Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Gardening became Wemmbu's new hobby — something he wouldn't have expected to happen in this lifetime. It was strangely soothing, taking care of a fragile plant until it grew into something beautiful. Watching the small seed become a crop that would later be used in cooking made Wemmbu giddy. He finally understood the beauty of cooking Egg has always insisted on teaching him.

Never in a billion years would he think that he'd end up like this — knees deep in the soil of Lomedy's farm, actively discussing crop prices with the guy. The sun above them is blinding, mosquitoes are out for blood, and the occasional thorns are merciless, yet, surprisingly, Wemmbu finds it all to be enjoyable. Especially the scorching sun after the months he's spent in the cruel cold of the End.

"Obviously, carrots are the best for profit. Flame and other PVPers make golden carrots out of them, after all," Lomedy rambles. "But we all know that potatoes are the superior crop!"

Wemmbu briefly glances in Lomedy's direction, taking in his appearance curiously. How in the world Flame befriended the sweetest-looking guy ever is beyond Wemmbu, but he's in no position to judge, considering his friendship with Egg. Lomedy has fluffy curls framing his face and a soft gleam in his eyes that makes everything feel lighter. His skin has a healthy bronze tan from all the farming he does under the sun, Wemmbu can't help but envy it — his skin burns, leaving behind an ugly redness that hurts like shit. His voice is soothing, even as he talks and talks about crops. It reaches inside Wemmbu and smooths over his anxiety easily, as though it has never existed in the first place.

"I guess," Wemmbu responds after a while, his hands digging into the soil to find any leftover potatoes. "But apples are so much better, in my opinion."

Lomedy lets out a groan and throws his head back at the remark. "I know, right?" he says. "But it takes so long for one apple tree to grow! Ridiculous!"

It's easy to understand what Flame sees in Lomedy, when falling into a light banter with him is this easy, as though they have known each other forever. The days spent in LAW's prison come to Wemmbu's mind, although they haven't really interacted during that time. However, Wemmbu remembers how quiet Lomedy was, sitting in the corner all alone, picking at his face. It was strange to see him so down, yet Wemmbu had no extra time to ponder about his well-being, he had other priorities. He did try to break Lomedy out during their escape though, but the boy refused. Wemmbu wonders why to this day.

"Lomedy," he starts, the words leaving him surprisingly easily. Must be Lomedy's easy aura. "I've never asked you, but why did you refuse to leave the prison with us? Back during the LAW's days."

The question makes Lomedy go still as his eyes glaze over with a feeling Wemmbu can't name. He almost regrets asking, but instead of taking the question back, he decides to give Lomedy space in case he wants to answer. Meanwhile, Wemmbu digs out the last potatoes and smooths over the dirt. He is checking over the seeds in his inventory, when Lomedy finally starts speaking again.

"You could say me and Flame got into an argument," he says. The confession is soft, almost inaudible over the buzzing of mosquitoes. "I had to serve his sentence for him."

"What?" Wemmbu asks, looking at Lomedy with disbelief. "And Flame didn't come to rescue you?"

Even the thought, the idea, of leaving Egg behind in a prison makes Wemmbu sick. There's no way in hell he'd let Egg be stuck somewhere without ripping the ground apart in search of him. How Flame could just leave Lomedy and not rescue him leaves Wemmbu shocked.

The expression on his face must have shown something, because Lomedy quickly corrects him. "Of course he did! Come on, this is Flame we're talking about!" That calms Wemmbu down, although he doesn't tell Lomedy that Flame is the reason he's been stuck in the prison as well. "I refused both times. When you wanted to get me out and when Flame did."

"But why?" Wemmbu asks, genuinely confused. "Surely you didn't want to be stuck there. The food wasn't anything special either."

"You're telling me," Lomedy laughs softly and pokes Wemmbu in the ribs. "I wanted to finish serving my sentence. It felt right and I didn't want to break the law."

"But," Wemmbu interrupts him. "You know Lettuce would have never let you out as long as Flame was free, right?"

The glance Lomedy sends him tells enough. Of course he knew. Something in Wemmbu's chest stirs awake — either grief or recognition. He looks at Lomedy — at his tan skin, his dark curls, and his bright eyes — but all he can see is Egg's familiar features. Sitting in front of him is no longer Lomedy, but instead his long-dead best friend, sharing the same expression with Lomedy. His only working eye is full of sadness, his fake one staring right ahead. Wemmbu can see him so clearly, as though Egg is actually sitting right beside him, his presence warm and familiar.

"I know," Lomedy says, his silhouette morphing with Egg's. "But I just wanted Flame to understand how I felt, you know? He has always dragged me into these impossible situations, and then pretended like it was fine."

Egg is staring at him, his lips move, mimicking Lomedy's words, yet they don't sound judging, more relieved than anything. Wemmbu can't look away, mesmerized by his best friend's phantom.

"Maybe it is normal for someone like you guys. You and Flame are powerful, you can hold your own," Lomedy keeps going, unaware of Egg's ghost copying him. "Us though? Normal people? We can't just recover from a battle like nothing had happened. We bleed harder and can't heal properly on our own."

The blurry image floats before Wemmbu's eyes, yet it's tangible and real, as if he can reach out and touch it. It's Egg — soft, vulnerable, and weak — facing Wemmbu's enemies and paying for his sins, while all he wanted in life was fish in peace. Every time Wemmbu came home battered and covered in blood, Egg would let out a heavy sigh that used to make Wemmbu laugh. Now though, he finds little humor in those situations, remembering the trembling of Egg's hands and voice.

Is this how he felt, the question invades Wemmbu's mind, until all he can see is Egg's face full of suffering at the never-ending torturous adventure that brought him little joy. Yet he could never leave. Was it out of the stupid loyalty that drove him straight into the grave or whether it was the fear of being killed by a much stronger opponent is something Wemmbu will wonder for the rest of his life.

"But you two made up," Wemmbu says, his voice pathetically small.

Lomedy frowns at his tone and turns his body to fully face Wemmbu. Now that they are eye to eye, the bubble Wemmbu has been stuck in pops, the image of his best friend fading like smoke. It's just the two of them — two people who reflect each other's fears, who faced the opposite struggles, yet found connections to relate to each other nonetheless. They stare at each other for a while. The tall grass rustles around them softly and the drying soil clings to their skin uncomfortably, but they don't move.

"We did," Lomedy nods, his face turning solemn. "It was good to have my best friend back at first. We had fun, we had our laughs, but caring about each other isn't enough in this world."

"What do you mean?" Wemmbu asks, but deep down he knows the answer.

"I care about Flame, and I know he cares about me," Lomedy starts, but the more he speaks the more his face falls. "But when you spend a lot of time around one person, you unknowingly adopt their habits, their behavior. It's dumb, I know, but I started getting more… violent, cruel, aggressive even. And it's not to say that Flame is all of those things! Ender, no! But… our attachment to each other wasn't healthy. It wasn't good."

Wemmbu thinks back to how he couldn't function properly without Egg, how the traits that made him Wemmbu would weaken without Egg around. He thinks about all of their sleepovers, when Wemmbu would clutch at Egg's wing, knowing damn well that it was sensitive and his grip must have hurt, but couldn't let go out of fear that Egg would disappear if he did.

But Egg was the same. Sometimes he couldn't leave the house without Wemmbu constantly attached to his side, afraid of potential attacks or hostage situations. Or the times when Egg would dig his wings into Wemmbu's skin, to check if he was real or not. There were even times when Egg would take care of Wemmbu as if he was a child to soothe his own anxiety of not being able to protect his best friend other than healing his wounds.

Their attachment was unhealthy. That was something both of them were aware of, but neither cared enough to fix. Although sometimes Egg would joke about their 'separation anxiety' with a weird, pointed expression on his face, as though he was expecting a specific answer from Wemmbu that he couldn't provide. Well, they do say there's truth in every joke.

"I'm sorry, by the way," Lomedy says, and his apology rips Wemmbu out of his deep thinking.

"What?" Wemmbu asks, a bit breathless. "What are you apologizing for?"

Lomedy chews on his bottom lip, his gaze dropping to his lap. "Flame joined the Cindercrest because of me. He didn't want to be a part of that whole ordeal. I— I guess, you could say that I feel guilty? I just— I just wonder if Flame didn't join the Cindercrest because of me and wasn't forced to kidnap Egg, would he still be, you know, here."

The admission leaves Lomedy breathless, as he looks back up at Wemmbu. His face is full of guilt, hia eyes shining with unshed tears. Although Wemmbu has to admit that there was a period of time when he blamed Flame — everyone, really — for Egg's death, now he just lets out a laugh at Lomedy's confession. Lomedy blinks at him, confused, and cocks his head to the side. It's obvious that he expected any other reaction, not this, which makes Wemmbu laugh even harder.

