Chapter Text
The air swirled cold between Parrot and the Director.
No.
Between Parrot and Wifies.
“-hats when I realized that I couldn't help you Parrot.” Wifies was talking, but Parrot wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. Instead he studied his best friend who he thought was dead, “I tried to message you, but you were in trouble and couldn’t message me back–”
“It's really you,” Parrot breathed into the winter air, a smile appearing on his face, “I-I can’t believe it. I really thought you were dead bro.”
Wifies smiled, “I was never dead. You can’t get rid of me that easily,” he laughed.
“How bro. How did you do it?” Parrot asked with an astonished tilt of his head.
“Remember that dog I made you tame? I dropped it into the void at the same time I would have theoretically died, then told Ash to tell you I was dead,” he shrugged.
Parrot frowned, “Why? I thought you were dead. Killed by the Director. Did you…kill yourself…just to get a point across?”
If he was the Director, did that mean all of this was a game to him?
“No. I did that so I could understand you, Parrot.” A dangerous glint entered Wifies’ eyes, “I didn’t want to kill myself…as you call it.” He started to count his fingers off, “I needed to know how you work. How you think. How you handle different situations. How you work under pressure…and now I know everything about you, Parrot.”
“What about all those people you killed? Did they mean nothing to you?”
“They were in the way,” and the thing that scared Parrot the most was the cold look in his eyes.
Parrot took a tentative step back. This was wrong. Something was very wrong about this whole situation.
“What is wrong with you bro,” he breathed, his feathers ruffling in the cold air around, behind him, “What happened?”
“Parrot. Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to protect you,” Wifies said softly, now only a few blocks away.
“So you sent assassins after me bro? I could have died-”
“They would have never killed you,” Wifies tone returned to the neutrality the director held himself with and looked down at Parrot, “There were many different ways you could have died, but didn’t, because of me.”
Parrot looked at Wifies with a broken expression before turning away from him, if only to hide his face, from the friend he thought he knew best. He wrapped his arms around himself and didn’t let the tears fall for his long lost friend as he looked down at the snow that was starting to grow around his feet. He sniffed softly as he kicked a particularly large lump and watched the snow fall away.
This was all his fault then.
“You know,” Wifies started talking again after a few tense seconds of silence, “I had to kill him.”
What? Parrot stopped prodding at the snow. “What?” Parrot asked, raising his head up, but not daring to look behind him.
“Wifies. The old Wifies. To become who I am now.”
Parrot wiped his tears and glanced back. Wifies looked tired and sad.
“You mean a killer?” Parrot asked, disbelief evident in his voice. He was frowning now.
“No. Your friend.” Wifies smiled at Parrot and walked closer. He nudged him with his hand but Parrot moved away right before he could touch him. Parrot thought he saw sad disappointment marring the Director’s features as he kept walking, his back to Parrot, stopping a few feet in front of him.
Wifies stayed quiet.
“What now?” Parrot asked sadly.
“Now. I think it's time for the next part of the plan.” Wifies said with a smile evident in his voice and it gave Parrot a bad feeling.
This was not the Wifies he once knew and it made him sick. He couldn’t go with the Director. He didn’t want to.
“Which is…” Parrot asked carefully not trusting the person in front of him anymore.
“I’ll tell you on the way,” Wifies turned around and smiled at Parrot and Parrot almost went.
His feathers ruffled and he took a step back to stop himself from running to Wifies's side.
“No.”
The words seemed to echo through the night even though the wind and snow were still whistling around them.
Wifies stilled and looked at Parrot.
“No?”
“No.” Parrot said again.
“…
Well, I’m afraid you can’t make demands like that now Parrot,” Wifies said, his own smile fading back to neutrality.
“What do you mean bro?” Parrot challenged, peering at him.
“You will come with me, or you will make me do something I would later regret.”
“Oh and what will that be bro? You already took everything from me,” he challenged.
“I could kill your friends,” said Wifies, no emotion evident on his face.
Parrot’s stomach fell. His arms fell to his sides, wings folded tightly, back straight, eyes wide.
“You wouldn’t,” he breathed out.
“I would.”
Parrot glanced to his right. The direction in where his friends were trapped, under a layer of snow, by the man in front of him. How did he even end up in this situation?
Parrot looked back at his — friend? No. He didn’t even know who Wifies was to him anymore.
“Wifies. What’s wrong with you bro.” Parrot finally asked, his wings shifting with the absurdity of the situation.
But Wifies didn’t seem to hear, or he didn’t care, because his eyes were locked on something in front of Parrot. Or in fact, his sweater.
“Is that blood?” Wifies, asked his eyes wide.
Parrot looked down but he was wearing armor. The only place Wifies would be able to see blood was on his arms, but there wasn’t any there.
He was about to ask what Wifies was talking about but before he could do anything he saw movement and then there was a arm around his neck, on his face, on his nose, and he couldn’t breathe. His eyes went wide with alarm and he tried to grab at the hand around his face, but now a vial was being forced into his mouth, clinking against his teeth. He tried to fight back but Wifies was too strong and Parrot was caught off guard, his inventory forgotten.
He couldn’t breathe and there was now liquid in his mouth and he was panicking. Parrot choked on an swallow and was immediately let go. He stumbled to his knees, gasping in the cold air, coughing into the snow.
Some of the potion dribbled from his mouth onto the snow.
“I’m sorry Parrot, I knew this would have happened, but it has to be done. I wouldn’t have been able to bear it if something were to happen to you,” Wifies was now kneeling beside him with his arms slightly outstretched as if to catch Parrot if he were to fall further into the snow.
That traitor.
Parrot’s coughs subsided as his wings drooped lower. His arms and legs started to feel numb as the world began to fade.
“What–have you–done.” Parrot whispered, exhaustion weighing him down even as he was trying his hardest to fight it.
“This is my story Parrot, and you would have tried to escape if you were conscious while we’re traveling,” Wifies's voice was sad, “ I’m so sorry Parrot,” it cracked.
The last thing he felt were the warm arms of his former best friend before he fell into cold, uncomfortable, unconsciousness.