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Things had been quieter between them since Proton. Once they’d free’d Ken everyone had gone their separate ways. Wifies had stuck with Parrot halfway to spawn before the other had asked him to leave.
It had hurt. Wifies had flown back to his house surrounded by strawberries and sunflowers and locked the door behind him, lying on his bed till the moon rose high in the sky when he finally fell asleep.
Wifies had messed up. He knew that, from the way Parrot didn’t turn to him to confirm his decisions anymore. From the way they flew in silence, their usual chatter leaving a hole in the skies that the rushing wind could not fill.
After a while, Parrot had showed up at Wifies’ house and given him a proposition- they would create a place, so far out it couldn’t be found, where they could live in safety. For a moment, Wifies had thought he was forgiven, that he and Parrot would be able to live a happy, peaceful life together, away from all the chaos and pain of the server.
Then Parrot had mentioned it’d be an empire, and Wifies was grateful he was good at keeping his face neutral. Surely this wasn’t just because Wifies had messed up- he and Parrot would be back to normal again soon, and they could go on pretending Wifies hadn’t opened his stupid mouth in Proton.
Had it ever been normal, though? Had the laughs and the adventuring and the spyglass and everything, had it all been Wifies imagination?
Parrot had said they weren’t friends. He- surely they could still be allies, at least? They could trust eachother, right?
Maybe Wifies had been imagining the friendliness. Maybe he’d just been jolted out of whatever dream he’d been in, and he’d been so dazzled by being on a real team with an ally doing actual things he just… exaggerated what he thought they were in his head.
That would have made sense… if it weren’t for Dean.
Dean, this random player who didn’t have the tiniest drop of knowledge about the world- he didn’t even know what a stasis chamber was for Void’s sake, much less how to use one.
But that didn’t matter now. Because Parrot was going through the effort of freeing Dean from whatever organization had sprung up this time, and Wifies knew one thing for certain.
He had been replaced.
He’d been replaced by someone who barely knew how to use an elytra, who’d only survived because of the maxed gear he’d been given by the people that’d forced him into their ranks.
The worst part was, Wifies’ anger wasn’t even justifiable. Dean hadn’t made a huge step over the line of what Parrot was okay with, Dean had just been friendly and nice to Parrot from what Wifies had seen (and from the little bit of eavesdropping Wifies had done on the private conversations between him and Parrot.)
That wasn’t even the biggest part. For all the skill differences between Dean and Wifies, it wouldn’t have mattered if Wifies was better than Clownpierce, Dean still deserved to be at Parrot’s side more. After all, Dean at least was a player.
It was almost as if he knew Wifies’ biggest secret. To Dean, Wifies was a footnote at most in his and Parrot’s grand adventure. Wifies was the one who tagged along behind them and did what Parrot told him to and didn’t ask questions.
Was that all Wifies was now? Another Kier or Dev, trailing behind another player like a dog waiting for even the briefest glance to acknowledge its presence? Perhaps he was. He trusted Parrot, far more than he had any good reason to, and he did whatever Parrot asked without question, anticipating what Parrot would want and accommodating his whole life to fit Parrot’s whims.
What, really, had Parrot done for Wifies? Sure, he’d brought Wifies into the light on a server he’d been less than a background character on, gave him a little trinket and freed him from a trap Parrot had gotten him into.
Why was Wifies’ mind stuck in a loop, endlessly returning to Parrot, Parrot, Parrot. Before it had been Parrot and Wifies, Wifies and Parrot. The two of them against the world, against the richest and the strongest and the smartest players out there, and they’d managed to weave in and out of the reaching fingers and found a way through.
Was that gone now? Was all that effort and time and pain worthless, now that Parrot had a more convenient lapdog to follow him around?
Maybe Wifies was as replaceable as he felt.
All this and more went through his head as he sat on the swing he had helped Horace set up, looking at the castle. It seemed to go on and on, blue and white towers reaching up towards… more void.
Wifies shuddered. He hated the End. He hated the cold that nipped at his skin like a hungry fox, more empty than cold really. He hated the winds that came and went out of nowhere, ruffling his hair in an unnatural, un-wind-like way. Out here in the empire he and Parrot had watched being built, Wifies was constantly aware of how much he was relying on a rock to keep defying gravity and staying where it was, hanging, above the void that seemed to call for him in tones only he could hear, wanting to drag him into it again and never let him back.
He’d told Parrot about this once. About the way the void called for him and how it crept into his dreams, turning them to nightmares and dragging him down, down, down into its depths where it would hold him far closer than it had in the chunkbans, slowly devouring him inside out.
Wifies hadn’t told Parrot about the things the void whispered to him, the things it shouldn’t know and the things he didn’t want to hear. The void stretched under everything, and it knew Wifies better than he knew himself. It loved his anger with Dean, with Parrot, for pushing him aside. It laughed at his indignation, making Wifies feel so, so small.
Little thing, it liked to whisper. Do you really hold yourself up at the same level of living creatures?
Wifies refocused on the castle. For a while he watched it, mind going blank for a blissfully quiet moment. Then he frowned.
It looked like there were flies flying around the castle- but this was the End, there were no flies, and besides, flies were too small to see from here.
After a moment, Wifies realized they were players, and one was coming towards him. He almost tensed when he realized this, then saw it was Parrot. Parrot was calling out to him.