"Sorry, sorry," Wemmbu chokes out, wiping at his face and immediately cringing at the dirt now covering half his cheek. "It's just your face is really funny."

"Hey!" Lomedy weakly hits him in the shoulder, yet his face evens out and a smile spreads across it. "I'm being vulnerable here!"

"I know, stop it!" Wemmbu throws his head back while Lomedy keeps punching his shoulder.

It takes a minute or two before he finally calms down. Lomedy stops hitting him as well, and, although his punches were very weak, Wemmbu's shoulder still hurts.

"So, what caused this reaction?" Lomedy asks.

Wemmbu shrugs, looking away from him. "I guess, I just find it funny."

"What? I'm so confused, bro."

"I mean," Wemmbu says, trying to find the right words. "I know that, you know, Flame played a part in Egg's… end. But, if Flame didn't join the Cindercrest, if he never kidnapped Egg, it would have been someone else. And that someone wouldn't have been as kind to Egg as Flame has been."

"So, you're saying that there could have never been another… ending?" Lomedy asks hesitantly.

"Yeah," Wemmbu answers. He turns away to gaze upon the field. Egg's ghost is standing there between the tall, golden wheat, smiling as though he was still… there. Still alive. "There was no way for me to save him."

It's the truth, isn't it? There isn't a universe where Wemmbu and Egg can exist together without one causing the other pain. They can't exist in the same space together, cursed to forever be separated from each other, despite their souls being tied together. Wemmbu is not okay with this. He's not okay with the world constantly ripping Egg away from him. He's not okay with existing without Egg by his side, but he's forced to.

Perhaps, in another universe, somewhere where Wemmbu is as weak as Egg, or Egg is as strong as him, they can coexist without ripping each other apart.

"Hey, what's with the sad faces?" comes the voice from above them.

Wemmbu and Lomedy look at each other first before raising their heads simultaneously to see Flame, standing tall with a huge sack thrown over his shoulder. He looks disgruntled. Probably because Lomedy forced him to visit the Merchant City to buy them more seeds. When Flame disagreed, Lomedy sent him the saddest puppy-eyed look, and he folded fast. Even Wemmbu felt like an asshole, despite not doing anything wrong.

"So, you two throw me out to do what? Gossip?" Flame asks and throws the sack full of seed on the ground between them. "No way, bro! Just, no freaking way!

"Hey, we were bonding!" Lomedy says and jumps to his feet. "And we were having a moment before you decided that your presence was needed!"

"Excuse you? I'm the one who brought Wemmbu here!"

"Well, I'm the one he stayed here for, so get lost!"

"The hell?!"

Watching them banter with each other, Wemmbu is forced to remember how he and Egg used to act the same. No words left scars, each joke was laughed at, and every concern was reciprocated. It was easy to talk to Egg. And it's easy to watch others who remind him of them. Wemmbu has thought he'd feel jealousy, he'd feel anger and injustice at not having his best friend to playfully fight anymore. Yet all he feels is a strange hollowness in his chest and warmth at the memories. He feels somewhat happy. Maybe it's the memories warming him, or maybe it's the familiar moment that doesn't belong to him anymore.

"Hey, bro!" Flame calls Wemmbu out and points at his face with his index finger. "Lomedy has a lot to say, so now you have to spar with me!"

Wemmbu pretends to think about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah, bro. I think I'm good where I am."

"Ha!" Lomedy shouts and hits Flame in the shoulder. "He chose me!"

"No way! Bro, how could you!" Flame screams out, dramatic as ever.

Looking at Flame's dramatically pathetic face and Lomedy's satisfied one, Wemmbu gets an idea. "What if we just compete who harvests the biggest potato? Surely Lomedy won't mind."

"Aw," Lomedy draws, bringing his hands to his chest. "Of course I won't mind! You'd help me out a lot if you did that! As long as Flame doesn't burn down my crops, of course," he whispers the last part while poking Flame's side with his elbow.

"What?! When have I ever— You know what, bro? Consider me in!"

Wemmbu can't contain the laugh that leaves him when Flame dives into the soil, and follows him with an overdramatic battle scream.

***

Nothing will ever beat the feeling of running away from the guards as they chase you down the streets and past people while laughing maniacally. What started with occasionally poking Flame until he got annoyed and snapped at him, grew into a fun activity Wemmbu couldn't give up no matter where he went. It's fun to cause minuscule trouble and watch it grow out of proportion to the point everyone involved started chasing him. Whether it is the rush of adrenaline pumping in his ears or the wind slapping his heated face that brings so much pleasure is irrelevant, truly. The relevant part is him having fun, as simple as that!

Even now that Wemmbu has set his course somewhat straight and is trying to be better, he couldn't give up one of his favorite hobbies. All the promises he made to himself on the way to the Pirate civilization were thrown out the window the second Yungy looked at him with eyes full of ideas and mischief. Despite the civilization belonging to their friend, it was still a matter of time before they caused some trouble in it. The fact that they lasted half an hour was good enough.

Hopefully, Jaden won't get as mad.

Currently, Wemmbu is in a predicament. He and Yungy are hiding behind huge boxes stacked on top of each other in the dark alleyway. They can hear distant screams of guards looking for them and random directions that don't lead to them. It's too funny, Wemmbu has forgotten how fun it is to just let himself loose without the constant fear hanging over his head. He can barely contain his laughter and has to press his hands to his mouth as to not alert the guards. However, the second his eyes move to Yungy, who bites down on his fist to keep quiet, they both break down.

Their laughter echoes across the walls of the alleyway and reaches the guards, whose screams remind Wemmbu and Yungy that they should be discreet. Yet they cannot stop. Yungy jumps to his feet as he clutches Wemmbu's wrist and drags him deeper into the alleyway. With no point in keeping quiet and the guards' footsteps bouncing off the walls, they start laughing freely.

"Oh Ender!" Yungy screams out. "We are so cooked! So cooked!"

Wemmbu's laugh sounds like it's being ripped out of his soul. He chokes on his spit and stops to catch his breath, but Yungy doesn't let him, tugging him along.

"No time to die, Wemmbu! We need to run!"

Running is a challenge when Wemmbu can barely control his body. Somehow Yungy flies them both on top of a roof with an elytra, but Wemmbu is too caught up in his own joy to notice it. His legs move because they are forced to, yet he couldn't care less.

"Yo, this is so fun!" he laughs, throwing his head back. His hair is being blown back by the wind, he can almost feel his braid coming loose. "On Ender! This is the best day of my life!"

"And it's going to be your last if you don't move!"

The screams approach them rapidly. Unfortunately, Wemmbu is forced to lock in. He moves his legs faster until he catches up with Yungy and rips his hand out of Yungy's hold. They jump off the roof and land in a busier side of the civilization, packed with innocent players living their day-to-day life. It would be harder to be caught here, so Wemmbu forces himself in the crowd, confident that Yungy is going to follow him.

It's a decent plan, but it completely slipped off Wemmbu's mind how recognizable both of them are. In a bustling crowd his bright purple hair and Yungy's red spikes are too obvious. Especially, when people start parting ways for them, aware of their reputation.

Suddenly, a guard steps in front of them, blocking further escape. When Wemmbu turns the other direction, another guard appears. Spinning in a circle slowly, Wemmbu realizes that the entire crown has dissolved around them, forming a circle, and multiple guards stand around them, preventing any escape. Wemmbu and Yungy are standing back-to-back, leaving them with no blind spots in case any attacks follow.

"Ah, Wemmbu?" Yungy calls him. "Any plans?"

"Ah," Wemmbu drawls. "Negotiation?"

"Bro," Yungy whisper-shouts at him. "We have stolen a stack of cod from a stall. For no reason! And attacked a guard! And…!"

"Okay, I get it!"

With no easy way out, Wemmbu is forced to think. He's looking around the crowd, trying to find a familiar face who's going to help them out, but finds no one. Being an enemy of the server does that to you, he guesses.

However, when Wemmbu isn't able to think of a solution and is close to giving up his stolen stack of cod, a familiar voice cuts through the noise of the town square. Everyone goes still and looks in the direction of the voice. The guards stand straighter immediately, wicked grins stretching across all of their faces, as though they are glad to show off the criminals they've just caught. Wemmbu has to stop himself from grinning, already knowing what is about to go down.

"What is going on here?"

The crowd parts, revealing Jaden — the leader of the Pirate civilization — standing tall in all his glory. The silence that washes over the town square is borderline comedic. By the way Yungy tries to hide his laughter by coughing loudly, he finds the entire situation amusing as well.

"Captain," one of the guards standing right in front of Wemmbu starts speaking. "We were just about to capture these two criminals!"

Although Wemmbu can't disagree with being called a criminal, being called a criminal over stealing some cod is diabolical. Especially when the civilization has been prospering rapidly these past months and is willingly giving away fish to whoever wants it. By the looks of it, Jaden thinks the same, because he crosses his arms across his chest and raises his eyebrow that's not hidden by an eyepatch.

