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(Rough Timeline: Either before/during Kingdoms Arc or a future AU; readers can choose which seems to fit better because I lowkey don’t know ;-;)
It was a nice evening. A normal, casual evening, on any regular day. Wemmbu was simply sitting on the couch in the first level of the treehouse. If he was being honest he was rather bored. And when he was bored he thought a lot, usually about the past.
His thinking would go to fighting, to Egg, to the good days of the PrinceZam Empire, to when he got his maces, to Boosfer or Minute, then it would circle back to fighting and then somehow either go to food or the Great Sea. Or something else. It tended to circle back to fighting or Egg a lot, if he was being honest.
And then for once in a blue moon it went to the LAW. Well, the LAW when it was still under LettuceK’s leadership, at least. His expression soured at the thought, yet that just made him think about it more. Luckily it flipped past his time in prison, but then it also went to the ‘Six Day War,’ as it was known as now.
Speaking of ‘war,’ the word always irked Wemmbu the wrong way. He didn’t know why, though. There was just.. Something about it that made Wemmbu not want to think too much. It made his breath hitch slightly, or made his body go a little stiff. As if his body knew something that his mind didn’t.
But what could he do about it? All he could do was pocket that information for later and then move on. And that was what he did this time, like always.
Overall his days had been pretty peaceful recently. He was on decent terms with most of the people he could think of. He and Flame would spar occasionally if they both got too bored; sometimes Wemmbu practiced with Minute if he got the chance, too.
The demonic avian let out a small sigh, boredom beginning to bother him more. Maybe he should go bother Egg. The angel had been in his weird study building almost all day, working on his ‘Lore Book’ or something. Was Egg making dinner tonight?
Yeah, screw it. Wemmbu got up and went to bother his best friend.
~~~
Before Wemmbu knew it, it was nighttime. Well, it was like sunset, but that was close enough. So of course Wemmbu went to sleep early; he had nothing else to do. And by the time he had closed his eyes, he thought there was nothing amiss. Though he was quickly proven wrong.
He was dreaming, he knew that. Or at least- Wemmbu thought he was. Normally when you lucid dream you can control things, though. Why then, was he a child? And also, why could he practically not control anything. He was very aware that he was asleep and dreaming, yet he couldn’t do anything. It was like he was a spectator in his own body.
~?~
Wemmbu slowly wandered around his village, quietly walking on the endstone path. Normally he was more energetic, but he felt tired. And, he felt unnerved by what he was overhearing. But what nine year old child wasn’t unnerved when the older people around him were talking anxiously about a war possibly breaking out?
Sure, the two End demon factions (Ebony and Amethyst) had always had a bit of a tense relationship, but war? Surely it wouldn’t come to that. Right? Yet, as he walked he could still hear people talking about it.
“⊬⟒⏃⊑, ⟒⏚⍜⋏⊬ ⏁⍀⍜⍜⌿⌇ ⏃⍀⟒ ☊⌰⍜⌇⟟⋏☌ ⟟⋏ ⍜⋏ ⍜⎍⍀ ⏚⍜⍀⎅⟒⍀⌇,” someone murmured.
“⎅⍜ ⊬⍜⎍ ⏁⊑⟟⋏☍ ⏁⊑⟒⊬'⌰⌰ ⏃⏁⏁⏃☊☍?” The other person queried.
Wemmbu continued walking, not wanting to hear the next response.
“⎅⟟⎅⋏'⏁ ⟒⏚⍜⋏⊬ ⏁⏃☍⟒ ⍜⋏⟒ ⍜⎎ ⍜⎍⍀ ⍙⏃⏁☊⊑⏁⍜⍙⟒⍀⌇? ⍙⊑⏃⏁ ⟟⎎ ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⟟⋏⎐⏃⎅⟒?” Wemmbu heard someone ask. He walked a little faster. When he got home he wouldn’t need to overhear all of this war talk.
Yet, a few hours after he got home, he could hear his mother muttering in concern about it. While yes, as a lieutenant it was kind of her job, but Wemmbu would have rather not heard about it while he was home.
So, Wemmbu just hid in his room, curled on his bed and covered his ears to ignore anything that might have been said. But he could still hear the echo of what people talked about. Their words repeated in his mind over and over.
“⟟ ⊑⍜⌿⟒ ⏁⊑⟒ ⎎⟟☌⊑⏁⟟⋏☌ ⌇⏁⍜⌿⌇ ⌇⍜⍜⋏”
“⌇⍜⋔⟒ ⍜⎎ ⍜⎍⍀ ⌇⍜⌰⎅⟟⟒⍀⌇ ⏃⍀⟒ ⋔⟟⌇⌇⟟⋏☌, ⏃⍀⟒⋏'⏁ ⏁⊑⟒⊬?”
“⍙⊑⏃⏁ ⟟⎎ ⟒⏚⍜⋏⊬ ⟟⋏⎐⏃⎅⟒⌇?”
“⟟ ⍙⍜⎍⌰⎅⋏'⏁ ⏚⟒ ⌇⎍⍀⌿⍀⟟⌇⟒⎅ ⟟⎎ ⍙⏃⍀ ⏚⍀⍜☍⟒ ⍜⎍⏁”
“⌇⍜ ⋔⏃⋏⊬ ⏚⏃⏁⏁⌰⟒”
“⍙⏃⍀ ⟟⌇ ⍜⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍀⟟⌇⟒”
“⍙⏃⍀”
“⍙⏃⍀”
⍙⏃⍀.
