Chapter Text
“They’re going to execute him!” Boosfer yelled. He was crying, and Wyll had an arm around his cousin.
Ashswag looked around the table. “Surely there’s something we can do.”
“Like what?” Jaden replied, “We have no way of getting into the committee.”
Clown should probably continue to listen to the conversation at hand.
Minute spoke up, “We can try to find more files about the committee in Lettuce’s office. There might be something about Fantst and Babblu’s cells.”
Kaboodle shook her head. “I don’t think that would work. At least, not again. Lettuce will be expecting us to try something new, and I’m pretty sure this was an irrational decision because Flux would’ve told us about this plan.”
“And if he didn’t know?” Ferre pointed out, “He’s an architect; Lettuce isn’t going to tell him everything.”
Boosfer wiped away his tears again. “We have to do something!”
“We’re trying to, Boosfer. Although the only way for us to do something would be on the day of execution.” Wyll explained.
Minuet nodded at that. “The committee will have extra protection to stop us from getting Fantst out. It would be highly risky because there’s no way Flux could know the guard positions.”
Clown continued to stare at the table.
Would asking him work?
The conversation continued around him, ideas being thrown around, Wyll comforting Boosfer.
“We can ask Wemmbu.” Clown said suddenly, all eyes turning to him.
Ferre’s eyes widened. “What?”
“We can ask Wemmbu.” Clown repeated, “We can ask him to help Fantst and Babblu; he’s a hero; he could easily get clearance!”
“No!” Ferre snapped, “You know how risky that is!”
“Uh, guys?” Jaden said awkwardly, raising a hand. “Who is Wemmbu? Can you share with the class?”
Clown sighed, looking at Jaden. “Wemmbu is Arsenal; he’s our friend from high school.”
“Never mind that, Clown- are you crazy!?” Ferre yelled, “He’ll ask questions about who we are; he won’t help us!”
“He might!” Clown shot back. “He’s our friend, Ferre! He won’t out us; he already thinks the committee is wrong; it’s at least worth a shot.”
Ferre dragged a hand over his face. “And if he hates us? If he thinks we’re bad people and he doesn’t help them? What then, Clown? What are we going to do if Wemmbu knows our identities and tells Lettuce?”
Clown didn’t reply.
Ferre tsked, “Exactly, you don’t know.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know Wemmbu.” Clown said lowly, staring at Ferre.
The others watched in awkward silence. Boosfer had stopped crying, but his eyes were still red.
Ferre sighed after a moment, “Fine. We can try it, but if it goes wrong, I hope you can come up with a different plan.”
Clown closed his eyes briefly. “This one will go right, I trust Wemmbu.”
Ferre didn’t reply, watching Clown pull out his phone and text the hero. After a few moments of conversation between the two, Clown pocketed the phone once more.
“So?”
“He agrees to meet up in District 2’s park near the cafe,” Clown said, looking at Ferre and crossing his arms. “So we might as well get going.”
Boosfer suddenly spoke up. “Wait, are you guys sure you can trust him?”
Clown glanced at Boosfer. “Yeah, look, if anyone would do this for us, it’ll be Wemmbu. I trust him not to leak our identities.”
Ferre rolled his eyes, standing up from his seat while Clown did the same.
The duo walked out of the room, leaving behind their very confused friends. As they left the Nether, Clown and Ferre were in utter silence. Neither of them was willing to start up the conversation.
It was awkward, Clown would admit.
He liked silence- don’t get him wrong- but he hated the awkward silence.
Especially when it was with him and Ferre.
They were best friends, so it was even worse.
Clown trusted Wemmbu; he really did. Though he understood why Ferre was cautious, Wemmbu was still a hero, even if he was one of Clown’s most trusted friends. Wemmbu could still out them.
It was too late to go back now, though, and this might be the only chance they get in saving Fantst and Babblu.
So it was a risk Clown was willing to take.
Walking through the streets of District 2, Clown recognised the small building on the other side of the street. Branzy’s cafe sat there, closed now, but still had that cosy vibe that made you feel at home.
Clown always loved the cafe.
It was Branzy’s, so it naturally became one of his favourite places.
Well, it was originally owned by Branzy’s dad, who had Branzy work there and eventually Branzy became the owner. Branzy’s mum was all about redstone, and his dad wanted to join her in it. So when Branzy had turned of age, they gave the cafe to him, which Branzy gladly accepted.
Ferre and Clown stepped into the park, and it was empty aside from a few teenagers who were rolling around in shopping carts. However, the teenagers seemed to be minding their own business, too busy rolling down hills.
Perfect.
They had privacy.
-Wemmbu-
He walked out of the hero tower, the cold air of District 1 hitting him immediately.
Clown and Ferre wanted to talk with Wemmbu in person, saying they couldn't discuss it over the phone. Which was pretty suspicious, but Wemmbu wasn’t one to judge.
That was a lie; he judges people all the time.
He wasn’t one to judge Clown’s decision.
Maybe it was just something really important and personal? Wemmbu knew that the committee liked to listen in on phone conversations and sometimes even would look at text messages.
