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"If you're going to the Farlands," the stall owner warned the duo, "be careful of a known thief in the area, Conexion."
Wemmbu tilted his head at the old man, "A thief?"
Egg leaned over his shorter friends shoulder as the stall owner continued to explain, "He has a base in the Farlands and he also has a taste for anything that looks interesting."
Wemmbu snarled softly at the pointed stare towards where Gambit and Crucible crossed each other over his back.
Egg nudged his friend and turned to the man, "Thank you for the advice, we'll be on our way now."
Wemmbu waved a hand in the air and let his maces disappear back into his inventory before stomping off with a huff.
Egg sighed as he caught up with the dragon, "Don't be upset, he was just looking out for you."
"Yeah, yeah," Wemmbu stuck out his tongue, "whatever. We have things to do."
"Let's go, then."
~
"Holy shit…" Wemmbu breathed out at the sight before them.
Approximately twelve million blocks away from spawn starts to generate terrain known as the Farlands, where the code of the world becomes corrupted and the land changes to something unnatural.
Currently before the two was a perfect split between normal terrain and the Farlands, a wall of stone towered up about a hundred blocks from the normal biome below. There were holes cut between the stone, stretching out further than they could see and breaking apart the terrain.
"Are you sure about this, Wemm?" Egg's eye above his head widened.
Wemmbu grinned, "I can't wait to see what's waiting for me here!"
Egg sighed as Wemmbu took off with a cackle, "That one knows no fear."
The friends flew up to the top of the start of the Farlands and once again paused to stare at flat expanse of grass before them.
"Are you sure we can't just leave it be and go home?" Egg whined.
"No, Egg," Wemmbu groaned, "you know what happens when I ignore the voices."
"Come on, bro!"
~
It was kind of boring running through completely flat terrain, the only changes they came across being either a break in the earth that went down to the void and across as far as the eye could see, or the grass temporarily changing hue with a biome change.
They had been running and flying for weeks before there was finally a change. It wasn't a change in terrain though, it was a person.
Egg's totem went of as a cackle was heard and Wemmbu shot around with Gambit and swung, hitting the person. The mysterious blond man let out a groan before blocking another swing of the powerful mace.
"That's a nice weapon," the man grinned, "I think i would go nicely in my collection."
"Conexion." Wemmbu hissed as his tail swung wildly, realizing just who was in front of him.
"That's right~!" the thief sung, "Nice to meet you!"
Wemmbu and Conexion began to fight, swinging at each other and destroying the flat terrain in the process. Egg shot the blond man in the back, causing him to fall down a hole that Gambit made in the ground. The man seemed to decide that it was safer down there, as Wemmbu wouldn't be able to use his density mace in such a small space. It would have been a good idea…
If Wemmbu didn't have Crucible, that is.
As Wemmbu swung between his sword (✿◠ᴗ◠) and breach mace Crucible, Conexion shrieked at the amount of damage that was being done to him. When he got to half a heart, the thief turned suddenly and place a pot in front of him.
Wemmbu went to deal the final blow when Crucible suddenly disappeared from his hands and into the pot.
"YES!" Conexion screamed, breaking the pot and running away with Crucible.
Wemmbu only stared at him as he ran off with the last remains of Rejoice, his pupils turned to slits with barely contained rage. Egg approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Why didn't you go after him?" he questioned to dragon.
Wemmbu smiled darkly, "It doesn't matter where he runs, I'll find him."
Egg hesitated, "Let's… let's go and restock."
Wemmbu grinned meanly and Egg internally wondered if the thief would live to warn others of Wemmbu or die in agony.
~
They turned off the track of where the voices were originally leading them, now being lead towards the trail of the thief. They passed by structures that look familiar but neither could place why. That is until they found a tree house that the both of them knew very well.
"No…" Wemmbu whispered, staggering towards the replica of his home, "how?"
Egg frowned, "Does this mean that everything we've been seeing are places that we've been?"
Wemmbu didn't answer, he just ran inside the house that he had lived in for years. He ran up the stairs that had multiple scratches on it from Mane's paws. He ran passed the kitchen where he ate every meal. He ran through the living room where he and Flame would rough house and roll on the ground until Mane would have to separate them. He ran up another set of stairs, ones with a red stain from where Wemmbu dropped a glass of juice during his first few weeks at home and cried because he thought that he would be in trouble but Mane was more worried about if Wemmbu had stepped in the broken glass and hurt himself.