~?~
As soon as Wemmbu woke up he was confused. And, a little freaked out. He could remember that ‘dream’ as clear as day. But was it even a dream? It felt way too real to be something his mind made up. Was it from his past? There was no way it was that, though. He knew for a fact that his memory of when he was about ten and younger was just straight up gone, and eleven to thirteen was really blurry. So there was no way it was a flashback, right?
He paused for a long time. Looking at the clock, it was a little past midnight. So Wemmbu tried to go back to sleep, hoping that ‘dream’ wouldn’t come back.
And yet, when he woke up again in the morning, he had basically had the exact same dream again. Fresh in his mind, no way he could ignore it. But, after a few more minutes of tense confusion he just tried to ignore it and get on with his day.
It went as usual, if Wemmbu didn’t pay attention to the thoughts in his head that kept circling back to the dream. That didn’t matter, though! It was nothing, he was fine. Or at least that’s what he continued to tell himself so he wouldn’t think about it further.
Right now he was lazily looking over Egg’s shoulder, reading whatever book Egg had. It was in Ancient Angelic, so Wemmbu couldn’t fully understand it, but he could make out a few words. “Wemmbu,” Egg suddenly said.
“Hm?” The demonic avian hummed.
“Are you okay?” Egg asked.
“Uh- yeah,” Wemmbu replied, a bit bewildered, “why do you ask?”
“You just kinda seem to be acting a little weird.” Egg shrugged, “Like that kind of weird you get where something happened but then you don’t know or don’t want to bring it up kind of weird.”
“Eh, it’s nothing. Small nightmare, nothing out of the ordinary,” Wemmbu lied. He didn’t want to worry Egg over what Wemmbu was fairly sure was just a few weird dreams. Besides, what if he was just making it up? Even if he somehow wasn’t, he’s been through plenty worse. So he should be fine, right?
“If you’re sure,” Egg murmured.
“I’m fine, Egg,” Wemmbu played it off. “Also your book is really boring,”
“Bro, how can you even read it?” Egg slightly turned his head to properly face Wemmbu.
“Ancient Angelic is literally just enchantment table. When you use one so often you gotta pick up how to read a few words and letters; I can make out enough to know it’s boring,” Wemmbu rolled his eyes playfully.
“Go on a walk or something then,” Egg said, stifling a laugh.
“But that’s also boring,” Wemmbu whined.
“Who knows, maybe you’ll find something exciting,” Egg hummed.
“Ugh,” Wemmbu groaned, “fine, since I have nothing better to do.”
With that Wemmbu left, quietly complaining the whole time. But the walk was.. Decent. It was a warm day with an occasional breeze, the normal wheat fields stretching out for a few hundred blocks. A few birds flew by, and there were little clouds in the sky. It was calm.
But it was also quiet. And Wemmbu was alone. If that’s taught him anything, it’s that it lets him think perhaps a little too much.
And yet instead of his buzzing thoughts, he paused as a few short images appeared sharply in his mind.
Him when he was younger, walking around his old town. Occasionally waving at people who passed by him, or quietly saying hello to those he was more familiar with. The path was that of endstone, with houses being made of the same block. That or it was purpur. Little lamp posts made of end rods trailed the path, lighting the area up a little more.
To say that Wemmbu wasn’t startled would be a lie. As soon as the flashbacks were gone the demonic avian stiffened. Just even more things to add to his list of today being weird, and his memories trying to play tricks on him. So then he started his way back home, even more confused. And by this point a little overwhelmed.
He had dreams of people talking about a war possibly on its way, something with two different End demon factions- which to him was very jarring, because there weren’t many End demons around nowadays. He knew of himself and Baablu, and kind of MinuteTech; he could recall seeing maybe a total of about thirty on his odd adventures. But otherwise there weren’t many- and now something with him walking around what must have been where he used to live.
Slightly circling back to the lack of End demons he had seen.. Did that mean there really was a war? If there was then there would have been many casualties, but so many where End demons were rarely seen?
You know what, no. Wemmbu didn’t want to believe this. His mind was probably just making it up or something, trying to give him a past since he couldn’t remember his. That was all this was, right?
But then why did it feel so real? It felt a little too real. Real enough to where it actually irked Wemmbu the wrong way.
Despite his slowly spiraling thoughts, he eventually got back home. He had hoped Egg would still be there, that way the demonic avian could distract himself somehow, but when he checked Egg was gone. And soon enough his communicator pinged, as if Egg knew what Wemmbu was thinking at the moment.
Eggchan whispers to you: I went to Wheat City to buy some stuff; I’ll be back soon
Wemmbu stared at the message for a few short seconds.
You whisper to Eggchan: alright
With that, Wemmbu had officially been left alone and unattended. And he had a pretty strong feeling Egg would accidentally take much longer than intended, as that was what normally happened. (Whether it was because Egg wanted to fish or because he got distracted by other things, normally books).
For a solid ten minutes Wemmbu just stood and looked around the room. Eventually he got too antsy, so he started to walk about. But he knew basically everything about his base, so there wasn’t much to entertain himself with. Before he knew it he was in the bathroom, merely staring in the mirror.