"Oh, really?" he says, his voice sickly sweet.

The tone catches the guard off-guard and he scrambles to explain further. "Yes, Captain! They were caught stealing cod from the innocent vendor!"

Once again, Wemmbu stops himself from rolling his eyes.

"Aha," Jaden nods. His eye briefly meets Wemmbu's and he gives him the most deadpan look ever, before his lips stretch into an evil smile — one that's not visible to others, but Wemmbu knows him well enough to recognize when it happens. Oh no. "So you were trying to imprison poor civilians for stealing food."

"What?!" the guard screams out, his face paling.

"What?!" both Wemmbu and Yungy scream as well, turning to look at him.

Out of all the things Jaden could have said, this was the most unexpected one. Wemmbu should have considered the possibility of Jaden fucking with them, but to this extent?

"You heard me," Jaden continues, making the most fake, disappointed face ever and shaking his head. Wemmbu's jaw almost hits the floor. "What kind of guard sees two… teenagers in need, and instead of helping them, they decide to chase them down? Shame on you, guys. Shame on you."

"C-Captain!" the guard stutters. The other guards try to merge with the crowd, slowly leaving the crime scene and leaving their partner alone to deal with the consequences. "These are not regular teenagers! These are dangerous war criminals!"

Well, now this guy is talking out of his ass, Wemmbu thinks and rolls his eyes so hard he almost gets a headache. It's public knowledge that Jaden is a war criminal as well, almost everyone in this civilization is! You can't join a hardcore, anarchy server and expect to come out an innocent man. Wemmbu experienced Jaden's cruelty on his own skin, and he himself is the reason for Jaden's intense claustrophobia and multiple scars.

Jaden's eye sharpens at the claim, yet he stays calm. His composure during situations like this has always fascinated Wemmbu — he would already be knocking teeth out — but Jaden works differently. Instead of absolutely crashing out, he equips his trident and starts slowly walking towards the guard.

"This civilization," he says, each word icy cold, "has always been built as a refuge to everyone." Jaden stops right in front of the guard and pokes the sharp blade of his trident in his chest. "We don't tolerate injustice here. Understood?"

Wemmbu can neither see Jaden's eye from this position nor his face, but he knows the guy — he's smiling a venomous smile that could easily kill a dragon. The guard pales even harder, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. He nods so hard, Wemmbu is worried for his neck, turns around and runs into the crowd, disappearing entirely.

"So," Jaden turns around and looks over his people, his casual tone returning. He claps a couple of times before saying cheerily. "Now that the issue is resolved, everyone, go back to your work!"

With everything resolved, they head to the docks, while Jaden screams their ears off. Yungy looks too blissed out to care and Wemmbu decides to follow suit, which earns both of them a hit at the back of their heads. If it were a few months ago, Wemmbu would have probably hit Jaden back harder but now he just laughs loudly and pushes him in the shoulder.

When they finally reach the docks, the sun has already set. CodMaster is sitting at the farthest edge, a huge empty bucket is by his side. Wemmbu runs up to him and dumps all the stolen cod in the bucket with a slippery sound. CodMaster flinches and almost drops his fishing rod in the ocean. He twists his body to look at whoever interrupted him, but irritation on his face quickly melts into something softer.

"Wemmbu! My buddy!" he jumps to his feet and gives Wemmbu a huge hug. The musty smell of fish invades Wemmbu's nostrils and he's pretty sure he will need an hour long bath afterwards, yet it's impossible to refuse a hug from a friend he hasn't seen in so long.

"Yo, CodMaster!" Wemmbu laughs as he pats him on the back. "I've got you cod!"

CodMaster steps away from him and looks back at his now full bucket suspiciously. "And by which illegal means did you get these from?"

"What?!" Wemmbu exclaims, placing a hand on his chest. "How dare you accuse me of that!"

"He stole a stack of cod from some random stall," Yungy answers instead of him. The traitor.

"No, you both stole a stack of cod from some random stall," Jaden hits the back of their heads again, sounding too annoyed. "It's only your first day here. What else are you going to do to cause trouble?"

Instead of answering, Wemmbu plops down on the spot previously occupied by CodMaster and lies down on the wet wood. Judging by the approaching footsteps, the others followed suit. He can almost feel Jaden's steady presence soothing the dull ache in his chest that followed him around all day. Despite the fun, it still lingered, pulsating from time to time to remind him that it's still present, yet easily overshadowed by the sheer joy he's experienced.

Wemmbu locks his hands and lays his head on top of them. The sky above has a beautiful orange hue, as bright as it can get during this time of the day. Clouds float peacefully, they look almost like cotton candy against the setting sun. Several seagulls fly past with a squawking loud enough to drown out the noise of the fishing docks. Wemmbu finds himself staring and staring, trying his best to absorb the peaceful image, to burn it into his eyelids.

It's easy to ignore the tall walls surrounding the city when Wemmbu focuses on the beauty it captures inside. The walls don't crowd him in, instead they give a strange feeling of freedom that allows anyone to do anything they please in the Pirate Civilization. It doesn't matter who you want to be here — a stall owner, a fisherman, a guard, or even just a random face in the crowd — everyone has a right to just be.

Maybe this is what Wemmbu has needed this entire time. He didn't need the suffocating air of the End or the bear-hug of his father; Flame's spars that heated him up but could never ignite the fire within him; or even Egg's old books that he'd reread time and time again, despite not understanding a single sentence. Perhaps what Wemmbu truly needed this entire time was… freedom. Just freedom.

Such a sweet word. Sweeter than a golden apple, yet it leaves a bitter aftertaste on Wemmbu's tongue nonetheless. Because it implies that the freedom he's always craved for couldn't coexist with Egg being in his life. Every time they've had some sort of freedom in their lives, when they thought they've finally got away, something just had to happen. It's as though the universe itself didn't want them to exist together peacefully, always throwing some shade on their sunshine.

Yet now that Wemmbu has only memories of Egg that constantly bring him down, he has never been lighter. He's drowning under water, fish nip at his rotting skin, but it's the first time in years that he can finally breathe.

And Wemmbu hates it. He hates how easy it is to not have someone to worry about, how he accidentally buys drinks for two and how much cheaper it is to only buy one. He hates it when there's work for only one person and he doesn't need to make negotiations for someone else to join him.

The air is nice, Wemmbu enjoys breathing. But he still misses the bitter smoke filling his lungs that got him hooked for the rest of his life.

"I really wish Egg was here," he says suddenly. The words float in the air between all of them and Wemmbu can practically see how they settle like a heavy burden on his friends' shoulders. That wasn't his intention. He didn't say that to get pity or talk about how sad and shit it's been without Egg. So he keeps talking. "Do you guys think he'd join us in stealing cod?"

There's a loud laugh somewhere to his right. "Yeah, right," Yungy almost chokes on his spit. "Egg? He wouldn't join us, bro. He'd be, like, fishing with CodMaster, right?"

Of course he would, Wemmbu thinks, smiling softly at the image of him running away from the guards only to run into Egg, who would be fishing peacefully. What would his reaction be? Wemmbu can almost see Egg rolling his eye and finding some way to help him.

"Kind of reminds me of the days in Cave civ," Jaden speaks up. "When we were running away from the Warden Wemmbu summoned while Egg and CodMaster were fishing."

"Oh god," CodMaster drawls. Wemmbu smiles and imagines a frustrated expression on his face. "That was the scariest moment of my life! I thought I was gonna die!"

"Well, you didn't, so stop whining, brother," Yungy matches his tone and mocks him, which earns him a slap from Jaden. "Hey!"

"Be nice."

Wemmbu laughs at the interaction, closing his eyes. The time he's spent in the Cave civilization was more than rough. It was brutal. Despite living in the End his entire life and barely seeing sunshine throughout his entire childhood, Wemmbu couldn't stand the life underground, where four walls and a hand above suppressed him. Yet, strangely, he's had more than enough fond memories of the caves. Those memories barely belong to that place, really, more to his friends, and he's happy to leave it that way.

Being stripped of his power and reputation, nothing more than just a small spider beneath someone's feet was frustrating. Surprisingly, the only times he could ever have fun were the times when he was in the deepest trenches, but at least he was with his friends who made everything better. No matter how cringe it sounds and how Wemmbu's insides turn at the admission, it brings him enough inner peace to exist for a day or so more.

"I lowkey miss Cave civ," Yungy says suddenly.

Wemmbu can't help but hum at him. "I don't," he answers. The truth is bitter, but he has to swallow it down sooner or later. "I was glad to get out of there the second I could."

"We know," CodMaster snickers. "Left all of us without even a goodbye."

"He was valid in doing so," Jaden corrects CodMaster gently. "We don't blame you, Wemmbu. It was the right decision to take some time for yourself. You know that, right?"

