Hunt AU [DISCONTINUED]

2 | Alone

I rush over to Mumbo's base, half hoping he's still asleep so I can annoy him. Then again it is late morning and it's unlike Mumbo to oversleep. I did wake him up at like 3am though... I've been doing that mostly every night for the past 3 years so in reality I'm assuming that doesn't entirely affect him anymore: he's gotten used to it. That's... that's probably not a good thing. Hm.

Considering these options as I fly, I end up too deeply enthralled in my head that I almost fly directly into my moustached friend who's now on my bridge all of a sudden. Screaming slightly as I stumble in the air from shock, I accidentally lose my balance and fall towards the ground. I pray in the split seconds after I've started falling that I'm over one of the rocks in the bridge and not the one of the gaps. Obviously luck isn't on my side today as I feel myself falling past the walkway.

"Grian!" I hear Mumbo scream just as I cry out,

"Mumbo!"

The world is falling to pieces around me. My pace creates a blurry void of grey. My heart is thumping out of my chest and I can hear its rapid beats in my head. These are the sorts of scenarios where I out right freeze from fear. Darkness falls over me as I slam my eyes shut to avoid looking at the menacing face of my fate. How far am I from the ground? This question lingers in my head unanswered. I want to know the answer so badly but somewhere in the back of my mind a voice is shouting the opposite.

Wind rushes past my right side, someone touches my arm for a second before the feeling of a chilly hand latches onto my arm. All of a sudden, the person has pulled me into a bear hug while flying. I still don't dare to open my eyes though. Seconds later, the relieving cold of stone creeps up my back, sunlight beaming directly into my tearful eyes. Rolling onto my side, I pull my knees up to my chest, burying my head into them. I register footsteps growing louder before they become quiet.

"Grian, are you ok?" Mumbo says, his voice void of joy.

I drag my head out from the warmth of my knees, squinting to look up at the silhouette of my friend. His face has concern scribbled all over it.

"Yeah, y-yeah I'm fine. I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine," I reply, obviously not fine.

I stutter as I say I'm fine as if I'm trying to convince myself that that is the truth. I haul myself off the floor, shaking in fright, with difficulty so I can see Mumbo. The tip of my head only reaches his shoulders so I crane my neck to look into his vibrant green eyes.

"Thank you."

Looking away for a second in embarrassment, a hand touches my shoulder so I look back. Mumbo is staring at me with a serious look.

"Grian, I, uh, I know we haven't left the server over the past 3 years or, um, left each other over that time but I've kind of sort of arranged to meet one of my old friends for the next day, ok? I won't be here tonight to help. I just need to know if you're going to be ok?" He explains to me.

I don't know how to feel about this. The nightmares are basically inevitable tonight.

"We escaped 4 years ago tomorrow. The dreams, nightmares, are the worst tonight. Reminding me of them. And you're just gonna walk outta here!?" I shout the last sentence in anger: how can he just arrange to meet an old friend when he knows full well that tonight and tomorrow are my greatest fears?

"Sorry..." I add meekly," I didn't mean to shout at you. I can understand why it's important to you. I'll... I'll be fine."

I don't understand his point.

I recall a time where everything was fine. I could be alone with my thoughts. Be creative. Be with my mums and no one else. Friends were scarce and everyone I did know weren't exactly close friends. No one I'd go back to at least. How would I anyway? They were all killed mercilessly. Bloodshed-

My thoughts are cut off suddenly by Mumbo's monotone voice.

"I guess I'll head off then. See you tomorrow night."

I want to protest against him leaving but I can't bring myself to argue with him right now. He's made his decision.

He ruffles my hair for a second before turning around and heading back to his base. I stand in silence as I watch him, a few minutes later, flying out of his half-finished vault holding a black backpack. I watch as he flies off into the distance, towards the exit portal at spawn where he has never entered before. Where I've never entered before.

"Stay safe," I whisper to the quiet of the morning.

-~-~-

I lie awake restless that night. The pitter-patter of rain outside banging against the rocks perpetually is the only thing I can hear other than my own thoughts. Negative thoughts. My mind keeps circling back to The Hunt whenever I try to distract myself.

They can't invade whitelisted servers, I attempt to convince myself.

"They can invade any server," my own voice replies.

I know it's true but I don't want to believe.

The chances are one in a billion.

"There's still a chance."

I've experienced that chance.

They're still hunting.

Silence.

The deafening silence from my mind scares me slightly. They're still hunting, aren't they? They're still trying to find me. I take the silence as a yes. The present scares me: the past scares me. The future terrifies me. I'm stuck in the present right now. I'm so focused on the present, in fact, that the sudden wave of déjà vu catches me off guard. Has this happened before? My stomach aches. Yes. Yes this has happened before but I don't want to accept it. I don't want to think about the past right now but my brain is forcing me to.

Knowing I am not going to get any sleep any time soon, I decide that I'm going to go to Mumbo's base. I think it's quieter, in terms of rain. Maybe that'll help? I don't know. Perhaps it will make it feel like Mumbo is here, comforting me. Dragging myself out of bed isn't too hard. It wasn't that warm in the first place. Warmth generally attaches me to beds. I did half expect it to be at least a bit hard to get out of bed. What does falter me is the really sudden shift to cold. I knew it was cold, but this cold? I just tell myself to persevere but every part of my body is saying the opposite.

Equipping my elytra, I quickly fly over to the exit. I dread what comes next. A torrential downpour greets me from where I'm standing by my bridge. Mumbo's vault is only barely visible through the thick layers of rain. His bedroom is located in the centre of the unfinished structure, underneath the grassy landscape but the weather makes it almost impossible to see the entrance.

Warmth is the only thing driving me onwards. I brace myself. Firework in my hand, I activate the elytra and rocket simultaneously propelling myself through the air. For a moment it doesn't feel like it's raining but then I'm landing on the ground by the doorway and I can feel the full force of nature against me. I wrench open the door. My hands can't feel the door handle through the cold. Stumbling into Mumbo's base, I slam the door shut to stop the already-forming puddle on the inside of the doorway from getting bigger.

It's pitch black other than my friend's digital clock but I can't be bothered to turn the lights on, I just need to be heated. Shivering heavily, I drag myself over to where I know one of Mumbo's radiators is and lean my back against it. A wave of warmth rushes through me. The amazing tingling sensation of the warmth overpowering the cold feels so nice. The whole of Mumbo's room is snug to be honest.

The clock over by Mumbo's bed casts a red glow over a small portion of his bed and the wall, the face of it reading "23:56". My brain doesn't want to comprehend what the numbers mean as my tiredness rises up again. I feel my brain switch off and the crimson lights dim to black. Sleep takes over my body with the radiator still warming me up from behind. Maybe I'll get some good sleep tonight? Hopefully.

A/N: I'm not shipping Mumbo and Grian, my writing style just sucks