Chapter Text
Mapicc was speechless. He couldn't believe his eyes.
There was no way.
No.
How...?
"Spoke?"
Spoke, who had been crouched by the wall, carving letters into it with a stick, leaped to his feet. He spun around wildly, trying to track the source of the noise. Eventually, his blank white gaze landed on Mapicc. His eyes widened in horror.
"M̶̡̡̼̹̻͍̝͊̂̐̉͛̒̑͝-̷̺̜͉͙̘͓̿͂͘͜M̵͈͇̖͚͙̠͈̏͑̅́͝ä̴̯̼͙͓̥̥̂̾͆̓̈́̈́͜͠ṗ̵̪̜̖̯̥̭̀͂̇͠ pic-pic?" Spoke uttered his name with such fearful care, as if Mapicc would disappear if he dared be too hopeful. "W̷̭̬͓̓̅͑̓ḣ̵̤̯͎̞̝̾̑̊̉͘a̷͚͔̞͑t̶̢̞̫͈̪̻͍̂̚'̶̨̤̬͖̞̱̳͗r̵̞̀̔̋̎̚e̷͚̓̓̏͐̎́͘͠- you...why are y̵̢̱̞͖̺̫̾̃̇̏́̕͜o̵̝̤̣̓̀͗̓ụ̶̼̞̟͙̝̠̈́̆͊ ?"
"N-n̸̳̤̦̒͋̓̎̃̓͜ͅo̴̫͙̖͛ , no, no, no, no," Spoke muttered, bashing his fist against his head. "Bad Spoke! This is- this is just à̶͝ hà̶͖͝llucination. Just...just another manifestation of your insanity!" he exclaimed in manic cheerfulness. "Damn it, Spoke. I-I thought we were past that!"
"Spoke, it's me. It's Mapicc."
"M̴̧̲̰̰͉̈́̈̓́͑͗͠a̴̭̤̒͝͠p̸̧̪̦͊̄̉͆͊̽͆̚ȉ̶̥̗͔̤͍͍͚͖͆̉̄̽̿̕͝č̶̠̮͈͆̉̀̄̆͌̈c̵̡̞̋͋͌́͝.̵̙͔̠͖̘̳̆̾̋̀͜͝͠.̶͕̦̀͗̾͂̚.̷̭̦͉͕͌͆́͊́͗͠ ?"
"Yeah."
Spoke fell still, breathing heavily. Now that he was finally staying in one spot, Mapicc got the chance to actually examine him.
To say he wasn't doing the best was a major understatement. Moss and vines had taken their place on his friend, hanging from horns and arms alike. Parts of him looked paler too, almost see-through. Worst of all, he no longer wielded his signature rainbow bandana, and the colourful highlights on his clothing had faded into dull versions of their past selves.
"W̴̧̮͐̓̄̀͂͘̕̕h̶̛͚̟̲͕̀́͑̊̚̚͜͝-at happened? W̶̖̩̘̼̍̀̓ḥ̴̨̛͖̟͇͕̣̋́͑͗̋̋ȳ̷͓̋̏-w̴̧̱̳͊͐̇̀͌͊ͅh̸̗̓̽y̴̨̰̜̹͊͝- are you he-re?" his voice stumbled over itself, glitching and repeating in places. The pitiful sight of his old friend tugged at his heartstrings, and he almost reached forward to console him, before he stopped himself.
This was Spoke.
The person who lied to him.
Who betrayed him.
"I could ask the same to you," Mapicc retorted coldly. "Why are you here? Spoke, it's been three years-"
"And one month."
Mapicc paused for a second to gather himself emotionally.
So he wasn't the only one who had been keeping track.
"W-well, I don't get it, Spoke. It's been three years and a month. Why did you come back to this place?" Mapicc pressed.
"C-come back? Mapicc...I never l̴̡͑͒͘͘e̷̳̅̌̔̎̍͊̓f̴̡͉͒͛͊̕͘͜ț̷̪̜̣̲̹͂͐͗̅͜͝͝-left!" Spoke giggled, his laugh strained.
"But why? Why stay in this Mojang-forsaken place? Why not leave and move on with your life?" Mapicc asked, just a fraction gentler this time.
"Because I can't!" Spoke screamed, tears flowing from his eyes like waterfalls. He rushed up to Mapicc, yanking him closer by his collar.
"Mapicc. I have nothing. NOTHING!" he screeched, a noise of pure animalistic grief that Mapicc never thought a person could make. "I have NOTHING! I have NO ONE! I'm all alone, and it's all my fa-a̵̢̛͎̤͓̾̀̂̂́̑͜͝-̶͇͔͔͈̺͕͌͌͠ȃ̵̟͍͓̞͇ư̷̡̢͓͉͉̭͌͛̓̈́͝l̵͚͒͐t̵̫̫̝͎̦͕̿̒̃̌̕ !" His screaming melted into a heart-wrenching sob as Spoke's knees gave way. He fell to the floor, sending dust flying into the air. The Spoke Mapicc knew would've instantly gotten up, stubborn and unwilling to let even the biggest setback keep him down.
But this wasn't 'his' Spoke.
This Spoke was broken, worn down by three years and one month of isolated insanity. He'd been whittled down by every passing day, inscribing his mental spiral in the walls of the maze.
This Spoke was not 'his' Spoke.