And he stared at himself for a long time.
Perhaps too long.
At first he just saw Wemmbu. He studied himself, his eyes dragging over everything. His purple skin. His golden tiara with an amethyst gem embedded in the center. His long hair that was a darker and brighter shade of his skin. His dark purple, almost black horns, with the left one having a prosthetic for the top half. His amethyst colored eyes, slit pupils, and black sclera.
The permanent scrapes on his face from being too close to TNT. His hair that was still slightly shorter than how he liked it because the LAW had cut it against his will, and Egg had to properly fix it later on. His left horn having a prosthetic on the top half since it was broken off. His dead and tired his eyes. The right one was a paler lilac, both from his overuse of invis potions and the amount of totems he had popped in quick succession when being tortured by Loppezzz. His black sclera had edged toward blueish-gray from his time as the Invisible Knight.
Maybe he’s been staring at the mirror for too long. For a few seconds he saw how he was during the PrinceZam Empire, before Zam betrayed him.
His skin was smooth with no scars, and overall seemed healthier. His hair was so long that Egg or Zam had to put it up all the time (Zam normally made it more fancy and put jewelry in it to match his shiny tiara, which Wemmbu had enjoyed). His horns were unharmed and seemed sharper. His eyes were alive and bright, his pupils less split as if he wasn’t on guard all the time, his scleras perfectly black like they should be.
He should stop staring. But then he somehow caught a glimpse of.. When he was younger?
Hair much shorter, but still long enough to be put in a bun. A little almost lace-like tiara with small lavender rose quartz attached. His horns were much smaller and less sharp. His eyes were calmer and not searching for something constantly.
It was at that point where he stepped away from the mirror, realizing that at some point he had begun leaning on the counter. He forced his eyes to look down at the sink, that way he wasn’t staring at his reflection anymore.
With a few deep breaths, and splashing a little water on his face, he briefly looked up again to see himself again. Present day, normal Wemmbu. Not when he was with Zam, not when he was younger, just regular everyday him.
Quickly he left the bathroom, instead going to sharpen his weapons. He had to be focused when doing that, so hopefully he wouldn’t overthink anything. Wemmbu glanced at the clock, and it dawned on him that he had been staring at his own reflection for half an hour.
Yeah, he wasn’t going to be looking at a mirror for a while if he could help it.
~~~
For the past week things had just gotten a little worse. More nightmares, more flashbacks, all relating to when he was younger and his old town. There was a voidling that stuck out often, but for some reason their face seemed blurry and their voice was distorted. Maybe a childhood friend-?
The voidling didn’t seem to be an End voidling, though. Didn’t seem like they were from the Overworld’s void, either. Nether, then? Just based on appearance Wemmbu couldn’t fully tell. Was it possible that voidling was still alive? Was there a chance that they knew Wemmbu? The demonic avian didn’t know many voidlings, though. And surely they would have sought him out and told him, right?
With all of that, Wemmbu had grown uncertain of himself. And it was obvious in how he was acting, he guessed. He had started to avoid mirrors or still water, not wanting to look at his reflection in case he just stared for too long again. He tensed at words for what he thought was no reason (why were those words always relating to warfare or parents?)
And of course for that entire time the demonic avian had just been questioning reality. Were these flashbacks real? Were the nightmares based on actual events? Sometimes he had to just sit down and repeat in his head the date, his name, his friends, among other things just to try and keep himself grounded to the present.
He barely even noticed how night had fallen until Egg was yawning and murmuring about how he was going to bed. Wemmbu followed suit shortly after (he totally didn’t delay sleeping for a few minutes because he was worried he would have another odd dream, no clue what you’re talking about).
But, eventually he changed into pajamas and crawled into bed. He tried to distract himself and pay attention to his surroundings. His blanket was soft and fluffy and his pillow was cool, as he liked it. The air was an average temperature, with no breeze coming in as all the doors and windows were closed. The sound of bugs outside hummed quietly. The scent of wood was present, as the base was almost completely made of oak.
For however long Wemmbu just laid on his back in bed. He could hear the gentle breathing of Egg across the room, as the angel slept. He could feel his tail unconsciously snake around his leg and his wings shift to be in a more comfortable position. The light weight of his golden prosthetic instead of his usual one was noticeable.
He could note that everything seemed.. Slow. The world always felt delayed at nighttime. As if everyone were holding their breath in preparation for the chores of the next day. Was he the only one wishing time would just stay like that? Slow, steady, controlled. Not rushed, not panicked, not urgent in the way where someone was in danger or something was going wrong. Just.. Calm.
Soon enough Wemmbu felt his eyelids grow heavy and tiredness slowly take over. He felt himself shift to be laying on his side, slightly burying his face further into the cool pillow. And then he let his eyes close, and let himself drift off into sleep.
~?~
Wemmbu was young again. But this time younger than when people were talking about war. He walked happily to his father’s bedroom, hoping that he would be awake for once. Once he reached it, he opened the door and hopped inside the bedroom. Overall nothing seemed amiss.
“⎅⏃⎅?” The demonic avian called softly. He skipped over to be at the side of the bed. “⎅⏃⎅?” he said once more.