The memory of leaving the caves is blurry, obscured by the moment Egg fell into the void and the death message flashing before his eyes. He, however, remembers the sensations — how his entire body went cold, his throat spasmed around the scream he couldn't let out, and his brain felt like jelly in his skull — yet he barely remembers how he got out of the civilization itself. As if Wemmbu blinked and suddenly there was no Egg, no caves, no one. Just him, the empty treehouse and the dust particles floating around the ghosts of their past life.

It's still unknown to Wemmbu what exactly happened to him during that moment, and he really doesn't want to know.

"It was really nice at the beginning, you know," Yungy says, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

Wemmbu opens his eyes lazily and turns to look at him. He finally sees their seating arrangements with Jaden sitting to his right and Yungy next to Jaden, CodMaster to Wemmbu's left. Yungy bends his knees and places his chin on them, looking off in the distance.

"How so?" Wemmbu asks curiously. "Did you actually enjoy working for that overgrown psycho tarantula?"

Yungy sends him a weak glare almost instinctively, but fixes it the second the action settles in. "Yeah, he really did go insane closer to the end, didn't he?" he mutters. "But before the, you know, the civil war, he was nice and stuff. A great ruler. I enjoyed working for him."

Something in the way Yungy talks about Arachnid is familiar, Wemmbu can't help the dread settling deep in his chest at the realization.

"The order was nice. The way you had to work your way to the top, but you could also have some fun," Yungy keeps going, his tone getting weaker with each word. "And I was loyal to Arachnid. I really thought he was loyal to me too."

The last part is almost whispered. Wemmbu wishes it wasn't said at all. He looks at Yungy, basking in the orange hue of the sunset, looking so completely different from him, yet he sees himself nonetheless. Especially the look of longing that's stronger than the resentment after a betrayal. Wemmbu has seen this look on his face a lot after Zam, he doesn't want Yungy to wear it alone just like he was forced to.

"You know me right after the PrinceZam Empire fell?" he says, looking back at the sky. "Zam really played me, and I was still a loyal fool. I could never stop being one when it came to Zam of all people, for whatever reason."

No one speaks, waiting for Wemmbu to continue. It must be jarring to hear him talk about that part of his story, Wemmbu doesn't blame them. He himself is surprised at the words he's saying.

"Zam's paranoia really set both of us up. I was loyal to her, I thought she was loyal as well, but…" he coughs. "I mean, you guys know the rest…"

"I don't," CodMaster raises his hand and Wemmbu lightly hits him with his knee. "Hey! I wasn't on the server around that time!"

"Oh my Ender," Jaden, who previously silently listened to the conversation, groans out. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

Wemmbu laughs at them and kicks his legs. It's so easy with their group of idiots, none of them are smarter than the other. But the moment is interrupted for Wemmbu by Yungy's question. "How did you get better? Does it ever get better then?" There's desperation in his voice, veiled by curiosity, but Wemmbu recognizes it nonetheless.

There's no answer Wemmbu can give Yungy that would satisfy him. If there's one, he hasn't found it himself, but plans on some time in his future adventure. But he doesn't want to leave his friend hanging at this moment, so he just smiles and says, "It will get better, eventually."

Meanwhile, the conversation in the background continues, and Wemmbu has half a mind to listen to it.

"It's not my fault Wemmbu decided to get nostalgic!" CodMaster defends himself. "Actually, I was busy fishing before you came in and interrupted me!"

With that, CodMaster turns away from the group, pulls out his fishing rod, and flicks the line into the water. Less than a minute later, a fish bites at the hook and CodMaster pulls out a huge salmon. However, he's disappointed with his catch, deciding to throw it back into the sea.

"I'm sorry, did you just release it?" Yungy asks, almost exasperated.

"Yeah? Why would I want to catch anything other than cod?" CodMaster shrugs at him and extends the fishing rod to Wemmbu. "Wanna try?"

"Me?" Wemmbu lets out a short huff. "You mistake me for Egg. I'm not a fisherman."

"Yeah, but it won't hurt to try, right?"

"Come on," Jaden says as he nudges Wemmbu with his knee. "Give it a try."

Despite the multiple reasons why he shouldn't fish — most of them are the emotional ones — Wemmbu sighs and accepts the fishing rod. Honestly, he has never understood Egg's passion for fishing. How someone can enjoy sitting still and waiting for a fish to bite the hook is beyond him. Wemmbu can barely sit in one place for longer than five minutes on a good day, his attention span is that of a toddler. But an annoying worm inside his head beckons him to give it a try.

He did enjoy farming, gardening and cooking, did he not? Maybe fishing will join his growing list of hobbies as well.

So, ignoring the itch under his skin pestering him to move, Wemmbu throws the rod into the water. It doesn't twitch, doesn't move for a while. The fish keeps ignoring him, preferring CodMaster's rod instead. It's frustrating, watching someone succeed in something Wemmbu only tried for the first time three minutes ago.

When he's ready to give up and pull the rod out of the water, something bites on it. That something is heavy, probably bigger than a normal fish. Wemmbu is forced to lean back a little to pull it out, yet it doesn't succumb to him even then. So he jumps to his feet and pulls harder, stepping away from the edge in hopes of pulling the fish with all his body strength.

"Come on Wemmbu!" Yungy cheers him on. When Wemmbu almost slips forward at the hard tug of the fish, Yungy runs over and grabs him from behind to steady him. "You can do this!"

Together, with the power of friendship, they struggle to pull one fish out of the sea. Yungy lets out a battle scream, while Jaden apologizes to anyone who passes them by for the inconvenience.

Eventually, they manage to fish it out. However the second the fish is out of the water and is in the air, casting a shadow upon both Wemmbu and Yungy, they fall backwards. Wemmbu lands on Yungy's chest, making him shriek out.

"What the— Wemmbu, you got the book!" CodMaster says excitedly.

Wemmbu raises his head and sees an enchanted book lying on the docks. He immediately jumps to his feet and grabs it, reading its enchantment. He lets out a gasp.

"What is it?!" Yungy screams and almost jumps on Wemmbu's back. "Tell me!"

"Wemmbu?" Jaden asks carefully, though his curiosity is obvious. "What did you get?"

"There's no way…" Wemmbu mutters and then his face breaks into a grin. "A Mending book!"

"What?! Those are basically extinct!"

"Woah! Good job!"

"How did you do it first try?!"

Laughter bubbles in Wemmbu's chest. It replaces the sadness of their past conversation, and all Wemmbu can do is cheer happily, as his friends chatter excitedly about his catch. Honestly, Wemmbu couldn't care less about a Mending book. Of course, it's nice to have an extra one, but his dad is an End guardian — Wemmbu is not in need of anything. But the happiness of fishing out such a treasure first try is stronger than his indifference.

Maybe that's what brought Egg so much joy in fishing. He must have liked catching something for dinner, or a rare book for Wemmbu. It must have given him a sense of purpose on a server full of PVPers.

And maybe, maybe, Wemmbu can somewhat understand him.

***

After everything Wemmbu has endured throughout his life, he promised himself to never step a foot inside any castle. Those tall ceilings and huge windows brought him nothing but discomfort — the kind he couldn't explain without his blood boiling. The guards and the staff reminded Wemmbu too much about people he should have forgotten, but couldn't despite the bitterness on his tongue. Their positions reminded Wemmbu of the fact that he has never received his — forever a small bug that entertained a ruler, but could never give her more than that.

Nevertheless, ignoring the rules that were placed by Wemmbu for Wemmbu, he finds himself in a castle on a random evening. Not just any castle, Wemmbu is in the castle of the Northern Council, laying in the middle of Parrot's meeting table and staring at the ugly chandelier as if it has personally offended him. Parrot is sitting at his chair, complaining about Wemmbu, all the problems piling up in the kingdom, everyone who's trying to oppose him, and Wemmbu again. Wemmbu finds himself filtering half of whatever Parrot is yapping about, only tuning in when the topic is about him.

Instead, Wemmbu finds great interest in examining the huge room he's in. It is supposed to be a throne room — every king should have one, Parrot is no different, right? — but it resembles a meeting room, library more. Rows and rows of bookcases tall enough to reach the ceiling, all packed with different books, are a bit unorthodox, considering Wemmbu has never seen even one book in any 'throne room' he's been in.

There's no throne either, or at least a chair that would scream that it belongs to the king, not just some general. Plus the absence of guards is more than concerning, considering how Parrot always finds himself as a victim of an assassination attempts. The only guard present is Theo, who seems to be sleeping on the chair next to Parrot.

Wemmbu curiously cocks his head to the side, Parrot now being in his line of sight. His side of the table is filled with documents, letters and books, he seems to consume them faster than Wemmbu can even recognise the stamps. The crown on his head is dull, as though it hasn't been polished in some time, and Parrot's overall appearance screams that he is in need of some polishing as well.