He came to the door to Flame's room, it was cracked open in a way he'd never have it. Wemmbu gently pushed the door open and almost collapsed. Sitting on his brothers bed was an image of Flame himself. He was clutching his communicator with tears running down his face.
Wemmbu ran to his side and clutched at his hoodie, "Flame?"
The image of his brother didn't react, causing Wemmbu to let out a wail, "Flame! Please! I'm right here!"
Egg ran into the room and his panicked expression turned to sadness, "Oh, Wemm…"
Wemmbu turned to his friend with teary eyes, "Why won't he respond?"
"He's not the real Flame," Egg explained, "I think it's like an echo of him."
Wemmbu's lip trembled, "MANE!!!!!"
Wemmbu first reaction when things went wrong was always - and will always be - running to Mane. Even when he hadn't seen his brother in nearly a year.
Egg stepped out of the way as his friend ran down the hall to his oldest brothers room. Wemmbu slammed the door open and frantically searched the room but couldn't find the echo of Mane. Before he started crying again, he decided to check his own room.
And there, hunched over Wemmbu's bed, was Mane. His shoulders shook with sobs that they couldn't hear and his claws ripped into the sheets as he clutched them as tight as he could.
More tears fell from Wemmbu's eyes, "Mane…"
Wemmbu knelt next to his eldest brother and held onto one of the hands holding his sheets, "Mane.. I'm so sorry. Please look at me. Please."
~
They ended up spending the night in the tree house before leaving. Wemmbu's tears had dried sometime in the middle of the night and despite being tired from not sleeping, it seemed he was even more motivated.
"We get Crucible back, do what the voices wanted and then we go home." Wemmbu listed as they flew.
Egg smiled, "We'll be home soon."
They continued on Conexion's tail, flying and running for about a week before they came across a man.
Wemmbu almost mistook him for Rejoice when they first saw him, the blond hair and yellow skin an almost complete match to his friend. This guy was brighter though, probably because he actually can see the sun, unlike when Rejoice was underground. He also seemed to be some sort of aquatic hybrid.
The guy waved up at them desperately and after sharing a look, the two landed in front of the stranger.
"Can we help you, bro?" Wemmbu questioned cautiously.
"Yes! Please…" the man pleaded, "I'm lost! This random man stole something of mine and I ran off to get it back, but got separated from my guards!"
"Guards?" the two tiled their heads in unison.
"Oh! Yes, My name is Prince Zam, the emperor of the PrinceZam Empire!" the man cheered.
"That's… a little egotistical." Egg admitted.
Zam rolled his eyes, "I'm not very good at naming things."
"Clearly," Wemmbu replied dryly, "the thief, was he blond?"
"Yeah! He was also carrying this beautiful mace with sunflowers all over it! You know him?" Zam clapped his hands.
Wemmbu hissed, "Yes, that's my mace that he stole!"
Zam gasped, "Then we can work together!"
Egg sighed, "An extra set of hands wouldn't be a bad idea…"
"You're right," Wemmbu hummed, "alright Prince Zam, let's work together."
"Yay!" he cheered, "Oh- and just Zam is fine."
"My name is Eggchan and this is Wemmbu." Egg introduced, knowing that Wemmbu was not in the mood right now.
"Let's go."
~
They switched between running and flying again, thankfully Zam had an elytra and plenty of fireworks so they could quickly traverse the terrain. They found that the prince was extremely talkative, but only about things that ultimately lead back to him. He talked about his empire, his subjects, his palace, his guards, his closet…
"Honestly, Wemmbu! You need to let me change up your wardrobe! The clothes you're wearing don't even fit!"
Wemmbu rolled his eyes and flapped his wings, rolling onto his back to lock eyes with Zam, "They fit fine."
It wasn't entirely a lie, his clothes still fit him, but the sleeves were torn and too short for his arms now. Same with his pants. He could also feel his shoes (Mane's old ones) starting to squeeze his toes uncomfortably. He's actually really glad that his wings have grown in so much, meaning he doesn't have to walk the majority of the time and can get some pressure off of his feet.
Zam hummed, "I probably have something in my echest that will fit you… the sleeves and pants might be a little too long on you though…"
Wemmbu's eyebrow twitched, "Are you calling me short?"
Egg sighed as Zam started stuttering, "W-what?! No! Of course not!"
To be fair to Zam, Wemmbu wasn't exactly the tallest person in the group. That went to Egg. Wemmbu was malnourished for a good part of his childhood and even when he was taken into a loving home, his body never really recovered to the point it should have, causing his lack of height and slim build.