His father had light skin, though it seemed paler. He had black hair that was messy from being unkept, and his normally controlled breathing was practically not even there. Actually, his chest didn’t rise and fall with breathing. There was no noise to indicate that he was taking or letting out the cool air.
“⎅⏃⎅?” Wemmbu murmured again. This seemed odd. Normally his father stirred after the third time Wemmbu called for him. Wemmbu gently poked his father’s arm. Still nothing. “⎅⏃⎅!” Wemmbu said, voice a little louder. Yet again, there was no response. Not even a twitch.
Wemmbu called for his father over and over again, with no reply coming. His father didn’t wake or move, his father didn’t do anything except lay there. Silent. Unresponsive. But he was just sleeping, right? Yeah, that was.. Probably it.
Still, Wemmbu slowly walked out of the room, hoping to get someone to double check that his father was okay. “⎅⏃⎅ ⍙⟟⌰⌰ ⏚⟒ ⎎⟟⋏⟒.. ⊑⟒'⌇ ⟊⎍⌇⏁ ⌇⌰⟒⟒⌿⟟⋏☌, ⍀⟟☌⊑⏁?”
~?~
The panic was there as soon as the demonic avian woke up. His breath hitched, his eyes watered, and his whole body stiffened after he curled in on himself protectively.
Seriously, what in Void’s name?
First of all, he had a father. For most of his life he had been questioning if he had parents or just somehow spawned in like pure voidlings do. So that was an answer to that question, right? Or was it just his mind playing tricks on him again? No, it felt too real. It felt too familiar. There was an ache in his whole chest that screamed how that had happened.
Second of all, his father had died. In front of him. When he was a child. Which meant, clearly based on how younger him reacted, he didn’t know that his father had died. So he had basically witnessed his father’s death (or found his body), and didn’t even know it.
Again. What in Void’s name?
Before Wemmbu even knew it he was basically crying. That quiet and soft way of crying where he tried to choke back his tears as if he didn’t want to be heard. And he didn’t.
If he was heard then he was vulnerable, and if he was vulnerable he was weak in the moment. And weak could mean anything or lead to anything. It could lead to more hurt (being made fun of, being manipulated, being attacked), or it could lead to comfort (Egg’s gentle hands scratching around his horns, Minute’s reassuring words, Boosfer’s warm hugs). Or it could just lead to him being alone and unproductive as his mind ate away at itself. Which would then be followed by him sitting numbly until he could mask confidence, lie about being okay, and continue on with his day.
But right now it was still nighttime. Still dark and quick and silent. It made his choked sobs sound louder than they were; echoing off the wooden walls. And for a while Wemmbu just sat there, struggling to make himself quiet. He was always a naturally loud person.
Yet no matter how much he tried, whether it was curling in on himself in different ways or covering his mouth, or squeezing his eyes and trying to focus on breathing, he still continued to cry. For a split second he almost forgot why he was even crying, before the dream thundered down on him once more.
After what was likely too long, Wemmbu got up. He obviously couldn’t calm himself down, so he needed help. How he could think of that during his moments of panic, he had no idea. Maybe it was just in his instincts, despite him desperately trying to bury most of them.
So he shakily walked to the other side of the room, where Egg was. Because they always shared a room in whatever base they had, partly for incidents like this. Otherwise it was to make sure that they were both safe and could easily get to one another if they ended up getting attacked.
Pretty soon the demonic avian was at Egg’s bedside, conflicting feelings fueling his panic even further. He knew that Egg would be willing to help him, as normal. Egg had reassured him multiple times because Wemmbu felt too guilty and prideful to ask the angel for help in most cases. With that in mind, why was he still hesitating right now?
He was panicking, obviously. If his quiet tears, broken breathing, and shaky form was anything to go by. He knew that he needed, wanted, comfort and help.
But then he would have to tell Egg why. And then he would have to tell Egg about the dreams, and nightmares, and flashbacks, and that was.. It felt wrong. Because Wemmbu was still partly convinced his mind was making it all up as an excuse. But it had happened too many times, and felt too realistic, and clearly it riled him up too much. So even if he was making it up, it was still affecting him. Was that reason enough? Maybe. Wemmbu didn’t know anything anymore at the moment.
Clearly his body could react before his thoughts caught up, though. Before he knew it he was lightly poking Egg; similar to how a child would carefully wake up their parents when they had a bad dream or felt sick. And the entire time Wemmbu held his breath and refused to look directly at Egg’s face.
“Wemmbu?” Egg said groggily. The angel shifted, looking at his best friend properly. Wemmbu must have looked worse than he thought, because Egg became more awake instantly. “Oh, brother, what happened?” He asked softly.
The demonic avian didn’t say anything, instead figuring to sit next to Egg as the angel motioned. The two were quiet for a long time. Egg wrapped Wemmbu into a hug, rubbing gentle circles into his back. “What’s going on, Wemm?” Egg tried again after a few moments, “give me something to work with.”
The only answer that the angel got was another choked back sob. So, Egg waited patiently. He murmured soft reassurance, kept his friend in a comforting hug, and occasionally ran his hand through Wemmbu’s long silky hair. After what must have been at least half an hour Egg tried again.
“Nightmare?” He guessed.
“..Multiple,” Wemmbu said quietly.
Egg breathed out softly, “You gotta stop keeping secrets, Wemm. I’m here to help you, y’know.”