All the kings or rulers Wemmbu has encountered in his life have always put their looks above everything else. They all had lots of followers who would gladly take care of the less significant parts of ruling, while the kings themselves took care of their appearances. Wemmbu remembers how Zam would spend hours upon hours taking care of her shiny blond hair and would force Wemmbu to do the same with his. Or how Arachnid polished his canines until they shone against the artificial light of his kingdom. Meanwhile, Parrot looks like a commoner he is rather than royalty. Ender, Wemmbu looked more like a king than Parrot!

"Wemmbu," Parrot calls, exhausted and done with Wemmbu's behavior. "How many times do I have to ask you to get down?"

"Bro, I'm just chilling!" Wemmbu drawls.

He then rolls on his stomach and crawls to Parrot, while mimicking swimming motions. Upon reaching the edge of the table, Parrot smacks him on top of his head, knocking Wemmbu's tiara down to his nose. But he quickly reaches out to fix it, so Wemmbu graciously decides not to bite his hand off.

"What are you even doing here?" Parrot asks, his voice quiet as to not wake Theo up, but loud enough for Wemmbu to hear. "You just barged inside, took a nap in the middle of my table, and now you are annoying me!"

Wemmbu fakes a gasp and pushes himself slightly off the table to place a hand on his chest. "Did you just call me a nuisance?" he shakes his head, wiping a nonexistent tear off his eye.

"Yes," Parrot says with a deadpan that could rival Egg's.

"Hey!"

Truth to be told, Wemmbu himself has no idea what he's doing here. His route has been spontaneous — whatever place came to mind, he'd visit the next day. If he saw the LAW's destroyed base in his nightmare, then he'd visit it and sit in his old cell for hours on end. If some days got too hard, he'd return to the End and sleep on the couch of dad's study until it got somewhat more manageable. Visiting Parrot wasn't in his plans, at least not when he was this unstable.

Maybe in the future, if the guilt of betraying and almost killing Parrot during the civil war faded eventually, Wemmbu would have considered stopping by and giving an awkward apology.

But while passing through the Capitol City, eating some cotton candy he's stolen from a kid, Wemmbu has heard something along the lines of Parrot not leaving his castle as much as he used anymore. No visits to the new players, children hospitals or schools, and no public announcements. Naturally, Wemmbu got curious — and maybe, just a small, little, miniscule maybe, worried — about Parrot's sudden disappearance.

Which is how Wemmbu got himself in this situation. The fact that he apparently took a nap in the middle of the table and Parrot didn't wake him up is quite funny, but answering his questions isn't.

"Can't I just visit a friend?" Wemmbu says eventually, although it sounds like bullshit even to his own ears.

"Bro," Parrot looks him up and down. "Since when do you 'just visit' me?"

"Since always?"

"Yap, yap, yap," Parrot raises his hands and waves them dismissively. "More like, since never!"

"Bro, leave me alone!"

Wemmbu lies back on the table, stacking some books to create a makeshift pillow. It's hard and uncomfortable and digs into his chin, yet Wemmbu is content nonetheless. Parrot side-eyes him and decides to leave him alone for now, returning back to his duties.

Sleepiness is floating around Wemmbu. Everything in this room almost lulls him to sleep — the scrape of Parrot's pen against the paper, smell of old books and ink, dim lighting that doesn't seem to be lighting anything up at all. It almost reminds Wemmbu of Egg's old room in the End, which was filled to the brim with thick books and notes about the lore of the server. If Wemmbu tries hard enough, he can almost hear Egg's soothing voice telling him a random story or a fact, neither of which interested Wemmbu but were needed for him to fall asleep.

But Wemmbu doesn't want to sleep now. He looks up at Parrot's crown — the gold dull and dirty, fingerprints all over the metal are rubbing Wemmbu in the most unpleasant way — before reaching out and pulling it off of his head.

Parrot lets it happen, too tired to fight him. Unsurprisingly, now that Parrot is without his crown, he looks exactly like the boy Wemmbu has met all those years ago. Just a teenager, surviving the injustice of this server the best he could. Without the crown sitting heavily on his head, his shoulders relax and he lets out a relieved exhale. Maybe he was waiting this entire time for someone to lift the crown off his head, maybe Wemmbu should have done it earlier.

He doesn't dwell on it much. Wemmbu pulls a handkerchief out of his inventory and slowly starts polishing Parrot's crown. It's a bit different from cleaning a tiara, but Wemmbu manages.

"Remember the server before, you know, stuff happened?" he asks quietly, his hands wiping off a particularly nasty stain.

"Before what exactly?" Parrot responds, his eyes never leaving his papers. "Stuff goes down on this server every minute. It's impossible to catch up."

"I know, I know!" he groans out, frustrated that Parrot didn't understand him the first time. "I mean, before the Mafia. And stuff."

With that, Parrot's interest is piqued. He looks up at Wemmbu, curiosity settling behind his eyes as he pushes the documents away and crosses his arms across his chest. "The Mafia? Do I remember the Spawn before the Mafia?"

He lets out a laugh, and Wemmbu looks down in shame, his cheeks reddening. He regrets even asking the question, he should have kept it to himself. He almost laughs it off and jumps out of the balcony to escape the humiliation, when Parrot's laughter softens and he speaks again.

"Of course I remember," he says softly. Wemmbu looks back at him shyly, freezing at Parrot's glazed eyes, as though he's reliving the memory. "How can I forget? Those were the best days of my life."

"Yeah?" Wemmbu encourages him to continue. "I missed your birdcage."

"Of course you do. You were always there and up my business," Parrot huffs at him. "I don't miss your dirt shack though. Just so you know."

"Hey!" Wemmbu screams, but stops when Theo flinches in his sleep, and lowers his voice. "My house was amazing, thank you very much."

"Amazingly ugly, you wanted to say?"

"Screw you, Parrot," Wemmbu says with a roll of his eyes. His hands are busy, polishing Parrot's crown, otherwise he'd be showing him a middle finger.

"Nah, I'm good."

The conversation dies with it, despite Wemmbu wanting to ask Parrot a million of different questions. Such as, if Parrot wishes he could go back to the times when it was just the three of them — him, Parrot and Spoke — living together at the Spawn. Or if the past scarred him as well, to the point that he can't remember it without cringing at the dull ache in his chest.

However, Wemmbu asks neither, continuing to polish the crown, until it's shiny, deserving of its bright king. Yet Wemmbu doesn't hurry to place it back on top of Parrot's head, and neither does Parrot rush him to return it. Instead, he places it somewhere on the table, close enough for Parrot to reach if he wants to. But considering Parrot's hesitance to even look at the crown, he doesn't have the desire.

"Do you remember him?" Wemmbu asks in a hushed whisper, glancing in Theo's direction to make sure he's still sleeping.

Parrot flinches. It's not necessary to say the name out loud. There's only one name that could trigger Parrot like this and the only friend of Parrot's Wemmbu could ever be curious about is Wifies.

Back in the past, when Wemmbu was still somewhat confident in himself, he was the most arrogant person ever. He remembers how the newfound strength, the heavy weight of his mace, felt in his hands; how the power flooded his brain to the point he couldn't care less about anything but himself and Egg. Back then, Wemmbu was confident in his abilities and Egg's presence in his life, so nothing truly bothered him.

Wemmbu wishes it did. Wemmbu wishes that when Parrot revealed the truth about Wifies — his best friend — dying, he'd react accordingly. That he wouldn't be building a house and having fun when Parrot looked on the verge of a breakdown, looking constantly to his side in hopes of seeing his best friend next to him, but would crumble the second he remembered that he was gone. Wemmbu really wishes he didn't take Egg for granted back then; that he'd have shown Parrot compassion, so that he wouldn't have to face the cruel karma later.

"Sometimes," Parrot answers, his eyes losing their shine. "I used to for quite a while. Nowadays I either have good days, or the days when his presence is all around me."

Wemmbu listens carefully, turning his head to place his cheek flush against the cover of a book, and hums. He knows that Parrot isn't stupid. That Parrot knows why he's asking this question.

"I miss him, of course, but I have a life to live, you know. Missions to complete, players to feed. I can't spend all my time crying over him."

"I have a feeling you're just saying this to make me feel better," Wemmbu mumbles. "I remember how you were when he first… you know."

Parrot hums, his gaze turning distant. "I buried him long before he died. That doesn't mean I didn't cry over him."

"Do you still do that?"

"Do what?"

"Cry over him," Wemmbu clarifies, looking up at Parrot.

This time Parrot is the one who looks away. "I don't," he says, the lie hovering between them.

"Well, I don't believe you," Wemmbu says, which earns him a sharp look, putting an end to this conversation.

"Well, I don't care if you believe me or not."

Wemmbu decides not to press further, or else he's going to be facing the risk of being thrown out of the castle. He's going to deserve it as well. It wasn't Wemmbu's intention to push Parrot beyond what he was comfortable talking about, but he did anyways. Now they are stuck in this tense silence that's only interrupted by Theo's loud snoring.

