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"Wemmbu, what are you doing?"
Eggchan finally broke the silence and glanced up at Wemmbu, who’s sitting there for too long, holding a closed eyeblossom in his right hand and positioning it so it completely blocked Eggchan’s face from his view. Eggchan noticed it minutes ago but he was too focused on the fishing rod in his hands to question it right away. When he did, Wemmbu didn’t react. He just sat there holding that strange, ominous looking flower.
Eventually Wemmbu lowered the flower and his gaze settled on Eggchan, the orange glow of the setting sun stretching behind him and framing him in a way that felt almost unreal. Ethereal, even. Wemmbu rested his chin against his hand, staring and thinking for a moment. He had nothing to say. Why had he been doing that? He couldn’t answer it himself. He just... felt like it? And that wasn’t exactly making sense.
"I dunno, I just..." Wemmbu muttered as he rolled his eyes and looked back down at the closed eyeblossom, turning it slightly between his fingers. "Hey Egg, remember when Theo blew up our mushroom house over and over? And tried to kill us like multiple times?"
"Who's us? I didn’t do nothing." Eggchan replied and continued winding his fishing line.
"Nah, what I’m trying to say is-" Wemmbu hesitated, his brows furrowing as the thought slipped away from him in the middle of his sentence. "Well, I think I brought this flower from there." He paused again before continuing. "Actually… I have no clue."
Eggchan just shrugged his shoulders and didn’t response this time. And now that Wemmbu actually thought about it, none of this made sense. Why was he holding the flower? Why was he covering Egg’s face with it? Why was it even here? Why was the sun setting? Why was Egg fishing? He wasn’t supposed to be fishing. He wasn’t even free. He was captured. He was in the caves. So was Wemmbu.
Why are we here, Egg?
"You weren’t strong enough to protect me, Wemmbu."
The parasol behind them collapsed with a sharp crack and hit the ground, bursting into flames. The air filled with screams layered over one another that Wemmbu could not make out anything at all. Eggchan was speaking. His lips were moving. He’s saying something. I have to answer him. I have to save Egg from this massacre. Who even caused this? Why is this happening? When Wemmbu saw his own hands covered in blood, holding his orbital strike cannon, it told enough.
"...!!!"
Wemmbu jolted awake and his eyes snapped open too fast, the sudden movement making them sting. He sat up in bed and immediately brought a hand up to wipe away the reflex tears that already began to fall. The unfamiliar darkness of the mansion swallowed his vision, heavy and suffocating. Without thinking, he reached for the night vision potion on the table beside the bed and splashed it.
He felt awful. He couldn’t fully remember the dream, but he remembered enough to know it was a bad, bad dream.
His throat screamed for cold water. Wemmbu pushed himself out of the bed and made his way through the quiet halls, his footsteps echoing against the cold blackstone floors. When he finally reached for a bottle, he saw it.
The closed eyeblossom. Something about it twisted his stomach and the sight alone made him feel sick. And it wasn’t just one. They were everywhere, lining the mansion and sitting in pots. He felt an overwhelming urge to smash them all, to tear them apart until none were left. Something was bothering him for sure. What was it? Why is it bothering him so much?
Then the door creaked open and Yungy stepped inside, pausing as his eyes landed on Wemmbu’s terrible face expression. "Woah- woah. Did you kill someone? Relax."
"Nah, I just-" Wemmbu rubbed his face and exhaled slowly to calm down. Breaking every flower pot in sight wouldn’t fix anything. He needed to think straight. "Had a nightmare. I guess."
"Yeah, whatever." Yungy muttered. He hesitated, sighing and avoided eye contact. "...Arachnid wants to see you, by the way."
"Oh bet," Wemmbu replied, already moving and grabbing his formal clothes without another question.
When they arrived at the castle, simple conversations with Arachnid went through. Not a lot of devious missions this time, Wemmbu thought. He didn’t sense Yungy staring at him with ice cold eyes, though.
"I’ll let you see him again." Arachnid tilted his head, watching for a reaction. "Eggchan."
Yungy led the way through corridors that felt too long and too quiet, past guards who didn’t speak and didn’t move if it wasn't necessary. Maybe they aren't on their computers all day long, Wemmbu giggled to himself. When they reached a certain wall, a hidden mechanism clicked and the blackstone shifted just enough to reveal a concealed entrance, revealing a secret room buried within the walls. Wemmbu stepped inside. Eggchan was still there.
"What were you doing bro?" Wemmbu asked casually, in the tone of opposite of this situation.
Eggchan glanced up from where he was sitting, a book resting in his hands with a pen-with feather-tucked between his fingers. "What do you think? Writing, that's all I do here!" he replied and giggled casually like he had not been locked behind stone walls for… who knows how long.
And for a moment, several peaceful, ordinary conversations followed. Then Eggchan leaned back into the stiff chair and glanced around at the guards stationed nearby.
"Man, I just wanna get out of here already," he said with a light grin. "Go fishing or something. This is starting to get boring."
Wemmbu let out a laugh, but it didn’t last long, hollowing into something empty. "You can fish in caves too, you know," he said. Well, technically he COULD fish in the caves. Eggchan's not gonna get anymore magic books and whatsoever, because the water was too shallow here, but still! Maybe he could ask Arachnid about it. Maybe if he completes more missions, maybe.
Maybe he can do that.
Eggchan snorted. "You know that’s not what I meant."
"You know what?" Wemmbu’s expression fell flat. "I mean… lowkey, you might be safer here, I dunno." He paused and chuckled. "There’s a hidden room, guards everywhere. What’s the problem?" Wemmbu continued, his voice steadier now. "...Might even be better for you to stay."
Eggchan blinked and let out a small laugh like this was still some kind of joke. "Wemmbu, what are you talking about?" he said. "I meant going back to the spot we used to go to. Remember? I just wanna fish there again."
Wemmbu flinched. Because he knew he had destroyed it himself. Well, he was trying to save Eggchan by finishing a mission. Wasn't he? It was a must. ...was it, really?
"Yeah, I mean- yeah, sure, that place," Wemmbu muttered, forcing a laugh that didn’t quite land as his words stumbled over each other. "We can, uh… go there sometime, if you manage yourself out of here."
Eggchan watched him and sighed. "Yeah, I really miss the vibe there." After a pause, he continued, "But I mean it. I do wanna get outta here. For real!" He leaned his head back and exhaled dramatically. "I’ve been writing Socrates essays all day. I’m actually gonna lose it, man."
Wemmbu let out a awkward laugh. "Yeah. Right. Makes sense, bro." How was he going to tell him that he destroyed it? How? Would Eggchan accept Wemmbu's reasons about destroying the place he liked? He would, right? He's Wemmbu's best friend, he wouldn't blame him if Wemmbu told him reasonably. Or, ...maybe not telling in the first place would work. Wemmbu gulped.
The door shifted again. "Time’s up," Yungy called from the entrance. "Let’s go."
Wemmbu hesitated for just a second. "Yeah. Cominggg." He turned and walked out. Behind him, Eggchan watched, still smiling.
until he wasn’t.