“I know,” The demonic avian whispered brokenly. “I just-.. I didn’t think it was real.”
“How long?” Egg asked.
“A week?” Wemmbu said uncertainly, “I don’t know anymore.”
Egg hummed gently. He could still feel how tense Wemmbu was, could feel how the demonic avian’s tail flicked nervously. “Has it just been nightmares?”
“For the most part,” Wemmbu murmured. “There’s been… flashbacks-? Sometimes.”
“What about?” Egg queried. He tried to keep the questions simple, and always kept a comforting hand holding Wemmbu’s.
And that’s when the dam broke. Wemmbu cried a little more openly, slumping over and resting his head in the crook of Egg’s neck. He murmured weakly, rambling about whatever he had dreamed. The war talk, his dad, the weird voidling, everything. And during all of it he kept second guessing himself; talking about how he didn’t want to say anything because he didn’t believe it.
“It’s not your fault, Wemmbu,” Egg said by the end of it. He was still holding the demonic avian in a hug. “I think some of your memories are just finally resurfacing, after being repressed for so long.”
“But why now?” Wemmbu complained, his voice raw and his eyes still teary-eyed.
Egg lightly shrugged, not really knowing the answer for that. “It happens unexpectedly a lot,” he said, “maybe your body just decided you were finally ready.”
“I don’t feel ready,” Wemmbu said with a wet laugh.
“It’ll be okay.” Egg said, “Just come to me whenever you need, Wemm.”
~~~
It took a while, but eventually Wemmbu and Egg figured something out. If Wemmbu had a new nightmare or dream he would tell Egg as soon as they were both awake (or in the middle of the night if needed), and if he had a flashback he would tell Egg once he got the chance. And if he didn’t want to talk about it he wrote it down in a book that Egg could easily check.
And after a few more days, Wemmbu had only about three memories come crashing down on him. Luckily they weren’t.. Too bad. Not as bad as they had been before, at least.
Soon enough Egg also began trying to organize what Wemmbu told him. That way they could try to figure out if this was real, and if so then what order everything happened in. Overall it was a lengthy and tiring process, but it was getting done.
“When do you think it’ll be done?” Wemmbu asked at one point.
Egg shrugged, “It could take anywhere from a few weeks to like a year or two. Probably depends on how much you missed and how much tries to come back.”
“Great,” Wemmbu rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have like a meeting with someone soon?”
“Oh shoot- you’re right,” Egg said, quickly gathering a few items. “I’ll be back in like an hour!”
“Bye,” Wemmbu laughed as his friend ran to leave.
With that, Wemmbu was left alone.
He merely stayed on the couch for a while, eyes flicking around to see if he could find something interesting to do. He glanced toward the door, the chests against the bark leaves, the ceiling. He just looked around boredly.
It was about mid-day, so he still had a lot of free time. Maybe he should see if he and Flame could spar. But he also felt a bit too tired for that at the moment. He could take a walk? Nah. Bother Parrot? Maybe. But he was also probably busy with king stuff. “What to do, what to do,” Wemmbu hummed.
Maybe he should just take a nap. It would probably lead to a nightmare or something, but there wasn’t much else to do. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone or going anywhere. Maybe if he tried to trigger the nightmare of something early then he could actually get a good night’s sleep for once
So, Wemmbu shifted to be a bit more comfortable on the couch. It was this soft leather material, so it was actually pretty comfy to sleep on. He was out like a light about two minutes later. But he was also right in the fact that he ended up dreaming again.
~?~
“⍙⟒⋔⋔⏚⎍, ⎅⟒⏃⍀, ⌰⟟⌇⏁⟒⋏ ⎐⟒⍀⊬ ☊⏃⍀⟒⎎⎍⌰⌰⊬, ⍜☍⏃⊬?” Wemmbu’s mother said. The young demonic avian merely nodded, feeling unsettled. “⍙⟒’⍀⟒ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⏁⍜ ⊑⟟⎅⟒ ⊬⍜⎍, ⏃⌰⍀⟟☌⊑⏁? ⟟⏁’⌇ ⋏⍜⏁ ⌇⏃⎎⟒ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏃⋔⟒⏁⊑⊬⌇⏁ ⍜⍀ ⏁⊑⟒ ⟒⋏⎅ ⍀⟟☌⊑⏁ ⋏⍜⍙.”
“⍙⊑⊬ ⟟⌇ ⟟⏁ ⋏⍜⏁ ⌇⏃⎎⟒?” Wemmbu asked hesitantly. Was that war finally catching up to them? Were they under attack? Why did he have to leave the End?
“⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒’⌇ ⟊⎍⌇⏁.. ⏃ ⌰⍜⏁ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⍜⋏. ⏚⎍⏁ ⊬⍜⎍’⌰⌰ ⏚⟒ ⎎⟟⋏⟒, ⟟’⌰⌰ ⏚⟒ ⎎⟟⋏⟒. ⍙⟒’⍀⟒ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ☌⟒⏁ ⊬⍜⎍ ⏁⍜ ⏃ ⌇⏃⎎⟒⍀ ⌿⌰⏃☊⟒, ⍜☍⏃⊬?” His mother answered.