Egg on the other hand, lived a very nice childhood under Minute's care, growing to his full potential very early on, towering over most people they passed. It might also have something to do with his angelic genetics.
Zam stood at a more average height, although he was able to use his aquatic tail as a stool that would give him a few more inches of height.
"Let's take a break and get you some different clothes!" Zam seemed way too excited about this situation.
~
"Happy now?" Wemmbu grumbled.
He had to admit, Zam had taste.
Wemmbu was now wearing long black pants that had ruffles from half way up his calf down to his feet. Zam was right, they were too long for him. Luckily, Zam had a pair of black leather boots with heels. Wemmbu found them actually quite easy to move in and even did a few strikes with Gambit to test fighting.
He now had a white poets shirt absolutely covered in ruffles. The back had to be altered by Egg to allow room for his wings and the long puffy sleeves were held back by some gold cuffs Wemmbu had stole- looted a while back. He was also wearing a lot of gold jewelry just because he wanted to.
Zam had looked at him, scrunched up his face and turned back to his echest, pulling out a black corset with gold accents. He pushed it into Wemmbu's chest and Egg helped him put it on, finally completing the look.
"Prefect!" Zam cheered, "Sorry I don't have anything to fit you, Egg."
Egg shook his head with a smile, "It's fine, my clothes still fit just fine."
Wemmbu sighed, "Thanks for the clothes, Zam. But we need to get going."
"Yes sir!" Zam clapped.
Wemmbu's face scrunch in disgust as Egg giggled, "Don't call me that."
~
Conexion shrieked as his totem popped and a crater opened in the ground beneath him. Maces were truly overpowered weapons.
Wemmbu hissed at the man, "Conexion!"
"Oh please, dear friend!" the man smiled, "Call me Sharpness!"
Wemmbu swung his mace again causing Sharpness to squeal and dodge, "Give me back my mace!"
"You already have one!" Sharpness huffed, "What do you need two for?!"
An arrow shot him in the back, his body sudden feeling weak with a potion effect. He turned his head to see Zam hiding behind Egg, who had another arrow drawn and ready to release. Sharpness tried to pearl over to them - taking his chances with the weaker two - only to be intercepted by Wemmbu's own pearl and sword.
Sharpness retreated back, "Look, I don't want any trouble!"
"Then give me my mace back!" Wemmbu hissed.
"And my crown!" Zam called from a safe distance.
Wemmbu nodded, "And his crown."
"You're working with this guy?!" Sharpness seemed genuinely confused.
Wemmbu shrugged and swung his mace again, "I don't see any reason not to!"
Sharpness dodged the hit and pearled further away, Wemmbu hot on his tail, "Hey man, you shouldn't trust that guy! He's messed up in the head!"
Wemmbu rolled his eyes, "Oh, and I should trust the thief?"
"I gain nothing from tearing apart whatever friendship you guys have with him, it's not like he's exactly helpful to your team." Sharpness reasoned.
"How about you give me the mace and then we talk." Wemmbu snarled lifting up Gambit once again.
"Listen!" Sharpness pleaded, "I'm actually trying to help you here! Zam always thinks the worst of people, even when he's pretending to be nice! He always thinks he's going to be betrayed!"
Wemmbu frowned, "I don't need advice from you. Give me my MACE!"
Gambit hit the ground and even though it missed him, Sharpness still took a good chunk of damage from the shockwave. If he was being completely honest, Sharpness was a little scared of that weapon. It wasn't like a regular mace, it looked strange and hit harder than anything he'd ever witnessed. The damage it dealt reminded him of boss mobs, like the Warden or the Ender Dragon.
The other mace - the one he took from Wemmbu - was weird too. It was… pretty? Yeah, pretty. It was pretty with all the sunflowers and yellow gems, but it would sometimes let out strange sounds, like it was growling. Which was crazy, because that is an inanimate object and it cannot get mad at him and growl?!
Even during this fight, Sharpness could feel the mace in his inventory grow heavy and weigh him down, like it was trying to stop him from running away from the fight. Or just running away from Wemmbu. Sharpness was seriously beginning to think this was not worth the effort of the fight.
"Okay, okay!" Sharpness held his hands up in surrender, "I give up! I'll give you the mace!"
Wemmbu held his mace steady, "And the crown?"
"And the crown!" he groaned.
Wemmbu lead him over to where Egg and Zam were waiting and waited for him to hand over the objects. Zam practically glowed in happiness as he placed his crown on his head.
Crucible sung when it was handed over to Wemmbu, Gambit joining in.
