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"Holy shit…" Wemmbu trailed off at the large castle of quartz and gold sparkling in the distance.
"It's just suspended over the void." Egg commented as they flew towards it.
They had been traveling in the Farlands for another month looking for what the voices called 'The Forge'. What was the Forge you ask? They didn't know! The voices wouldn't elaborate. So now they were still wondering the void aimlessly lost!
A blast of TNT exploded right next to Egg, causing the angel to let out an extremely manly shriek. Wemmbu turned towards where the attack came from and spotted a player to the side of the main castle. They stood in front of what looked to be a TNT cannon and seemed to be recharging for another shot.
"Careful, Egg!" Wemmbu called, "They're firing another one!"
Egg spun in the air, dodging another blast and flying further into the void to leave Wemmbu free to attack the player. Which he did immediately, for someone who's only had their wings for a little while, Wemmbu sure knows how to fly fast.
Gambit smashed down on the player, destroying their totem and parts of the cannon they were using. The player pulled out their sword and a battle began.
~
"Nitenly! Stand down!" a voice called from beyond the destruction.
The player - now known as Nitenly - lowered their sword with what might have been a pout. Wemmbu could't really tell as the man had turned away from him. Egg flew down and stood behind Wemmbu, his hand tight on a drawn bow.
"Calm down! Calm down!" the other player hissed frantically as two more players ran out behind him, "We don't want a fight!"
"Really?!" Wemmbu scoffed.
Egg huffed, "Then why attack us in the first place?!"
"Listen! My friend here was just being cautious!" the man waved his arms in a show of surrender, "We're chill! Promise!"
Wemmbu held his mace on his shoulder and waved to Egg to lower his bow, "Okay, then. We're chill."
The man let out a breath of relief, "My name is Serpentbound, we're friends of Lakerek."
"Lakerek…?"
The image of Gambit coming down on a players head came to Wemmbu and Egg's minds.
"Ohhhh, yeah…"
"He sent out a letter before he- you know… that said you guys were strong players."
Egg brighten but quickly dimmed as Wemmbu stared at him blankly, Lakerek did not mean both of them.
Serpentbound continued, "If you just come inside and wait for us to finish out meeting, then we can talk."
Wemmbu thought for a moment before letting his mace join Crucible on his back, "Fine then."
~
The room they were led to was large, way too large in Wemmbu's opinion. Everything was spread too far apart because of the space, leaving awkward parts of nothing to walk through.
"Just stay here while we talk," Serpentbound once again pleaded with the duo.
Wemmbu waved him off, "Hurry up, have your meeting."
Egg raised an eyebrow at Wemmbu, "You're actually letting them have their meeting?"
"No," Wemmbu scoffed, "Let's search the room, I bet it's trapped!"
Wemmbu was right, of course. It didn't take a lot of searching to find the TNT placed under the entire floor. These guys were probably idiots, as they hadn't even rigged the redstone to blow it all up correctly. Oh well, free TNT!
After looting their room while Egg laid in the bed to rest his aching body, they decided to explore the palace. Passing through useless rooms, a lackluster rollercoaster and an arena (which Egg decided was a good idea to challenge Wemmbu in for some reason), they came across an armory.
"Bro, these guys are stacked." Egg gasped as he looked in all the chests.
"They even have a trading hall…" Wemmbu trailed off before turning to his friend, "How many empty shulkers to you have?"
"Eight, I think?" Egg replied, already pulling them out.
Wemmbu nodded and took some, "Start filling them with anything useful. We'll ask them once where the Forge is and if they don't tell us, it's game over for them."
Egg raised an eyebrow, "We're going to kill them?"
"No," Wemmbu denied, "as long as they don't try to kill us. We don't technically need them to find the Forge, the voices can guide us there. But they may not take too kindly to us looting their supplies."
"Okay," Egg nodded, "Let's do it."
~
They didn't want to tell them where the Forge was. Or they didn't know, as they had claimed.
Fine then, as Wemmbu said earlier, they didn't need them to find it. The players let the two go on their way without a fight. Nitenly didn't seem to happy about it.
And so they were traversing the Farlands once more, guided by Wemmbu's strange voices.
Until they found it.
Wemmbu slowly smiled, causing Egg to back away. The dragon purred in delight at the sight of the strange machines, his wings ruffled and his tail swayed lazily.
"What…?" Egg asked warily.
Wemmbu's smile was deceptively sweet, "I think it's only fair that I would be the one to find something like this."
"And what is this?" the angel raised and eyebrow.