Wemmbu meekly nodded, still confused yet not trusting himself to say anything. Soon enough he changed into clothes that were very different from his usual attire. His mother also had to convince him to abandon the small tiara he had always worn. His mother also cut his hair, just to the point where it would be difficult to tie up. Wemmbu felt sad about it, but he tried to not complain.
The next thing he knew, his mother was leading him to the main island. It was a long trek, and they had to hide a lot. Wemmbu wasn’t sure why, seeing how he didn’t see any danger. But he still complied and stayed quiet the whole time.
After a while they made it. But, the portal leading to the Overworld seemed surrounded. By whom, he didn’t know. The uniforms on the soldiers looked different from what he saw in town. Maybe they were from Ebony.
“⍜☍⏃⊬,” His mother whispered carefully, “⌰⟟⌇⏁⟒⋏ ⎐⟒⍀⊬ ☊⌰⍜⌇⟒⌰⊬, ⍙⟒⋔⋔⏚⎍.” Wemmbu tensed slightly, but he listened to what his mother started to tell him.
“⟟’⋔ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⎅⟟⌇⏁⍀⏃☊⏁ ⏁⊑⟒⋔, ⏃⋏⎅ ⍙⊑⟒⋏ ⊬⍜⎍ ☊⏃⋏ ⊬⍜⎍’⍀⟒ ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⍀⎍⋏ ⟟⋏⏁⍜ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌿⍜⍀⏁⏃⌰, ⍜☍⏃⊬? ⏃⋏⎅ ⏃⎎⏁⟒⍀ ⊬⍜⎍ ☌⟒⏁ ⏁⊑⍀⍜⎍☌⊑ ⏁⍜ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍜⎐⟒⍀⍙⍜⍀⌰⎅, ⟊⎍⌇⏁ ⍀⎍⋏ ⏃⍙⏃⊬. ⟟’⌰⌰ ⎎⟟⋏⎅ ⊬⍜⎍ ⌇⍜⍜⋏ ⟒⋏⍜⎍☌⊑, ⎅⍜⋏’⏁ ⍙⍜⍀⍀⊬,” She explained. She talked and explained in a way that sounded like she was addressing a new soldier.
Wemmbu carefully nodded, repeating the instructions in his head. Mum would distract them, he would run into the portal, then he would run far away. Easy enough, hopefully.
The demonic avian stayed still for a few moments. He knew he shouldn’t delay, but he was.. Scared. “⊬⍜⎍ ⍀⟒⏃⎅⊬?” His mother asked gently. Wemmbu responded with a quick hug. And then, he watched his mother leave and walk up to what Wemmbu assumed were Ebony soldiers.
Clearly they weren’t willing to talk, however, as they quickly drew their weapons. Wemmbu stood frozen as he watched his mother and the soldiers fight. His breath hitched whenever mum got hit or hit someone else. She must have incapacitated one or two of the guards.
Soon enough, though, his mother somehow caught his eye. She nodded at him, and he knew that that was the signal to run. So, Wemmbu ran. His eyes were stuck on his destination, the portal. He quickly made it, faster than he thought he would. And without skipping a beat he jumped into the black, starry and mesmerizing portal.
~?~
Wemmbu quickly sat up as soon as he was awake. Probably a little too fast, as a light headache rammed into him. But that didn’t matter right now.
He had expected a dream or nightmare, sure, but he hadn’t- he didn’t… Wemmbu did not prepare for a memory about his mother or when he had to leave the End. His mother was probably dead by now, wasn’t she? If she hadn’t been killed by those soldiers at the portal she probably died in the war later on.
So that meant that both of his parents were dead.
Wemmbu didn’t.. Know how to feel about that. He didn’t miss them per se, since he hardly remembered them. But with all these memories resurfacing.. It was clear he was close with them. They were good parents. Were. Because they were both gone.
He lightly shook his head, trying to distract himself. Well, more so focus on calming down. He could feel his chest tighten and his breath come short, could feel how his body tensed and locked up, could feel his eyes start to burn with the threat of tears.
How long had it been? Was Egg home? With a quick blurry look around it didn’t seem so. Which meant Wemmbu either had to contact someone or just deal with his current turmoil alone.
Soon enough he had grabbed his communicator, but then he paused. He stared at the letters, momentarily forgetting how to spell. “⍙⊑⏃⏁-.. ⎎⎍☊☍,” Wemmbu muttered. How in Void’s name did he forget Common for a few seconds? Was his mind that messed up?
Whatever. He blinked a few times, waiting until he could process what the hell he was doing. As soon as he could understand Common again he typed out a short message.
You whisper to Boosfer: are u close?
Wemmbu waited for what felt like forever until his brother responded.
Boosfer whispers to you: to your base? yeah, i’m like ten or so minutes away.
Boosfer whispers to you: do you need me to come over?
You whisper to Boosfer: yeah
Boosfer whispers to you: alrighty, i’ll be there soon!
And with that Wemmbu waited. For some reason his panic hadn’t stilled or gone away, but it hadn’t gotten worse. He just stayed in a loop of thinking.
Dad had died from some unknown illness. Mum had died because of the war- maybe because of him. From what he knew both End Demon factions had been mostly destroyed because of the war. So that meant his old home had practically died.
Rejoice had died too.
Mane had left him.
Egg had continuously gotten taken hostage.
Zam had betrayed him (though he guessed they were on neutral terms as of now).
