The scientists' legend about the Vex Mansion made Cub uneasy.
He'd been inside the Mansion firsthand and survived. He'd seen the Vexes inside the structure and traveled through the portal. Yet the story still bothered him...specifically, the part about the person who went inside and didn't return.
Another round of questions spun around in his mind. What happened to them? Were they killed? Or were they a survivor too, and had met the Vexes? If so, where were they now?
Cub kept his eyes peeled for someone who could possibly look like a Vex Mansion survivor. Nobody so far...though there was quite a few newcomers.
The first was a blue slime hybrid named Jevin. Cub has seen him before--the lab had tried to catch him for an experiment--but he obviously wasn't going to say that out loud in front of him. He had enough enemies.
The second was a man named Mumbo. He seemed pretty Redstone-savvy. He hung around Grian a lot, and the builder and he seemed to have a strong relationship immediately.
Neither looked like someone who had seen the Vex. Each had their areas of interest. Mumbo liked Redstone. Jevin stayed with Wels and changed color whenever he ate a flower, which was a concept Cub still didn't understand.
Cub had his own problems, obviously. First was looking out for the Vex-touched person, if they even existed. He probably had an unhealthy obsession with finding them.
The second was Doc. Their arguments had become a daily occurrence. Even Mumbo and Jevin knew to stay far away, and they had just arrived.
It had been a few days since Mumbo showed up. No new members had appeared, but it was only a matter of time. That was just how it worked--they were all used to it by now.
Tango and Zedaph were doing their thing with the water. X was messing around with the dirt. Mumbo was trying to teach Grian a simple Redstone clock and utterly failing. Stress was hanging out with Cleo. Just a normal day--but that's what they said when Mumbo arrived and glitched out the entire world.
Cub decided to check the clearing again. He'd been doing this for the past few days, wondering if someone would show up. Nothing so far, but maybe something would change today.
The path to the clearing was pretty unblocked, but there was a small opening to a cave that you had to watch out for. Cub didn't see it, and he fell through once. Doc had had a field day when he found out.
Cub pushed through a cluster of leaves and found himself in the clearing. He sighed when he saw nothing, but he wasn't surprised.
He was about to turn away when he heard grass rustling. He hadn't taken a step yet. He didn't want to get his hopes up--maybe it was an animal. Nevertheless, he turned back around and saw a new person lying on the grass.
Cub didn't see the portal that had dropped the man off. He took a closer look at the newcomer. He wore a brown coat and some sort of cowboy hat on.
Then the man lifted his face up, and Cub saw he had a large scar across his face. The scientist winced. It looked like it hurt. A lot. It also didn't look recent, which meant that whatever happened had occurred a long time ago.
The scar had a weird tint to it: It had a light blue color and looked like it was almost glowing. Cub could have sworn he saw that exact color before.
Then it hit him: Vex magic. It was the color of the portal Cub went through. Not only that, but the swords the Vexes held glowed that same color.
Could Cub have finally found him? Was this cowboy-looking person really the guy who was brave enough to go into the Vex Mansion?
Then Cub realized the man was staring at him, waiting for him to say something.
"Oh. Sorry." Cub offered a hand and pulled the man up. "I'm Cub."
The man raised an eyebrow. "Scar...you're not freaked out? I just fell from out of nowhere. I don't think I've seen you before." He tilted his head curiously. "I feel like I'd remember you."
Cub raised an eyebrow. His name seemed like a slight joke, because of what was on his face. "I could say the same to you..."
"Let's just say I've seen my fair share of weird things." Scar turned away slightly.
"Let me guess." Cub decided to take a stab. "Vexes?"
Scar whipped around, obviously caught off guard. "How do you--"
"So you are him," Cub murmured, putting the pieces together.
"Sorry, what? How do you know about the Vexes?" Scar's hand instinctively went to his face, where the scar was. "I thought I was the only one..."
"Wait, wait. Before you go any further, answer this. Are you the person who traveled into the Vex Mansion? Like, the first one?"
Scar looked very confused. "First?"
"Well, I mean..." Cub gestured mutely at himself.
It dawned on Scar. "Wait. You went inside too?"
Cub slowly nodded.
"You saw the Vexes?"
Cub nodded again.
"But that's..." Scar trailed off. "You know what, I'm not even going to try and think about it. For now, uh, I don't suppose you have a place nearby? There's been some things happening in that mansion, and I don't really remember--I don't really want to spend the night in this forest."
"Yeah, I know a place you can stay. Promise me we'll talk soon about this? I want to know more."
"Sure. I want to hear your side, too." Scar got up and dusted himself off.
"This way." Cub led Scar through the trees.
(WC: 958)
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Hermitcraft: Origins
Fanfiction"Each world has its own story. Even if you tried to get a story from me, I wouldn't be able to tell you half of it. There is so much life in each build and block, and each event has told their own tale. But it has to start somewhere." Fate has the o...