This Spoke was not the Spoke he had spent all those years with, not the Spoke who saved the server from the iron fist of The Mafia, not the Spoke whose whimsical air would brighten any room.
But at the same time, it was 'his' Spoke.
It was the Spoke who cared for him. The Spoke who almost blew up a city in his name. The Spoke who stuck by him through thick and thin.
He owed it to that Spoke.
Mapicc shuffled awkwardly up to his friend, sitting cross-legged a few blocks away from him. He said nothing for a while, just giving Spoke space to breathe. Once his friend's glitchy wailing had faded into breathless sobs, he spoke.
"You know, I never did manage to get over you."
Spoke sniffled.
"It's been a whole three years and one month, and you've spent every day of it living in my head."
"I tried," Mapicc confessed, his gaze downcast. "I tried to forget you. I tried for every day of those three years and one month to move on, to forget you, to hate you for what you did to me."
"Then do it," Spoke whined, curling up tighter. "Do it, and leave me alone á̷̧̜̫̠l̵̡̢̮̲̗̭͚̯̬̟̱͊̏͂͂͒̉̈̎͘ͅr̶̖̪͋̃́̾̇e̴͔͚̭̬͚̺̮̳̦̼̪͂̀a̵̛̮͕̙̟̺̞͚͇̫̰͌̍̋͆̾̚̚dy-dy."
"Hey, I'm not done, idiot," Mapicc stopped him.
"I've tried to move on, to make new friends. But...none of them ever felt as special as you."
"You made me happy. You took my sadness away, and even on the darkest of nights, when I thought all hope was lost, you were always there. I miss how we used to break into people's bases, and all those shenanigans we got up to." Mapicc felt strangely at ease pouring his heart out to his old best friend, despite how long they'd been apart. It felt...familiar, like coming home after a long day.
"I guess the reason I left was because...well, you lied. I'll keep it simple. I was hurt that you'd manipulated me like that, y'know?"
"I-"
"Still not finished, Spoke."
He sniffed. "My bad."
"But...and I just realise this now...you're still my best friend. Even through all the lies and deceit, I can still see my old Spoke down there. I know he wants to come home, and I want him to come home too."
At last, Spoke looked up. Tears still streamed from his eyes, but this time, if he looked a little closer,
he could see his old Spoke coming back home.
"I...I'm sorry-r̷̦̩̫̾y̸̥̐̓̽. I was just...I thought J̷̨͚͎̃̂͆͗a̶̹̍͆̈́̃m̵̢̭͍̈̀͋a̸̝͚͆͑t̴̛̘̺̝͍̊̅͠ơ̷̖͂͗ was gonna take you from me, uh," he chuckled awkwardly, a sliver of a glitch still slipping into his voice.
Mapicc felt a small smile slip onto his face. But this time it didn't feel forced. It came easily, just like the old times. He patted the spot on the ground next to him, beckoning for Spoke to sit by him. To his pleasant surprise, his old friend scooted over, bits of moss falling off his horns as he moved.
"I'm sorry," Spoke repeated huskily, blinking away his tears.
Mapicc placed his hand on his friend's cheek, gently wiping his tears with his thumb. "Hey, it's alright. I...I forgive you, man."
Without warning, Spoke threw himself at Mapicc, wrapping his arms around his friend once again. Mapicc sat dazed for a moment before returning his friend's hug, albeit more gently.
"Man...M̶͖̒a̶̙̕pic-c," Spoke breathed, his voice shaky. "Man, I-I've missed you so much, Mapicc."
Mapicc felt his own tears of joy spilling out of his eyes as he choked out, "Me too, buddy. Me too."
And there they stayed, holding each other tight, far past the setting of the sun. When they finally pulled apart, the moon hung high in the sky, casting an eerie silver glow onto the maze.
"Hey," Mapicc started, remembering something out of the blue. "I have something for you, if you want it."
Spoke's eyes lit up in curiosity. "What is it?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Mapicc rummaged through the pocket of his hoodie, casting aside a golden apple and a compass, until he found it. He pulled it out of his pocket, placing it with a respectful kind of care into Spoke's palm.
His bandana.
"You...kept it?" Spoke whispered incredulously.
"Yeah," Mapicc shrugged. "I kept wanting to throw it away, but something in me just...told me not to, I guess. Now put it on, you look naked without it."
His friend snickered as he brought the bandana to his head, moving his hair to tie it into a loose knot. Once he'd finished, he brought his hands away, beaming with pride at the splash of colour. His hand drifted closer to Mapicc's, squeezing it in a silent 'thank you'. Mapicc's smile only widened.
"So um...now what?" Spoke prompted awkwardly.
"You wanna come with?"
"You want me to do that?"
"I mean, yeah. Dude, I haven't seen you for three years."
"And one month."
"We have so much catching up to do," Mapicc squealed excitedly. "Bro, I gotta tell you about that one time-"
"Save it for the journey, Mapicc. We got a long road ahead of us." Spoke got to his feet, brushing the dust off his clothes. He stuck his hand out to Mapicc, who took it gladly. Mapicc rose from the ground, his tail swishing in newfound delight.
"Alright, let's go," he tugged at his friend's sleeve.
"Just...just wait a second. I'll be right with ya."
Spoke trotted up to the wall he had been carving at earlier, picking up the sharp stick one last time.
Day 1132. I am loved.