His life was a mess, wasn’t it? Everything, everyone, that he ever loved or trusted had left in some form. Was that because of him, or was it just a cruel twist of fate? Or coincidence? Well, no, he doubted it was a coincidence. He didn’t get abandoned too many times to count just because of coincidence.
Had everything happened to him because he was too weak? Or too strong? He didn’t even think that was possible, but there had been numerous occasions where people took Egg or tried to use Wemmbu because he was powerful. He was a weapon
Well, no. He wasn’t a weapon. At least he hoped- he didn’t want to be treated like one. He was a person, wasn’t he? He slept, he breathed, he wanted, he felt emotions. Weapons didn’t do that. They were inanimate objects that people could use whenever needed- they were tools. And he wouldn’t let himself be dumbed down to a mere tool.
“Bu, you okay?” Someone’s voice cut into Wemmbu’s thoughts. He never even realized that he had the heel of his palms pressing into his eyes, until he finally paid attention to the dancing colors that bled through the black he was seeing. He didn’t realize that he had started and stopped crying at some point, either.
Nevertheless, Wemmbu finally looked up, and saw Boosfer. The alien hybrid was stood a few feet in front of Wemmbu, looking at him with a concerned look in his eyes. Though Boosfer quickly walked the short distance and sat down next to the demonic avian. “Alright, what’s going on?” Boosfer queried softly.
The demonic avian said nothing. He just weakly sighed and lightly slumped over that way he was leaning on Boosfer’s side. He didn’t really feel like talking yet.
So, they both sat in silence for a while. Boosfer didn’t ask questions; he simply let Wemmbu lean his head on his shoulder as he gently held Wemmbu’s hand. It was mostly a reminder to not float off in his thoughts too much, but it was also subtle comfort and letting Wemmbu know that he wasn’t alone. It helped.
After about fifteen minutes Wemmbu finally let out a tired sigh. Boosfer picked up on it, and took note of the quiet invitation. “So, did something happen?” The alien hybrid queried, “Or did you just need someone?”
“Both,” Wemmbu said quietly.
Boosfer hummed in acknowledgement. “Want to talk about it?”
“..I don’t know,” Wemmbu murmured.
“That’s fine.”
“It’s just weird.”
“What is?”
“The past two weeks have been weird,” Wemmbu clarified. “I keep having all these weird dreams and stuff.. Egg says they’re like ‘repressed memories resurfacing’ or something.”
“And I take it they aren’t very good?” Boosfer guessed.
“Yeah..” Wemmbu sighed.
“Did you want me here because you had another one?”
“Yeah.”
“What was it about?”
Wemmbu went quiet. He kept his gaze on the ground. He felt his tail wrap around his leg in a way of self-comfort. Boosfer stayed quiet as well, letting Wemmbu take the lead on whether he wanted to talk or not. Wemmbu appreciated that.
In the end Wemmbu didn’t really speak about it. He let Boosfer take a short look at the book that Wemmbu and Egg had been writing in. And after a few more moments of comfort, Boosfer left. Well, he left after checking nine times that Wemmbu would be okay, but he eventually gave in and let Wemmbu be.
The conversation with Egg about the newest dream was heavy. It felt heavy, at least. Not as heavy as it would have been, given that Wemmbu had gotten Boosfer’s help. But when it came to Egg he had to tell the angel. Because if Wemmbu said nothing, then Egg couldn’t help as much.
There were a few more tears, and a lot more hugs. But the conversation was done, and Wemmbu still had a few hours of free time left over.
~~~
After a few days there wasn’t much. Memories in the form of dreams and nightmares had basically faded away, just leaving occasional flashbacks that didn’t feel too important. Short bits of Wemmbu’s time in his village, listening to people talk, or playing with other kids. Small periods of a normal childhood, before everything, to put it bluntly, went to shit.
But of course Wemmbu couldn’t be left in peace for long. It wasn’t a dream, not a nightmare, just a very long flashback.
~?~
He was with a voidling. One that was maybe a year or two older than him. That same voidling that Wemmbu would catch glimpses of, but this time it was more of a conversation. Though instead of Enderian, it was in Endling. Though, that made a little more sense, considering voidlings couldn’t really speak Enderian.
“Are you sure you’re doing it right?” Wemmbu queried. He could feel his friend’s hands messing with his hair, attempting to braid it.
“I’m sure!” The voidling said, “Well, pretty sure.”
“Spoke!” Wemmbu lightly hissed, feeling his friend pull a little too hard.
“Sorry!” Spoke squeaked, “I’ll be more gentle, I swear.”
“You’d better,” Wemmbu grumbled. Though there was still a playful edge to his tone.
By the end Wemmbu’s hair wasn’t a complete mess, though it definitely could be better. “It’s not too bad, right?” Spoke asked.
“Pretty good for your second try,” Wemmbu giggled.
“Just wait until I bring some flowers, then I’ll make it even better,” Spoke grinned.
“What are flowers like in the Overworld?” Wemmbu had never really seen flowers. Well, except for the ones on Chorus Fruit, but Spoke said that those don’t really count.
“They’re really pretty,” Spoke hummed. “Hey, do you think you’d ever get to go to the Overworld?”
“Mum said I could when I’m older,” Wemmbu huffed.
