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There is a small, wooden house- a cube, four by four- inside a maze of bedrock boxes floating over the void. Water spills over into a small pond lined with fence gates beside it, leading up onto the path of barrier blocks that wind through the world. This is where Wifies is living.
“I don’t know, dude,” Ken says, hopping on and off of a frog light. “I’m just- I’m just saying, there’s a lot more resources in other worlds. Normal worlds.”
“Sure,” Wifies agrees easily. “I like escape rooms, though.”
“You can still do escape rooms, even if you’re living on a normal server,” Ken points out. “It’s not like I don’t ever break into a prison, or anything.”
Wifies shrugs. “I’m not worried about that.”
“All of the escape rooms here have already been solved, anyways!” Ken says. Wifies can’t pinpoint the source of his exasperation- inefficiency, maybe? Ken does seem to be sensitive about conservation of resources, and all of that.
“I still leave to do new escape rooms,” Wifies reassures him. “It’s not like I spend all of my time here. I just live here.”
Ken mines the frog light and then places it again, silent.
“It’s a fun challenge, living with limited resources,” Wifies adds.
“Have you taken apart the factory?” Ken asks.
“Ah- well, not yet,” Wifies admits, somewhat awkwardly. “I’ve been meaning to, I just haven’t… gotten around to it… I don’t really know why, though. It’d be helpful to have so many blocks.”
“Is it still…” Ken trails off, and then gestures towards Wifies.
“Um?” Wifies says. “Wait, do you mean- no, it’s been shut down.”
“Okay,” Ken says. His ears twitch.
“You don’t have to worry about more clones,” Wifies says.
“I’m not worried,” Ken denies, his tail lashing back and forth. “I’m just. Worried. I guess. But not about more clones.”
“...okay,” Wifies says slowly, trying to unwind the logic. Talking with Ken feels like an escape room in its own rights, more often than not. He’s not quite used to conversation yet- he hasn’t learned the rhythm of jumps and explanations yet. Wifies is used to monologuing to an invisible audience- Ken has reassured him that he’ll get used to it eventually, but it’s… slow going.
“Look, I’m just- you know you don’t have to live here, right?” Ken presses.
“Yeah?” Wifies says.
“Because- because I’m not sure that you do,” Ken says, eyes searching Wifies’ face. “And I want to make sure that you’re- I don’t know. That you’re okay.”
Wifies opens his mouth. Closes it again. He doesn’t know what Ken is asking- unless-
“I guess I just don’t get why you’re so upset about me living here,” Wifies finally says.
Ken looks down, and Wifies bites his lip. He’s only here- the only reason he’s the one who’s here, and his original self isn’t-
“You’re right,” says Ken. “I really shouldn’t be sticking my nose in your business. Sorry.”
“Oh,” Wifies laughs nervously. “No, I wasn’t- I’m not mad.”
“It’s fine!” Ken says. “It’s- it’s okay if you are.”
“I’m not, though!” Wifies insists.
“Okay,” says Ken.
“Okay!” says Wifies.
Ken mines the frog light one more time and places it where he picked it up in the first place, along the bedrock wall where it lights up the yard, and they start a new, less heated conversation.
- - -
One of Ken’s friends comes to visit. His name is Seawatt, and he wants to see the trick with the trident and the nether portal. Wifies isn’t entirely sure why he doesn’t just ask Ken to demonstrate it, but he’s not exactly upset about the prospect of company.
“Oh, that’s so cool!” Seawatt gushes over coms. Wifies shuffles back and forth in the nether, the uncanny tug of loyalty sitting deep in his stomach despite the distance between him and the trident. “And you found that out in here?”
“Yep,” Wifies says. “We thought we were soft-locked. We were really lucky to find an exploit like this.”
“Yeah, I’ll say!” Seawatt agrees. “I mean, if I had gotten soft-locked, I’d probably just restart the map, you know? Because- because the puzzle would have already been unsolvable, you know? I mean- you wouldn’t have been able to reach the solution. And I usually try to do things with the intended solution.”