Wemmbu lowered his mace and turned away from Sharpness, "You can go now."
"Wait," Sharpness looked confused, so did Zam, "you're actually letting me go?"
Wemmbu paused as he stared down at Crucible, "Yeah… forgive and forget. You gave me and Zam our items back, there's no need to kill you."
Egg smiled softly at his friend. Rejoice left a very big impression on Wemmbu, to the point where just looking at Crucible would calm him down from his murderous rampages.
Zam stared at the dragon with a blank expression.
~
Strange.
Wemmbu was strange.
And interesting.
Zam had never met someone so strange and interesting. Wemmbu was a breathe of fresh air and Zam wasn't used to it. He knew that Wemmbu and Egg were going to betray him, everyone always does eventually! That's why he always stops them before they even get the chance!
Or, he thought they were going to betray him. He thought… but he doesn't know anymore. He was ready to attack Wemmbu the minute he killed Sharpness, taking anything he could from the other man, hopefully those beautiful maces. But then Wemmbu showed mercy.
Zam didn't know Wemmbu and Egg very well, but he thought that he knew enough to pass judgment on them. Turns out he didn't. Zam might actually be wrong for once in his life! And he didn't like what that meant.
Because if Zam was wrong this one time, how many other times had he been wrong? How many times had he executed someone he thought was going to betray him or his empire and been wrong? How many innocent lives had he taken?
Zam didn't want to think about it. But if he had been wrong so many times, things had to change. He couldn't kill people willy nilly anymore. He had to put a stop to the paranoia. That's what it is, isn't it? Paranoia.
Zam had to change, and it starts now.
~
Wemmbu scoffed as Sharpness flew away on his elytra as fast as humanly possible and turned back to Egg and Zam.
"Alright," he swung Gambit and Crucible across his back, "let's find your guards, Zam."
Zam, seemingly in a daze, snapped his head up to meet Wemmbu's eyes, "Oh- yes! They shouldn't be far. One of them is blowing up my communicator, meaning they're within range now."
"Within range?" Wemmbu tilted his head.
Egg jumped in to explain, "In the Farlands, communicators often glitch out and can only work when they're within a certain distance of another one."
"Ohhhh…" Wemmbu trailed off.
"You didn't know?" Zam blink with a strangely soft smile.
Zam had been acting softer than he normally would. He was usually very cheerful and loud, bouncing around the place. But right now, he was calm and seemed… content.
"Our communicators are wreaked," Wemmbu admitted, "completely unusable."
"Really?" Zam hummed before brightening, "I have someone in my empire that fixes communicators. he's very good with redstone. If you come with me, I can get them fixed for you."
The duo brighten before Wemmbu winced, "We're… not actually done in the Farlands."
"But you got your mace back?" Zam blinked in surprise.
Egg sighed, "This was a detour, we were already in the Farlands when Sharpness stole the mace."
"Oh!" Zam smiled, "That's fine! Do you have something to write down the coordinates of my empire? Then you can come by when you're done!"
Egg pulled out a book, "Yeah!"
Wemmbu leaned against the angel, "Do you want us to wait for your guards to get here before leaving?"
Zam shook his head, "They'll be here in less than ten minutes. Go on your journey and come visit me later!"
Wemmbu and Egg waved at their new friend before taking off into the sky, black and white feathers mixing on the ground.
~
"ZAMMMMMM!!!!!" Pangi cried, embracing his friend.
"Hey Pangi!" Zam cheered, hugging him back.
Mane sighed and brushed a hand down his long blond hair, "Please stop running off."
"How are we supposed to protect you if you run away from your own guards?!" Flame hissed, his tail swinging behind him in irritation.
Mane placed a hand on his brothers head to calm him, causing the younger man to huff.
Zam grinned, "I made some friends! And they helped me get my crown back, see!"
Mane looked around, the only sign that someone else had been there were the black and white feathers scattered around, dancing through the wind.
Flame huffed, "And where are these friends now?"
"They said they still had things to do in the Farlands," Zam smiled sadly, causing his guards to freeze, "But they'll come visit after they're done!"
"…I guess you had fun?" Pangi asked carefully.
"Yup! The most fun I've had in ages!" Zam agreed, a genuine smile one his face.
Mane and Flame glanced at each other, Zam was acing weird. But he seemed a lot more calm than normal and they didn't need him going crazy and turning on them next.
"Let's head home!" Zam skipped off, causing Pangi and the brothers to run after him.
If only Wemmbu and Egg had stuck around for another ten minutes…