Parrot was calling out to him.
Parrot was calling out to him. Maybe he’d forgiven Wifies, maybe he’d apologize for passing off Wifies, maybe he’d ask Wifies to go flying with him and have a talk!
The void thought this was very funny.
“Wifies!”
Parrot had gotten close enough that Wifies could make out what he was saying. He was clearly agitated, nervous about something- his wings were more ruffled than normal, and his landing was more rushed.
“What is it?”
Wifies had already guessed it wasn’t about him. Parrot’s words telling him to come to the meeting table confirmed this- and the new wall between them was further reinforced when Parrot just repeated himself and flew back towards the castle.
Dean had probably broken something, Wifies reflected as he followed Parrot, perhaps a bit slower than he might. Maybe he let a sapling fall in the void before replanting it, or lost all our gapples, or something bad like that.
Now now,
The void chided, its voice dripping with amusement.
Don’t be selfish little thing. Aren’t you supposed to be friends with Dean, as he’s the new right hand man of your great and glorious king?
Wifies glowered a little, brushing it off. Parrot said something about finding Kenadian, and he automatically replied that he’d handle it. He quickly spotted Ken wandering the edge of the island, looking out over the edge. Wifies called to him, telling him Parrot wanted them to meet at the table.
Maybe it was the abrupt way Wifies turned without waiting for a reply. Maybe it was the slight crease above his eyes. Ken noticed something, and his mouth opened, ready for a questioning. Wifies was grateful the wind swept Ken’s words away enough he could pretend he hadn’t noticed.
Once he and Ken had landed and taken their seats, Wifies let the hint of a smirk cross his face as Parrot turned to Dean, asking in an annoyed voice-well, annoyed for Parrot that is- to explain why they’d all been called here. Once again, he ignored the questioning look Ken sent him.
The next bit was a blur. Parrot telling them to split into groups and search for the invisible mole that he was sure was hiding somewhere on the island. The part that stuck out was being forgotten when pairs were assigned. Maybe it was just that Wifies happened to be one of the last two people and Parrot didn’t feel the need to tell them to pair up. Maybe Wifies was just upset Parrot had been so quick to pick Dean as his partner. Either way, Wifies was fully aware he was barely looking at his surroundings enough not to crash into anything, much less spot an enemy.
Even the discovery of the sewers didn’t make him feel much, though he mumbled something to keep Ken’s accusatory gaze from evolving into questions. He barely noticed when they found the stash of items, opening the first shulker he saw and just grabbing the item closest to him.
Wifies wasn’t really into the fight. He didn’t do much, swinging his sword and giving a little bit of focus into not hitting his teammates- were they his teammates? Did he get to call anyone his teammates? The void didn’t think so, and none of them had shown any opinion contradicting that, except maybe Ken.
Wifies was too slow to help as Parrot yelled for him to help, to heal his armor- and then Parrot’s helmet was broken and his voice was getting desperate, and Wifies focused enough to splash him a little. Another time he’d helped unconsciously, without so much as a thank you to acknowledge it.
Before he knew it Parrot was flying away- and everyone was yelling ‘retreat!’ Dean was nowhere to be seen- maybe off hiding somewhere, maybe dead. Wifies couldn’t bring himself to care. He followed Parrot, again, as Parrot fled for the switch that controlled the chunkbans- and then they were still flying around the city, because apparently some of the people who’d decided to show up here didn’t know when to leave.
Wifies knew, logically, that he was being unfair. But really, the world was unfair, and he had the right to be a little mad every once in a while. This made the void laugh and laugh and laugh. But really- was it such a crime to call someone a good friend? After everything Wifies had done?
What was the point of sticking with Parrot, really. He always ran- whenever an enemy came up, in the end, Parrot ran. He ran off to some hidey-hole a hundred thousand blocks out and sat there until Wifies dragged him back.
Wifies was a big target on the server now, all because of Parrot. Trouble followed Parrot almost as closely as Wifies did, and Wifies always seemed to bear the brunt of it. The only things Parrot lost were whatever he’d decided to focus on that time that had angered someone or other.
How long would it take Parrot to notice if Wifies just flew away right now, went through the portal back to the Overworld and left Parrot stranded out here in the end. An hour? A day? A week?
Would he even be missed? After all, Parrot had Dean now, wherever he was. It wasn’t as if Wifies had ever been the most important thing- he probably didn’t even make top ten, come to think about it. Parrot was all ‘spyglass this’ and ‘Dean that’ these days.
Yes, the void whispered. Leave them and come to me, come to where you belong. Come to a place you’re actually meant to exist in.
For a moment, Wifies was tempted. Not by the void, but by the thought of returning to his house and just growing strawberries. He and Ken could start a flower garden. Maybe he’d take up beekeeping or something.
But no. Wifies couldn’t leave.
Parrot had dragged him into this mess, and Wifies had stuck himself firmly enough to Parrot that he couldn’t leave now. Maybe Dean would just… disappear one day, and Parrot would forget about his apparent anger towards Wifies, and then they could go back to normal. Wouldn’t that be nice?
And so Wifies flew after Parrot, over the void that made him shiver and kept him up at night. He flew onwards, into uncertainty that surely held even more dangers. Wifies would follow Parrot to the ends of the earth, the top of the sky, even into the void if Parrot asked him too.
Wifies would follow.