Parrot seems agitated. Wemmbu isn't sure whether it's his presence that causes Parrot this amount of irritation or the memories of Wifies which are visible in Parrot's eyes. Either way, it hurts. Because Wemmbu just wanted to talk to his old friend without them being at each other's throats for once. Because Wemmbu doesn't want to become like this — that every memory of Egg will turn bitter and anger him.

Eventually, Parrot returns to his work, his eyes not landing on Wemmbu again. It's awkward, especially because Wemmbu can't tear his gaze away from Parrot. He seems to notice it, and smacks some book open with a loud sound. It's loud enough to startle the sleeping Theo who jumps out of his seat, placing his hands against the table, and screams, "I'm not sleeping!"

Both Wemmbu and Parrot flinch, before looking at each other, then giggling quietly, with the tension breaking slightly between them.

"What? What are you laughing at!" Theo screams and then points his finger at Wemmbu. "And what are you still doing here?"

"What?" Wemmbu lifts his cheek off the book and gives Theo the most unimpressed look he could muster. "Do I need your permission or something to stay?"

"Well, of course!" he stands up straighter, placing his fist to his chest. "It's my duty as the King's personal guard to defend him!"

"Theo, bro," Parrot says with a deadpan voice. "You've spent the last two hours sleeping. Were you protecting me then as well?"

Theo stutters, trying and failing to find a response. Instead, he fixes his sunglasses and hair nervously, before crossing his arms across his chest and looking away with a groan.

Wemmbu looks at him, then at Parrot, who says a joke Wemmbu doesn't understand, and smiles. It's refreshing to see Parrot being somewhat happy and comfortable, especially after everything they have endured. It makes Wemmbu wonder if one day he's going to find a new companion, someone who could easily fill up the spot next to him, or will he always yearn for Egg's company.

He doesn't get to answer his question even in his head. As Wemmbu looks straight at Parrot, he sees a movement behind him. There's a staff worker standing near the closest bookshelf, looking too anxious for someone who's supposed to work here regularly. Wemmbu sits back on his heels, waiting for the man's next move.

It's only when the man reaches into his pocket that Wemmbu takes off and immediately flies to him. He crashes into the man and pulls out his mace to press it into the man's neck.

"Wemmbu!" Parrot screams out and stands up from his chair so fast, it falls to the floor with a loud bang.

"Show me your pockets," Wemmbu says, voice dangerously low. It's scary how quickly he got thrown into his old role of a protector the second a danger to his friend's safety occurred. "Show. Me."

The man stutters, shaking his head, but refuses to answer. Thankfully, Theo runs up to them and crouches in front of the man, stuffing his hand into the man's pocket. He pulls out a small round object — the one Wemmbu has never seen before, but has heard a lot about from Egg.

"Is this a bomb?" he asks. "Isn't it too small? What is it even going to blow up?"

"Nope, shit blows up like an atomic bomb," Theo murmurs, looking at the small object. "If it has blown up, half the castle would have been gone."

"What?" Wemmbu is taken aback. "Who'd ever create something like this?"

Theo shrugs and stands up when Parrot hurriedly approaches them. "The civil war was rough. People were pulling whatever to win."

Parrot almost crashes into Theo, looking him up and down hurriedly. After deeming him safe enough, he turns to Wemmbu, repeating the visual check-up. "Are you two okay?" he asks while looking back-and-forth between Wemmbu and Theo. "I thought we got rid of all these bombs!"

"Well, turns out not completely," Theo says bitterly and reaches out to grab the paling man by the collar of his shirt. "I'll drag him to the jail cell. Reina can interrogate him later." As Theo turns to leave, he throws Wemmbu a simple, "Good job, dude."

They watch him leave in silence. Other staff are either still shaken up or are trying to resume their work. Wemmbu looks at Theo's retreating back and tries to squash the warm feeling that his words of affirmation have caused. Meanwhile Parrot is looking at him, observant as ever, cocking his head to the side as though he can see through Wemmbu's shell and into his soul.

"You have nice instincts," he comments, chewing at his bottom lip.

Wemmbu shrugs, trying to seem unaffected. "That shouldn't be a surprise to you."

"I know I've already asked you this once…" Parrot trails off, visibly searching for the right words. "…but do you want to join my guard force? You'd receive my protection and we'd live close to each other, just like we used to."

Surprisingly, Wemmbu doesn't have an urge to scream at Parrot at the suggestion. He doesn't let Zam's image cloud his mind, or Arachnid's webs to choke him. Instead he simply shakes his head, not feeling like putting up a fight or explaining himself either.

"Not really?" he says, still looking forward, even with Theo long gone. "I have a home to return to already."

***

The treehouse is exactly the same way Wemmbu has left it, just dustier and more unkept. The floor is still covered by the shards of broken glass, Egg's fishing rod lies forgotten on top of their chests, and the fridge is emptier than ever. Honestly, Wemmbu is surprised that the place hasn't been raided by bandits like any other abandoned structure on this server. Maybe it's the way grief clings to every piece of furniture that drove away all the potential robbers, maybe it's the fact that the base already looks messed up. Either way, it doesn't really matter.

Wemmbu steps inside the treehouse the same way people enter the funeral parlor. The air is almost stagnant, matching his mood. It prevents him from breathing regularly — his head pounds in protest, body begs to get out.

Yet Wemmbu walks deeper into the base and then into the kitchen, observing the shattered jars like a fallen enemy. He slowly squats in front of the biggest chunks of glass and carefully collects them into his palm. He then stands up, throws the glass into the trash bin, and looks around the room in search of the broom.

The cleaning process is quiet, Wemmbu isn't in the mood to even hum a tune or have a monologue. All that he is capable of right now is cleaning up his own mess and hoping for the best. Egg wouldn't want to live in a place like this; the least Wemmbu can do is make it cleaner, more organized.

After the floor is swept and the dust is dealt with, Wemmbu moves to the fridge. He stores the products from his inventory into the fridge. At first, golden apples, all the different types of fruits and vegetables as well, then two jars of milk, a butter stick, and a chocolate cake. When passing the bakery, Wemmbu couldn't tear his eyes away from that cake, so he didn't. He bought it in celebration of his new life. Yoohoo! Or whatever.

There isn't much to do in the house after it has been cleaned, and Wemmbu doesn't feel like staring at the wall just yet. Plus all the travelling, cleaning, and suppressing his feelings in the walls of this house exhausted him beyond what's normal. The ache in his bones isn't pleasant, same with the sleepiness that settles heavily in his eyelids, preventing him from keeping them open for more than two seconds. So he stands in front of the staircase to the upper floor as though the wooden steps will bite at his feet if he dares to even breathe near them.

Eventually, Wemmbu finds the courage to go up the stairs, although it does take quite some time. Each step is agonizing, almost pulling him back, but he can't give up now. The wood creaks under his feet in protest, crying out for him to stop. However, Wemmbu understand that if he stops now, then he will forever be stuck on the first floor of their base, sleeping on the couch and waking up screaming. If he goes back, he can pretend that nothing has changed, that Egg's empty bedroom simply doesn't exist. Wemmbu can keep living in his delusions and pretend to get better.

But as the thought forms, Wemmbu looks up at the hallway he used to walk through at night. He moves his feet faster, reaching the top in record time. The hallway that stretches before him is normal, unlike the one from his nightmares, yet Wemmbu is cautious of it nonetheless. He walks further, passing his room and instead deciding to go to Egg's.

The door to Egg's room is open — Wemmbu remembers the way he practically ran out of it the last time he stayed in the house. He steps inside and looks over the room. It hasn't changed, except for the copious amount of dust on every surface. But Wemmbu can't be bothered to clean anymore.

Wemmbu closes the door behind himself, takes off his boots and jumps onto his side of the bed. The dust comes flying all around the room and he almost chokes on it. But instead of getting up and cleaning, he hurriedly throws a blanket over himself and shuts his eyes tightly.

As Wemmbu forces his brain to shut down, he tries not to notice the empty spot right next to him.

***

Wemmbu hasn't been in the hallway in a while — collapsing from exhaustion after a long journey is a reliable way of getting rid of nightmares. If the brain is too tired to keep the body working, then it would be too tired to make up scenarios that would do it more harm than good. But now that Wemmbu has fallen asleep in Egg's bed, where comfort seeps into his bones with every move, he's back here.

The hallway is different from how Wemmbu has remembered it.

All of the doors on each side of the walls are thrown open, their hinges broken beyond repair, yet no shadows crowd in the doorways. There are no entities at all. Neither shadows, nor the scary presence behind the gates at the end of the hallway are present. Only Wemmbu, standing too well-rested for this place, and it seems to be punishing him for it.