He only knew that because of his and Flame’s conversations on the rooftop. Which started about 2 days ago, when he and Flame first talked on the rooftop. The day after that, Lettuce had announced a whole execution, and Wemmbu and Flame had ended up on the rooftop again.
In fact, Wemmbu had been on the roof when he got Clown’s message. Flame had said that it was fine and told Wemmbu to go if his friend wanted to talk about something.
So now Wemmbu was making his way through District 1, heading to the beginning of District 2. The streets were silent for once; everyone was probably in their house sleeping or just watching TV.
Or reading fanfiction.
Wemmbu made his way over to the park, looking around and tugging his jacket tighter around himself. Finally, he spotted the familiar men who were standing right next to a bench.
Why were they aurafarming?
Just sit down.
Wemmbu took off in a run, tackling the two of them into a group hug. “HELLOOO!!!” Wemmbu yelled, letting go of the two.
Clown laughed, “Hey, Wem!”
“Why’d you guys want to meet up so late at night? Couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow?” Wemmbu asked, pulling down his jacket sleeves to cover his hands slightly.
Ferre shook his head. “This couldn’t wait, so sorry if you were doing something important.”
Wemmbu shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t doing much, just talking to my-” Wemmbu cut himself off before correcting himself. “My friend.”
Flame was a friend.
Totally.
Clown’s smile faded, and suddenly Wemmbu realised something was wrong.
“Look, Wemmbu, I don’t know how to say this to you without you freaking out.” Clown said, scratching the back of his neck.
Wemmbu’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly what I said.”
Ferre sighed, cutting into the conversation. “What he means, Wemmbu, is that we aren’t sure if you would keep this an absolute secret. No matter what, okay?”
“Okay…” Wemmbu said, slightly suspicious of the situation. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Ferre raised an eyebrow while Clown nodded. “Okay then.” Clown said, “I guess there’s no light way to put this, but I’m Nether Jester.”
What.
Ferre then spoke, “I’m Phantom Brute, before you ask how I know.”
WHAT.
“You guys are joking, right?” Wemmbu said, waving a hand in front of his face. He laughed nervously, eyes darting between the two.
Clown shook his head. “We aren’t joking about this. We wouldn’t joke about this.”
“Swear?”
Ferre sighed, “We swear that both of us are villains and will not hurt you.”
Wemmbu relaxed slightly at that; if there was one thing he knew about the two was that they would never go back on a swear.
Still, what the hell?
“Why are you guys telling me this? In public no less.” Wemmbu asked, now looking around to make sure no one was listening in. “You guys do know how risky this is, right?”
“Yeah, well, I tried to say it was risky telling you, but Clown didn’t agree,” Ferre replied, giving Clown a look.
Clown shrugged, “Well, I was right, wasn’t I? Wemmbu won’t tell on us, right Wem?”
Wemmbu paused; would he tell the committee?
They were still his friends.
It wasn’t like the committee would find out that the two top villains were 21 anyway; the two fought like they had 10 years of training.
So, Wemmbu just shrugged. “I guess not, don’t really see the point in telling anyone anyway. Who’s going to believe Arsenal when he says that the two top villains are 21?”
Clown raised an eyebrow. “They wouldn’t listen to you if you said that?”
“Nah, the committee doesn’t trust anyone in Floor 49’s judgement. It’s kind of a whole thing.”
Ferre tilted his head. “Yeah, but you're still a hero. They’re supposed to at least hear you out.”
Wemmbu sighed, “You guys are villains, no? Don’t you already understand how fucked up the committee is?”
“We would’ve thought that they would at least listen to their heroes. Thought they would’ve had some morals, but I guess not.” Clown replied, crossing his arms as he finished speaking.
Wemmbu narrowed his eyes. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“What was the question?”
Wemmbu rolled his eyes. “Why are you all telling me this?”
“Oh.” Clown said, suddenly looking very sheepish. “Well, you know about the execution, right?”
Wemmbu raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I mean it’s been like a day after it was announced, but everyone is talking about it.”
Ferre looked at Wemmbu, something in his eyes that he just couldn’t place. “We're wondering if you could…”
“-Break them out for us.” Clown cut in.
What.
“Hold on, WHAT!?” Wemmbu yelled before Ferre’s hand came flying over his mouth.
“Dude, be quiet!”
Wemmbu licked Ferre’s hand, Ferre pulling it away quickly with an “EW, DUDE!”
Wemmbu then turned to Clown. “What the hell do you mean by that?!”
Clown sighed, “I mean, we can’t get into the prison. It’s too secure and risky. None of the spies we have in the committee has clearance because only heroes go in and out. You are a hero, Wemmbu. You can get in.”
Wemmbu looked at him with wide eyes. “Are you insane!? You're risking my hero license!”
“Like you aren’t risking it because you know our identities now? Or that you and your team constantly break rules of the committee and always face backlash?” Ferre pointed out. “You constantly face the risk of losing your license, Wemmbu. Isn’t this just one more lie swept under the rug?”
Wemmbu paused at that.
He supposed they were right.