It occurs to Wifies that Ken might not have explained the whole story to Sewatt. He frowns at his communicator.
Ken really shouldn’t have left the choice up to him. Wifies doesn’t want to tell anyone about what happened, ever.
“Oh,” says Wifies. “Um. Well, you know… I didn’t really want Ken to debunk me.”
“I feel you!” Seawatt says. “I mean, the guy can be absolutely brutal, you know? You misuse one enderpearl, and all of a sudden you’ve faked a thousand maps! Haha! I mean, he’s usually right, too, but still. He’s a bit scary.”
“Right,” Wifies says. He was scared of that, when he first saw Ken- some deep-seated feet had risen up his throat after he had first appeared for reasons he couldn’t quite articulate, the same way he couldn’t quite explain how he knew what an escape room was, or why he had to talk to the audience. It was something intrinsic, something designed to be a part of him in the process of his creation. It was-
“Hey, you wanna come back to the overworld now?” Seawatt interrupts his train of thought.
“Oh, of course,” Wifies clears his throat. “Um, could you try and catch the trident when it drops after I come out?”
“Sure thing,” Seawatt says.
Wifies snaps shut his com and hops through the portal. The connection of loyalty abruptly disappears, and the overworld shimmers into existence.
“Here you go,” Seawatt tosses the trident back over to him. “Anyways, like I was saying, Ken actually was planning on debunking you, you know.”
“I- what?” Wifies blinks. “Um, no, actually. He- what?”
“Oh!” Seawatt blinks rapidly. “Uh, yeah, that’s why he broke into this server in the first place. He wanted to get irrefutable evidence that you were faking the videos.”
“Ah,” says Wifies. “That’s…”
Funny. Incredibly funny. He can’t say that without sounding like a lunatic, though. He’s so lucky for the clones that came before him to have made enough mistakes to attract Ken’s attention. Something in his stomach stirs vindictively- even the instinctual fear Evilfies built into him and the other clones wasn’t enough to keep his tracks clean.
“Sorry if you didn’t know,” Seawatt says, frowning. “Um… I don’t wanna break up anything you have going on with Ken, I just-”
“No, it’s fine,” Wifies smiles. “I don’t mind at all. I was just- um. It sounds like something he’d do.”
“Right?” Seawatt laughs. “He’s such a nosy little guy! I love him.”
“Yeah,” Wifies breathes.
Seawatt grins up at the sky. “Yeah. Yeah. Uh, hey, do you- do you live here?”
“Oh,” Wifies binks, surprised at the non-sequitur. “Yes?”
“Interesting,” Seawatt remarks. “I’ve never heard of anyone living in the maps they use for videos. I couldn’t. I’d get lonely, and bored.”
“R-right,” Wifies says.
“Anyways, you wanna show me the rest of the escape room?” Seawatt asks. “Have you puzzled out how Ken managed to double-solve all this stuff?”
“Sure,” Wifies says, and leads Seawatt out onto the barrier block paths, ignoring the way his skin prickles.
- - -
Ken and Wato drag Wifies out to go server-hopping in search of any decent parkour courses. The effort, of course, amounts to nothing, because most parkour courses are the exact same brand of mid. Wifies doesn’t really mind, though. It’s nice to see both of them.
As the sun starts to set on their most recent find, Ken drags Wato off in search of food, and Wifies is left awkwardly holding their place in line. He shuffles his feet back and forth as the queue creeps forward, and tries not to think about how long he’s been waiting.
The person behind him in line clears their throat. Wifies glances back- it’s Captain Sparkles?
He looks forward again. He doesn’t think he’s doing anything rude or inconvenient- why-?
Captain Sparkles taps him on the back.
“Um,” says Wifies turning around.
“Sorry to bother,” Captain Sparkles says, grinning apologetically. “But you’re Wifies, right?”
“Uhhh,” says Wifies. “Yeah…?”
“Oh, I knew it!” Captain Sparkles says. “You play-tested the three by three series map Kenadian made, yeah? I loved that thing!”