Wemmbu has known for a while that this hallway is sentient — if the sudden changes, responding to his mood, were a giveaway. Yet it has never tried to push him out. The hallway has always tried to pull him inside one of the doors, to trap him in the nightmare he couldn't escape. However, now it places its invisible hands on Wemmbu's chest and tries to shove him out.

His feet are rooted to the floor, he can move them, but nothing can force him to move. So despite the inaudible screech — one that he cannot hear but feels against his skin — he steps forward. Each step is heavier than the last, yet he keeps pushing until he reaches the gates.

The massive gates don't have handles, yet it succumbs under Wemmbu's weight and slowly opens. It takes effort, with how hard the hallway is trying to pull him away from whatever is hidden behind them, but he has to try harder. Planting his feet harder onto the checked floor, Wemmbu pushes until the wood beneath him cracks and he falls.

Wemmbu expects the fall to be endless, just like it usually is in a space like this, but he lands on his stomach pretty easily on a softer surface. He blinks a couple of times before lifting his head to look around the dream he is in.

The place is unknown to him, Wemmbu would have remembered if he'd seen anything as beautiful as the scenery around him. The open field of flowers stretches before him, as he struggles to stand up to see its ending, yet there isn't one. It reaches the horizon and dips further, as though the remaining world doesn't exist, only the flowers, tall grass, and Wemmbu standing in the middle of it all.

"Knew you'd like it," a voice from behind him says, and Wemmbu goes still.

Something warm spreads through his chest, soft and overwhelmingly sweet. Warm enough to chase away the cold against his skin, but not enough to get rid of the dread rooted deep inside his soul. Wemmbu turns to look at the person, whose voice he could recognise anywhere, but would have never expected to hear again.

"Egg," the name rolls off his tongue easily, as though it still remembers how each letter felt against it.

"Wemmbu," Egg says with a wide grin stretching across his face.

He looks the same way he did as the day Wemmbu lost him — his real, working eye is wide with mirth and something delicate, while the faux one is still and cold; his skin has a healthy blush splattered all over it and his signature suit doesn't hang loosely on his body. Egg looks healthy, happy, and most importantly alive. Something Wemmbu used to pray day and night to see again, even if it had to happen in his wildest dreams.

"Egg," Wemmbu repeats with so much emotion it spills out of him in waves. They control him like a puppet, until he can do nothing but crash into Egg's chest and embrace him. Harder than ever, as hard as he has always dreamt of doing. "You're here."

"Yo, bro, chill," Egg laughs, but doesn't hesitate to return the hug, pressing Wemmbu into his chest just as hard.

Suddenly, everything Wemmbu has been holding inside grows lighter, non-existent. For a moment Wemmbu wishes that they could merge together, until neither knows where one begins and the other ends. Just Wemmbu and Egg against the world — just like it used to be, just like it should have been before the world became a greater force than neither of them could stand against.

Two best friends reunited after the torture of dull colors, tasteless food, and the chill of the world.

"Egg, I—" Wemmbu chokes out, as he pushes away from Egg far enough to look him in the eye. His hands grip Egg's shoulders tightly, as if to check that he's still here. Still real. "I—"

All the words Wemmbu has always wished to say melt on his tongue, leaving a bitter residue. He can't say anything, despite all the feelings ripping at his chest in an attempt to get out and reach his dearest friend. There's so much Wemmbu wants to say. How much he's missed Egg. How sorry he is for how things have ended. But no words feel enough — none of them can fully convey everything he's feeling.

"I know," Egg says, his eye shutting closed from how hard he's smiling. "I know. You don't need to say it."

After months of pushing words out so people would understand at least half of what is going on in his chest, having someone who can read his mind is almost euphoric. Wemmbu chokes on the words he can't say and swallows them with a knowledge that Egg will get him even without them.

"It's been so long," he says finally. Because it is true, it's been so long since Wemmbu last saw his best friend, yet his warmth, his touch is the same.

"It has, hasn't it?" Egg hums, and steps away from Wemmbu.

Wemmbu has to fight the urge to reach out to Egg again, but his arms freeze in the air. Egg looks at him and snorts, before dropping onto the grass, without a care in the world. He pats a spot next to him and Wemmbu has no choice but to follow. And if he sits closer than needed, his shoulder pressing against Egg's, neither of them acknowledge it.

"I thought it would take longer for you to reach this place, though," Egg says. He picks the flowers, looking at them with a wistful expression. "Still, I'm glad you've made it."

"What is this place?" Wemmbu asks, looking around them at the flower field. "Like, it's pretty and stuff, but I don't get it. The hallway used to bring me to nightmares, never to… this."

Egg laughs softly, and Wemmbu turns to look back at him. Egg's hands are busy making a flower crown, his fingers masterfully tying the stems together so the bright flowers come together beautifully.

"This is the dreamscape," Egg answers, but when he understands that the answer isn't as clear as he'd imagined, he adds, "I've created this place for you to visit me one last time if anything happened to either of us."

"You created this place?" Wemmbu says with a raise of his eyebrow. "Brother, you've put me through endless nightmares for this? Couldn't you, like, just let me in?"

No answer follows, as Egg is busy with his flower crown. Wemmbu lowers his gaze to it, scanning the flowers Egg decided to use. Surprisingly, it's only one type of flower — one that Wemmbu doesn't recognize. It has gentle white outer petals, and sterner yellow inner ones. It looks unusual; at least to Wemmbu who has never really paid attention to flowers that weren't considered 'basic', like roses and tulips.

"What is this flower?" Wemmbu asks, deciding to shelve the pressing matter for a moment. "It's pretty."

"Wild daffodil," Egg answers happily. When he's done with the flower crown, he examines it from all sides and drops it on top of Wemmbu's head dramatically. "It looks good on you."

"Does it?" Wemmbu hums. He really wishes he had a mirror to see how the flower crown looks at him.

Now that Egg is not occupied with anything, he looks more serious. His usual deadpan settles in his features, but there's an underlying sadness that has never been present before. Controlled by a sudden urge, Wemmbu lowers his head onto Egg's lap and rolls onto his back until he's facing the sky and his friend, who's looking down at him unimpressed.

"Will you explain now?"

Egg is quiet for a beat, before he finally speaks, weaker than usual. "Of course I could have let you enter this place without any challenge. If anything, it would have been easier."

"Then why—"

"Because it wouldn't have changed anything," Egg cuts out, his voice suddenly turning rough. "I know you, Wemmbu, better than anyone. Would seeing me a month, two months ago prevent you from spiraling? Would it make your nightmares better and would it make you healthier?"

Wemmbu's mouth shuts with a click. He looks at Egg's expression, searching for something, anything, but all he finds is desperation leaking through the cracks of Egg's serious facade.

"I wanted you to be better more than I wanted to see you," Egg whispers. "I've missed you. This place, this world is so boring without a purple demon running around and causing havoc," he lets out a wet laugh and lifts his head, until all Wemmbu can see is Egg's chin. "But if I'd just let you in, it would be unfair to you. My desires cost nothing when it comes to you and your health. If making you face nightmares to force you into healing is the only way for you to get better… Then, well, so be it."

"I— I don't understand," Wemmbu says, suddenly feeling too small. He squeezes his eyes shut when he feels Egg's fingers carding through his hair. "I could have seen you this entire time. We could have—"

"No," Egg interrupts him gently. "We couldn't have. I can only let you in once."

If Wemmbu's heart didn't shatter at Egg's words, then it definitely did at his next.

"This is our last goodbye."

Pain crashes into Wemmbu so suddenly he gasps. "No," he shakes his head, the tears form in his eyes and immediately start streaming down his temples and into his ears. "No. I refuse."

Something dangerous is reawakened in Wemmbu's chest and he can feel it pounding at his ribcage. Wemmbu keeps shaking his head in refusal. He can't accept the truth, no matter how hard he's tried to get better. There's no life for him without Egg. He wants Egg. He wants him back more than anything else in the world.

"This is unfair. This is so not fair," he cries out, his throat constricting around each syllable. "You can't do this. Not when I finally got you back."

His voice breaks, and he shakes his head even harder.

"Wemmbu, listen to me—"

"No, no, no," he chants. Egg is still looking forward, he's not looking at him, and Wemmbu hates him for it. "Please, please, don't do this to me."

"Wemmbu, stop!"

Egg is finally looking at him. His face is twisted in misery matching Wemmbu's expression. There's a tear track on his cheek and his lips are bitten raw. Egg hiccups and chokes on his sob as he tries to speak but can't. He looks so miserable, as though Wemmbu letting him go is painful to him as well.

"I want what's best for you!" he screams and tugs at Wemmbu's hair harshly.

"You are what's best for me!" Wemmbu says desperately. "You are my best friend! What am I without you?!"

"Ender damn it! Don't you see how unhealthy you sound?! How— How shitty this entire situation is?!"

Egg grips his hair harsher and doesn't let go until Wemmbu lets out a weak, choked out scream. His fingers leave Wemmbu's hair as though they have burned it, and by the pained expression on Egg's face, it has to be the case.