Wemmbu was hiding many things from the committee, like his curse, the incident and his past vigilantism.
What did he say to Egg that one time?
One final straw…
Did an execution that would hurt two of his best friends mentally count?
It had to, wouldn’t it?
What would Egg think?
Egg didn’t like the committee; Wemmbu knew that much. Egg always spoke about how the committee was wrong. Hell, the guy basically told Wemmbu that it would be okay to betray.
He said that Wemmbu had the reasons.
It wasn’t like he would be in incredible danger if Clown and Ferre helped him. Egg would be able to find out if the heroes were close to finding them.
He supposed he could betray.
Then again, what would the rest of Floor 49 think?
They would follow him, no doubt. They were family after all. It would take explaining, but eventually they would understand his side of the story.
“Fine, I’ll help,” Wemmbu said after a moment of silence.
Clown and Ferre looked surprised for a second, before Clown started grinning. “Awesome!”
Wemmbu rolled his eyes, but he didn’t stop the smile sneaking onto his face. “Do you guys have a plan for this whole thing, or do I have to do that part too?”
Clown paused at that, and Ferre furrowed his brows at him. “Clown, you had a plan for this, right?”
Clown scratched the back of his neck. “Okay, look, I wasn’t exactly planning for this to go well.”
Ferre’s eyes widened. “Bro, what!?”
Clown looked over at him. “I didn’t think that far ahead!”
“So, what would’ve happened if Wemmbu didn’t say yes?”
Clown glanced up at the sky. “I don’t know.”
Wemmbu internally slapped his forehead. “You just didn’t have a plan?”
“Not exactly.” Clown replied, meeting Wemmbu’s eyes. “I trusted that you wouldn’t tell anyone our identities.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Sure it is.”
Wemmbu rolled his eyes.
This guy was an idiot.
“So you want me to get clearance into the prison and somehow make a plan within the next 6 days- actually, closer to 5 days- to break Fantst AND Babblu out of prison?” Wemmbu said, summarising the information that had been given to him beforehand.
Clown nodded, “Yeah!”
Wemmbu stared blankly at him. “How do I even break them out of prison?”
“That’s for you to figure out, Wemmbu!”
“That’s not helpful advice!”
Wemmbu watched as Clown skipped away before turning to stare at Ferre, who was watching Clown leave with a tired expression. “He’s literally the strongest villain in the world, and he’s doing shit like that,” Ferre commented, dragging a hand down his face.
Wemmbu laughed at that. “I still can’t believe it.”
“What about it?” Ferre asked, now looking at Wemmbu and tilting his head.
Wemmbu just chuckled. “I mean, Clown doesn’t really act all villainous all the time. I mean Nether Jester is really intimidating; I can feel his aura through the camera footage. And Clown is just…. Clown.”
Ferre chuckled as well, “I mean, Clown can be intimidating. He just doesn’t because he doesn’t want to scare everyone around him.”
“Yeah, but I guess I can see you as Phantom Brute.” Wemmbu gestured at Ferre.
Ferre gave him a look at that. “What do you mean?”
Wemmbu just gestured at Ferre again. “You just kind of have that mysterious vibe to you. I don’t know, maybe I’m going crazy.”
“I was crazy once.” Clown said, appearing behind the two and making Wemmbu jump. “They put me in a room, a rubber room. A rubber room full of rats-”
Ferre slapped Clown.
“OW, what the fuck, bro!?”
Ferre rolled his eyes. “You're being weird!”
“I’m always weird.”
“That’s not a good thing!”
Clown gasped, a hand on his heart. “What’s wrong with being weird. The best people are weird, like Wemmbu.”
“Yo!? Why am I getting caught in the crossfire!?”
Wemmbu was walking back to the hero tower, everything he just learnt finally catching up to him.
Clown and Ferre were villains.
A part of the Mafia.
That was crazy.
Actually, utterly insane.
And he just agreed to break out two top ten villains.
That means leaving the committee for good.
That means changing sides forever.
Even worse, he doesn’t feel bad about it. In fact, Wemmbu feels great. Even though it was like midnight, Wemmbu felt accomplished.
Although that didn’t matter right now. He needed to figure out a plan to break Fantst and Babblu out of the prison. Luckily, Clown and Ferre had explained to him that he was free to ask any member of the Mafia for supplies. However, the two mentioned that it was probably best if he asked Null King to use his invisible spies.
Wemmbu appreciated the help, really, but he couldn’t leave the hero tower too often, or Lettuce would get suspicious. Wemmbu was busy with the Enderling testing and End training with Lionheart.
Which means he needs someone else to help him with the plan.
He would ask Egg, but Egg wouldn’t be able to lead the invisible spies into the hero tower and down the elevator with Wemmbu into the prison.
Wemmbu would need someone who’s already in the tower to help him with this plan.
The invisible spies would need to follow the person into the tower and be led into the elevator up to Floor 49. Then Wemmbu would have to go into the elevator and bring the spies into the prison, where they can get started.
Fortunately, Wemmbu had an idea of who he wanted to help him.
Actually, he had two people in mind.