it, scribbled in pencil, read, "Butler".

"Butler? What do you mean Butler?" Mumbo asked, the gears in his brain turning.

"Haha- Butler! You have to be a Butler for the first person you see!" Iskall began to chuckle as he continued. "And then once you fulfill your role, that person would have to be a Butler for someone else and so on." Mumbo sighed and put the leaf in his pocket.

"Fine then, your challenge is you have to be an errand boy for me while I'm working, For... a week." Mumbo said as he scribbled it down on a napkin. He had to be honest, that was the first challenge he could think of. Also it would be nice having someone else besides Kubo(da puppi) in the mechanical shop. Iskall nodded and pulled a match from his pocket.

"Do you accept this challenge?" Iskall said as the match lit, creating a small flame. He then held Mumbos challenge napkin over it causing the slim paper to begin to burn. Mumbo looked at the lead on the table and picked it up. One does not simply back away from a hermit challenge. Mumbo held it over the flame as the leaf quickly began to crumble.

"I'm glad we could do this again," Iskall said. "It's been so dull at the arcade without you." Mumbo smiled and shook his hand to get off the few bits of burnt leaf.

"Ya, Sorry I kinda left cha." Mumbo said, his quitting letter he wrote flashing in his mind. Iskall smiled and nodded. He understood why Mumbo left. Soon the two split, the sun was setting over the city as Mumbo began to walk down the street.

"This is fine! I just have to not look at anyone, the entire way home." Mumbo mumbled as he began to head down the street. His arm held his black coat over his shoulder as the spoon continued down the dimly lit street. Suddenly he felt a small droplet of water on his nose, then another on his head. In a swift motion, Mumbo lifted his coat over his head as the rain began to pour. No one had walked by him yet, so Mumbo was quite confident he would not have to embarrass himself tonight. Tomorrow on the other hand would surely spiral down into chaos. Mumbo rounded the street corner, his gaze running along the buildings until he saw his apartment complex. He couldn't wait to be out of the rain. He began to head down the sidewalk when suddenly he felt someone grab his arm tightly. Mumbo panicked as he tried to pull back against his grabber. The person yanked Mumbo towards them, causing the spoon to stumble and crash into the brick wall of an alley he hadn't noticed before. His coat fell to the ground, it rested in front of him, completely drenched from the rain. A foot stepped down on the coat, Mumbo's eyes moved up to be met by the last thing he expected. "W-Wha."

"Don't. Scream."

Haha CLIFF HNGER! Also sorry this took me a bit- I haven't been inspired much recently but now I finally got something!!(Thank you Iskall and Hermit Challenges <3) Also Mumbo used to work at the arcade with Iskall but quit to pursue inventing and mechanical stuff.  Also can I just say how much I love world building <3