“Oh,” says Wifies. Did he? Wifies didn’t, but his clones- all of the ones that had come before- wasn’t it completely plausible that Evilfies had sent a couple out, just to test maps?
“Took me forever to get through, though,” Captain Sparkles reminisces. “The puzzles were absolutely brutal. How long did it take you?”
“I don’t remember,” Wifies manages to say.
“Oh, well, I bet you do a lot of things like that, huh?” Captain Sparkles chuckles sheepishly.
“Yeah,” says Wifies.
“Uh, do you know Kenadian?” Captain Sparkles asks. “Are you- do you know what he’s doing these days?”
“I’m actually here with him and Wato right now,” Wifies says. “They’re getting food, I’m just holding our place in line.”
“Oh, cool!” Captain Sparkles says. “What server do you guys live on? I’ll have to remember to drop by sometime.”
“Ah, I don’t live with them,” Wifies says. “I just have a- private server. The one with my maps.”
“Huh,” Captain Sparkles squints at him. “Uh, okay… why?”
“There’s-” Wifies swallows. “There’s something I’m looking for, there.”
“Okay…” says Captain Sparkles. “Uh, good luck?”
“Yeah,” Wifies says quietly.
“Wifies!” Ken shouts waving a bundle of tinfoil over his head. “We got the food- is that Captain Sparkles?”
“Yo!” Wato says.
Wifies smiles.
- - -
Wato comes to help tear down the factory. Their help isn't really necessary, but Wifies appreciates it anyways.
Most of the factory is a shell. There’s several large, empty rooms that seem to have gone completely unused. They make quick work of it, and Wifies stores all of the extra blocks in a couple of chests on the barrier block path.
“Glad to see that done,” Wifies sighs, closing the lid of the last chest.
“Yeah,” Wato agrees. “I can’t imagine it was pleasant to live with.”
“I mean…” Wifies shrugs. “I couldn’t really see it, most of the time. It’s pretty far away from most of the other rooms.”
“Okay,” Wato says, squinting at Wifies. “But sometimes… you know, just knowing something is there is enough to make you uncomfortable.”
“Right,” Wifies says. “But it’s, uh, gone now! So I guess it doesn’t really matter.”
“...right,” Wato says.
“Was it bothering you?” Wifies asks.
“Huh? Oh, not really, I guess,” Wato shrugs. They pick at their nails. “I was more worried that it’d be bothering you, really.”
“Oh,” says Wifies. “Well, thanks? It isn’t, though. Wasn’t.”
“Okay,” says Wato. “If you say so.”
“Yeah,” says Wifies.
He stares down at the chests.
“Um, more than anything, I guess I kind of feel bad that… that no one else is going to have the chance to be… people, I guess,” Wifies admits.
Wato tilts their head.
“All the other clones in the factory disappeared after Evilfies died,” Wifies says. “So… I mean, it’s a little unfair that they’ll never get… this.”
“Oh,” says Wato.
“And- and there were clones that came before me, too,” Wifies adds, stuffing his hands in his pocket. “They’re all just- dead. Gone, completely.”
“It’s not your fault,” Wato offers. The words fall flat and sit heavy in the air.
“Yeah,” Wifies says anyways. “And it’s not like getting rid of the factory had anything to do with- that. So.”
“...it’s okay if it still feels bad, though,” says Wato.
“Okay,” says Wifies.
Wato opens one of the chests and closes it again. “Um… do you think you’re going to want help moving out of here, too?”
“Huh?” says Wifies.
“This world,” Wato clarifies. “Now that you’ve gotten rid of the factory, you can live somewhere-”
“I’m not leaving!” Wifies says. “That- I’d like to stay here. For a good while longer, probably.”
“Oh,” says Wato. They blink.
“I like it here,” Wifies insists, and he’s not really- sure about that? Maybe like is a strong word, but he has to stay here. He has to.