Wemmbu giggled, "It's what Lakerek was using to summon the TNT. An Orbital Strike Cannon."
Egg's eye widened, "What?!"
Wemmbu nodded and pointed to a different machine in the distance, "And I think that's what he used to summon it to wherever he wanted."
Egg was quiet for a moment, "…You know what will happen if it gets out that you have such a strong weapon, correct?"
"We'll be unstoppable, Egg!" Wemmbu's arms spread as he cheerfully spun in a circle, his ponytail swaying in the air, "Nobody would dare to go against us again! Nobody could stop us from getting home! Home to Mane, home to Flame, home to Minute!"
Egg thought for a bit before sighing, "I'll do whatever you do."
Wemmbu grinned and raced towards the other machine, only to pause with a scowl, "So much for not knowing where the Forge is."
"This isn't the Forge," Serpentbound started, Nitenly glaring at his side, "I'll take you to the actual Forge, I promise."
Egg huffed behind his friend, "Your promises mean nothing when you've never managed to keep one."
"The Forge is back in the castle, I'm serious! I'll take you straight to it! Wemmbu please! Leave this place!" Serpentbound pleaded desperately.
Wemmbu's head tilted, his pupils narrow as a mean smirk crossed his face, "Fine."
Serpentbound brightened as Egg turn a questioning gaze towards his friend. Nitenly clearly didn't trust Wemmbu, as he held his own mace tighter over his shoulder.
"But if you're lying again," Wemmbu's voice was low and dark, hints of a growl slipping between his words, "then I will come back here. I will load the cannons and I will nuke your entire castle until nothing remains. I will kill all of your comrades and leave you to watch until the end. Do you understand me?"
Serpentbound flinched as Nitenly stepped forward with a snarl, only to be pulled back by his leader, "Yes! Okay, that's fine! Let's go."
~
The journey back to the castle was tense, but not as tense as when they arrive at the End portal.
A lit End portal, something the two had been searching for for a whole year now. Their best way home, right in front of them. They weren't even trying to find one at the moment!
"The Forge is through there." Serpentbound attempted to persuade them to jump in the portal.
The voices in Wemmbu's head screamed in protest, the sound causing him to grab his head in pain. Egg's large eye snapped to him but he waved his friend off.
"Yeah, right," Wemmbu scoffed as he shook of the pain, "I've grown tired of your games."
The portal below flickered, possibly something to do with a combination of Wemmbu's rage and heritage.
Serpentbound started to sweat, "W-what do you mean? This is the Forge!"
"Do you take me for a fool?" Wemmbu snarled, his eyes glowing.
Egg's wings raised as he looked into the distance, spotting another one of the players drawing as bow.
"Are you stupid?!" Serpentbound tried desperately, "You've seen so many glitches in the Farlands and a glitched portal is the one you won't believe?!"
Wemmbu's tail swished wildly, "I can tell the difference between a glitched and normal portal!"
Egg's real eyes opened, his pupils slit as he flew beside Wemmbu, shoving him out of the way of a stray arrow and getting knocked into the portal. Wemmbu stood frozen, his eyes darkening as he realized what just happened. He drew Gambit and swung.
~
Blood stained the courtyard of the once pure white castle and Serpentbound turned towards Wemmbu as the other three disappeared.
"We can talk!" his hands were held up in surrender, a mock of when they first met.
Wemmbu smirked, "So now you want to talk it out?"
Serpentbound's leggings and chest plate had already broken, his boots and helmet were likely not far behind. He was out of totems and alone.
"Yeah- yeah! Let's talk!"
~
"Are you happy now?" Serpentbound hissed as they walked up the stairs to the portal.
Wemmbu - now three shulcker boxes heavier of deadly weapons and voices silent with content - skipped up the stairs and smiled gently, "Thank you kindly for your help."
Serpentbound grumbled, "Just never return here. And don't tell anyone about this place!"
Wemmbu rolled his eyes as they finally got to the platform, "Whatever, dude. I don't care."
Serpentbound pushed the dragon into the portal, eager to be rid of the man who had caused him so much stress over the last week.
~
Wemmbu felt the world around him shift. He'd heard players talk about it being jarring and nauseating the first time going through the End portal, but he found it oddly peaceful. It wasn't like going through a Nether portal. Sure they give you a bit of dizziness, but it's really like stepping through a door. With an End portal - as Wemmbu now finds - it feels like you're falling into the void.
The cold realm greeted Wemmbu warmly, as if he were an old friend.