"Do you think I want to leave you? Do you really think it brings me joy to see you in this state?" he asks shakily. "I want to keep adventuring with you. I want to get tangled in the situations that have nothing to do with me. I want to keep being your friend. Your best friend."

"Then let me stay," Wemmbu says, begs. "Let me stay with you here."

"I can't, Wemmbu. And you know that," Egg's words carry a sense of finality Wemmbu can't digest but swallows anyway. "I want you happy. Alive. In the real world where there are people waiting for you. Do you think it's fair for you to stay here and deteriorate your mental health even worse, when Minute is waiting for you to come back home? Or Flame for you to spar? Or Jaden? Or Parrot? Anyone?"

Wemmbu knows the answer. It doesn't make it better. If anything, it makes everything worse. Because he agrees with Egg. He agrees that it's not fair to anyone who's played a huge role in his life, but it's Egg they are talking about. His Egg, who has been by his side for as long as he can remember. Leaving him equals dying, ripping a huge chunk of his identity again, and Wemmbu can't pretend it doesn't hurt him anymore.

"It's not fair," he mumbles and shakes his head one last time. "We were supposed to run away and live peacefully."

"I know," Egg murmurs back, his one teardrop landing on Wemmbu's cheek. "I know."

Silence settles between them, Wemmbu settles deeper into Egg's lap. He looks up, his vision blurry, yet he tries to memorize Egg's every facial feature — starting with the way his wet eyelashes cling to his cheeks, the way his nose has an interesting and unusual curve, the lack of moles on his perfect, angelic face; and ending with how his hair stands in that certain way, never moving from its place. Wemmbu wishes he could burn Egg's image into his eyelids, so a day wouldn't pass without his face swimming in Wemmbu's vision. So Wemmbu won't forget Egg's face until his dying day.

"I've missed you so much," Wemmbu finally has the courage to say. It strangely sounds like a goodbye. Tastes like one too. "I will miss you for the rest of my life."

Egg smiles at him and slowly reaches his hand to grip Wemmbu's. "Live the rest of it, and I will gladly meet you up there, somewhere."

"Somewhere?" Wemmbu laughs, wet and broken. "Do you think there's a different pair of us on the other side? The other universe or something."

"I do. I really do," Egg's smile shakes. "I believe there's a place where we can be happy and free. Together."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Wemmbu grips Egg's hand tighter as he feels his body go lighter. The world around them dissolves into golden particles, racing each other and floating up into the sky. He can feel his consciousness slip away from him, brain ready to wake up. Selfishly, Wemmbu clings to Egg's hand, contact with him being the only anchor he has in this place. He wants to stay for a second longer, before the world erupts into golden light and kicks him out.

"Egg?" he calls, feeling like a child. The same way he did when Minute first took him in. "Tell me a story before I wake up?"

"A story?" Egg lets out a laugh, as if caught off-guard. "Which one?"

"I don't care," Wemmbu says, before adding, "Just not your theories or facts. Ender knows how much I hate those."

Egg seems to be lost in thought at the request. Wemmbu can't hurry him, despite his limbs already losing their tangibility. He can choose patience one last time for Egg's sake. It's the least he can do for him after everything.

Eventually he speaks, and Wemmbu closes his eyes, fully enjoying the story.

"Okay, then," he murmurs. "Let me tell you the tale about The Storyteller and The Boy."

The images float behind Wemmbu's eyelids as Egg tells the tale.

"Once upon a time, when the world itself didn't exist, a being was created, made out of knowledge and light. They didn't have a creator, they were made out of everything and nothing at once, giving them the opportunity to learn and grow as they please.

As years passed, the being got tired of just being a… being. It wanted to be something more. Something that had a name, so he started calling himself The Storyteller. He began collecting stories of different civilizations, worlds, universes. Anything that he deemed worthy and sometimes anything he did not. The Storyteller just loved stories, despite having no one with whom to share them.

One day, as The Storyteller was sorting through all the stories, he heard a story about a boy — so strong and stubborn, despite being just a mortal. The Storyteller himself didn't know why he became so curious about The Boy's story. Maybe because of his character traits, or maybe his core strengths."

"Or maybe because he was really handsome and cool," Wemmbu giggles.

"Yeah, maybe," Egg laughs at him. "So, despite everything in him rejecting his decision, he decided to come into The Boy's life.

They had countless adventures together. One day they were fighting an invisible organization, the next they were travelling through the portals across different worlds. Each day was more interesting than the other, and The Storyteller discovered that every story had a nuance. Just telling a story sometimes wasn't enough. Sometimes just living through it was better than immediately writing it down.

So, The Storyteller enjoyed being a character for once, instead of being the one telling the story. He enjoyed playing a role, even if sometimes he would act out of character. He deeply cared for The Boy and how he had never treated The Storyteller like something beyond a best friend. The Storyteller was a person for the time being. And despite that period lasting only a few years — a pathetic amount compared to his lifespan — it really was the best one in his life."

"Then why didn't The Storyteller stay?" Wemmbu asks, though he already knows the answer. "Why did he leave The Boy?"

"Because he had a story to tell," Egg answers truthfully.

Wemmbu opens his eyes and his face breaks at how the golden particles chip off of Egg's body, joining the rest on their journey to the sky. They don't have much time; they've never really had, but, Ender, how much Wemmbu wishes they did. He doesn't say that though, he forces out a smile and a laugh — the one that 'breaks the sound barrier' — for Egg to remember wherever he ends up going.

"The Storyteller and The Boy really created a beautiful story together, didn't they?" Egg asks, his face growing more golden, almost translucent.

"Yeah, they did," Wemmbu says, reaching his hand out to touch Egg's face, but his hand goes through him. The golden particles cover him, but Wemmbu can't stop smiling. He wants Egg to remember him just like this — smiling and being somewhat happy. "Will The Storyteller keep watching The Boy?"

The world is nothing but a white background around them. Distantly, Wemmbu can hear the hallway's screech again, but he pays it no mind. Egg is almost gone now; there is nothing left of the friend he once knew. Egg is entirely made of gold and pure light, the real world keeps rejecting his essence. Wemmbu is the only one who can make it out of here, but he will always carry a piece of Egg in himself. With the way golden particles seep into his bones, Wemmbu is sure of it.

"Of course he will," Egg answers.

Those are the last words Wemmbu can hear, before his mind slips away from him. Egg's lips keep moving, yet Wemmbu can't understand a single word. But he feels them nonetheless.

***

Wemmbu is awakened by a ray of sunlight hitting him in the face. It has fought its way through the curtains swaying in the breeze from the open window. The dust particles are floating in the morning air, settling on the furniture softly, as though afraid of disturbing a for-once content person. He doesn't mind them, his eyes follow each trajectory until they land on a surface.

Sunrise means getting up and starting his life, leaving behind the pleasant dream that has finally filled the gaping hole in Wemmbu's chest. There are a lot of things Wemmbu has to do. Plans have piled up since the day he abandoned the treehouse. Time didn't freeze just because he'd had some mourning to do, life went on without him — the cobwebs on the ceiling are starting to look too disturbing, the dust is no longer aesthetic but allergy-inducing, and the smell of rotting wood from somewhere in the house really needs to be checked out.

And Wemmbu will get up, after he's done bathing in the afterglow of the last conversation with his best friend. He'd imagined it a million times, to the point he memorized every word he would say, prepared a long speech. But every scenario has always ended with him too numb to be able to move. He thought he wouldn't want to leave the dream, that he'd prefer being stuck in a dreamscape for an eternity if it meant staying with Egg's cheap carbon copy

Yet reality is different from anything he could have imagined. He doesn't feel numb, he doesn't feel too full; instead he just feels. His heart doesn't break his ribcage with every beat, his skin is no longer heavy and stuck to his bones. He no longer has an urge to poke at the wound until it gets infected and kills him. What used to ache is still aching, but now Wemmbu is ready to let it heal.

Somewhere out there, in another world, in another timeline, his Egg is happy and safe and away from him, and this is more than enough to Wemmbu.

So Wemmbu will get up. In a minute, five, ten, but he will. He will make his bed, brush his teeth, wash his face. He will prepare breakfast. Maybe for two if his brain lags a bit.

One day it's going to be easier to get out of bed, and maybe Wemmbu will stop being affected by his nightmares, even if they never end.

He will learn to braid his hair, until it doesn't look too uneven. He will still break down at the thought of Egg occasionally, but not as often. He will learn all the dishes Egg has made him. He will learn how to order a meal by himself at a diner. He will stop buying drinks for two at the store.

It will come slowly to Wemmbu. He's aware of that. He's okay with that — he has always enjoyed a bit of struggle after all. But it will come to him, eventually.

Overwhelmed by a sudden emotion, Wemmbu reaches his hand out, touching the side of the bed Egg used to occupy.

It's warm.