“Well, sorry for assuming things, then,” Wato says, looking away. “I just- well, for me, I don’t like spending time here very much, and I don’t even remember most of the things that happened… um. It’s totally fine if you’re okay with it, though.”
“Yeah,” says Wifies. “I am.”
“Okay,” Wato says, biting their lip. “And… it’s okay if that changes someday too.”
“Of course,” Wifies says automatically. “...anyways, do you want to come make some cake with me?”
“Sure, I guess, if you’ve got the stuff for it here,” Wato shrugs.
(They leave the chests of blocks from the factory behind and Wifies never, ever opens them again.)
- - -
Wifies wakes up in the middle of the night, mouth dry and hands shaking. He shrugs off the covers of his bed and grabs a cup.
The water at the bottom of the source always tastes worse than the water at the top ( yes, it does, it’s not just the placebo effect, there’s a different taste to it-) so Wifies climbs up and crouches on the edge of the bedrock box and scoops up a cup of water.
“What are you doing here?” someone hisses, and Wifies turns around to stare at-
To stare at-
It’s him. The hair, the sweater, the shape of the body- it’s him. Wifies. He pinches himself. It’s not a dream.
“Evilfies?” he breathes.
“No,” the other Wifies scoffs. The only difference between him and Wifies is the mask- shining white porcelain that covers half of his face.
“You- what are you doing here?” Wifies says.
“I live here,” the other Wifies says. “But you’re- I didn’t check this escape room- so I didn’t notice you.”
“I’ve been here the whole time,” Wifies says blankly, like the time he’s been living here gives him more claim over the place.
“Yeah? So have I,” the other Wifies says dismissively. “I…”
What if this Wifies is older than he is? What if he’s been here longer?
“ Why are you even here?” the other Wifies finally demands.
“I have to be,” Wifies says. “I have to be looking for- looking for the reason I’m me-”
“Do something else,” the other Wifies snaps. “I have real things to be doing here. You’re just wasting everyone’s time.”
“I have to be here,” Wifies repeats. “Because all of the other- the other Wifies are dead, and I’m still here, and I have to know why.”
“No, you don’t,” the other Wifies looks away. He doesn’t point out the fact that there’s absolutely, definitely, at least one either Wifies left alive.
“I’m staying,” Wifies says with as much force as he can muster, and then he takes his cup and climbs back down into the bedrock box, and into his bed. He strains his ears, and after what feels like an eternity, hears the other Wifies finally walk away.
He doesn’t fall back asleep.
- - -
“Oh,” Ken says as he logs onto the server. “...you got rid of the house.”
“Yeah,” says Wifies. The specific bedrock box his little wooden cube of a house used to be in is now empty.
“Um…” Ken squints at it. “Is it okay if I ask why?”
“I couldn’t sleep there,” Wifies admits. “I’ve been moving it around.”
“Oh,” says Ken. “Um, okay.”
They both stare at the empty box.
“I…” says Wifies. “I don’t want to be here anymore. But it feels like I have to.”
“Okay,” Ken says slowly. “Do you want to leave anyways?”
“Um,” says Wifies. “I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?” Ken asks.
“...there’s another clone here,” Wifies says. “I met him about a week ago, and I haven’t seen him since. He was wearing a weird mask, and he… he told me to leave.”
“And… you don’t want to listen to him?” Ken tilts his head.
“I mean, that’s not really…” Wifies sighs. “It’s like… if I stay here long enough, I’ll find something, you know?”
Ken frowns at the empty bedrock box, quiet.
“I don’t want to leave before I’ve figured out why I’m here, instead of- I don’t know,” Wifies says.
“Well,” Ken finally says. “The- you said earlier, that you could leave the server when you needed to do anything you couldn’t do here.”
“Yeah?” Wifies says. He’s not sure what…
“You could come live somewhere more comfortable, and only visit here when you wanted,” Ken suggests tentatively.
“...okay,” Wifies agrees. “Yeah. That sounds good.”
Ken smiles at him, offers him a hand- Wifies reaches out, and grabs it, and they leave the server together.