“I guess that makes sense,” Spoke said, though he was obviously disappointed. “The Overworld has some really weird and dangerous mobs in it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! There’s skeletons, zombies, spiders, creepers. Those are the most common, at least. Though they only really come out at night or in dark places.”
“They sound weird,” Wemmbu giggled.
“They look kinda weird too.” Spoke laughed, “Especially creepers! They’re green and all weird shaped- oh! And they’re scared of cats, for some reason.”
The two laughed, basking in each other's warmth. Wemmbu enjoyed hanging out with Spoke. Though the nether voidling left to stay in the Overworld for half of the year, it was still nice whenever Spoke was with him. One day Wemmbu would get to go with Spoke to the Overworld, and he could show him around.
“I’ll show you the flowers one day, alright?”
“You’d better!”
~?~
“What in Void’s name-?” Wemmbu muttered.
“Hm?” Egg slightly turned to look at Wemmbu. “Another flashback, I’m assuming?”
“Yeah..” Wemmbu said slowly, “I’ll be right back.”
“Uh- okay?” Egg raised a brow. “Where’re you going, exactly?”
“I need to talk to Spoke,” Wemmbu answered, already making his way out of the treehouse.
“Tell me what happened later!” Egg called as Wemmbu left.
Wemmbu nodded, though he didn’t really know if Egg had seen. But that didn’t matter. Right now Wemmbu had to find Spoke.
You whisper to SpokeIsHere: where are you
SpokeIsHere whispers to you: uh at my base why
You whisper to SpokeIsHere: i gotta talk to you abt smt
SpokeIsHere whispers to you: ok??
With that, Wemmbu swiftly made his way over to Spoke’s. It was pretty easy to find honestly. In Wemmbu’s opinion, at least. Even though Parrot had redone and made Spawn safe, Spoke still had his current base a bit further away. Something about how it brought back poor memories.
Right now though, the demonic avian didn’t pay much mind to that. He had to figure out why in the world he saw Spoke in his weird flashbacks.
Pretty soon (okay, well like twenty minutes, so not exactly ‘soon’) Wemmbu made it to Spoke’s base. And either the voidling had sensed it or just been waiting, but he was already waiting outside of his base for Wemmbu.
“Yo, hello bro,” Spoke greeted easily. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
Wemmbu paused for a few short moments, looking Spoke over. There was little doubt in the demonic avian’s that Spoke was definitely the same Spoke that kept appearing in his flashbacks.
“Spoke were we.. friends?” Wemmbu hesitantly asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
“Uh- I would say we’re friends,” Spoke hummed. “I mean we’ve been on good terms as far as I’m aware-”
“No, I mean,” Wemmbu cut in, “like.. Before.”
“Before.. What?”
“Before everything. Before LAW, before the mafia, Zam’s empire, your whole exploit thing. When we were like.. Younger,” Wemmbu paused, looking at the ground. His tail lightly wrapped around his leg. “Were we friends when we were kids?”
Spoke went quiet. Wemmbu looked up to see the voidling’s shiny white eyes widened, and his stance stiff. Spoke’s form even wavered for a few moments before he controlled himself again. “Why do you ask..?” Spoke queried quietly. As if he needed more before he could properly answer.
“I just-” Wemmbu started, huffing in stressed irritation. “I keep getting all these nightmares and flashbacks about when I was younger and Egg says they’re like repressed memories resurfacing or something, and I keep seeing a voidling and earlier there was another one and that voidling just looked and acted too much like you,” his voice was quick paced and confused, and for a second Wemmbu couldn’t tell if he was going to tear up or not.
“Woah, slow down for a second,” Spoke sputtered.
Wemmbu paused, subtly holding his breath.
“Okay,” the voidling sighed. “You’ve been having memories coming back?”
“..Yes,”
“And some of them included who you think was me?”
“It was you,” Wemmbu said sternly.
“Well, I mean yes but like-”
“Bro you don’t start with that-?”
“What do you want me to start with??”
“I don’t know-” Wemmbu hissed softly before sighing, “Oh my Void.”
“What?” Spoke deadpanned.
Though the deadpan quickly turned into laughter from both of them. Though Wemmbu’s seemed a bit more hesitant, as if he was still unsure how to feel in the situation.
Soon enough however, the two were sitting in the grass a little ways away from Spoke’s base. Simply chatting, as if nothing had ever changed. It was a little odd at first, in Wemmbu’s opinion. But it felt.. Nice. Like he had gotten back something he didn’t know he was missing.
“Why did you never tell me?” Wemmbu asked at one point.
“Well, when I went back to the End I learned of the whole war stuff that had broken out,” Spoke said, “And then when I found you in the Overworld it was clear you didn’t remember anything. After I kinda just.. Never found a good time to say anything, I guess.”
“Coward,” Wemmbu teased.
“Hey!” Spoke complained, “At least I didn’t have amnesia!”
“Touche, I guess,” the demonic avian laughed.
“Oh yeah- did you ever get to look at the flowers?” Spoke grinned.
Wemmbu smiled lightly, “Care to show me?”
“As promised!” Spoke cheered.
And with that, they got up from the soft grass. Spoke led Wemmbu toward flowers scattered around. They laughed as Spoke braided Wemmbu’s hair, mixing a few yellow roses in.
It was a nice evening.