Chapter Text
The Kingdom had not slept for several days.
Each street within spawn was decorated lanterns, casting gentle glow amongst cobbled roads & crowded markets. Constant roar of sound stirs within air; not the sound of explosions or dying breaths. 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜. 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 . 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 . A celebration for the war that had finally ended against LettuceK. Parrot now titled the SMP’s rightful King. Somewhere below the castle walls is a never-ending chant of the Kings name. It was the liveliest spawn had ever been. Friends & foe alike all pushing aside their differences for a few days of celebration.
The sound travels far. Every crash of chairs as drunken members hurry to make a speech & cheers for the umpteenth time that hour. Every barked order for another round for all that had fought so hard for King Parrot. Even Wemmbu could hear it from where he observed from the highest balcony he could find.
“ LONG LIVE THE KING ! ” Hundreds , if not thousands, of voices gleefully shout at once.
It had been 3 days - since the very moment the crown was placed atop of Parrot’s head – and the celebrations would never cease at this rate. Smoke clung heavy within air, but not with that dreaded acrid aroma of gunpowder. Rather, it was from bonfires lit for people to dance around. Merchants selling food for alarmingly cheap prices, despite the lack of food to be shared to begin with. Even children of the server ran through the streets waving banners to celebrate the unity of the server.
People were safe.
For the first time in months, perhaps even years, there was no tension amongst the server. No threat of war, no potential harm to spawn. People were no longer anticipating horror at every corner they turned.
The war was over.
LettuceK was gone.
The kingdom was still standing.
All of this should constitute to a success.
It should be a victory.
Wemmbu’s arms rest atop of stone railing. All festivities below continue despite him not being involved. It’s not like he even wants to go down there. That festivity was for Parrot. He would only ruin it. After all, his reputation was still one of the most feared people in existence. One wrong move and Wemmbu could blow them all up with his orbital strike canon.
All the celebratory cheers, laughter & songs just lull into one loud hum. Even the fireworks that squeal into air are just another cause of this sickening feeling within his stomach. It’s a cruel world they all live in. He should be down there.
No end of people had attempted to alleviate the growing anxiety in Wemmbu. All one after the other patting him on the back, offering him a drink, and then daring to call him a ‘ HERO ’ , a ‘ SAVIOUR ‘ , a ‘ PROTECTOR ‘. It was disgusting. Those were the people that just weeks ago had begged for LettuceK to finally kill him. They were all the people that had been on the laws side. They were all fake as hell.
Their words meant nothing to him. They were foul and said purely out of fear. The title of hero felt so awkwardly bestowed upon him,. Everyone was either afraid of him or wanted to use him. Wemmbu never could decide which was the worst out of the latter.
He wasn’t a hero. A hero was someone who had a choice in what they fought for. A hero has the freedom to do as they wish without causing fear. A hero … was the exact opposite of Wemmbu.
Eyes closed. Wind tangles through strands of lilac hair. It was still tied back as if he were expecting battle. Armour still adorns his stature despite the insistence from all that he didn’t need it. But even now, he can hear it. The cheers blur into screams & pleads for their lives. Orders being barked out. The crackle in air above as he summons his orbital canon. Forever repeating the mantra of , ‘ Move. Fight. Run. Survive . ’ He could never find peace. Even here as everyone celebrates, all he can remember is every fight.
Eyes open. Nothing has changed since he last looked. Kids still running around, people cheering, fireworks being blasted into the sky. The kingdom was safe. But there is still an unease within Wemmbu. Exhaustion riddling his bones, weighing him further down. Why was he incapable of just letting go?
Fingertips grip onto railings a little tighter. Knuckles whitening. Perhaps it was time to leave. He was no longer needed for his services. Parrot was likely too occupied creating his future plans to even notice if he slipped away. Not that Wemmbu really cared all that much. Parrot was doing his own thing, and it’s not like they were the closest of friends. Admittedly he was still a bit annoyed about Parrot revealing his identity. If he hadn’t then LettuceK would have never captured him … but they had kinda both made up for their past actions to one another. Kinda.
Just before Wemmbu was about to turn to leave, a sudden chill runs down spine. Someone was nearby. But body ultimately relaxes within the next few seconds. The presence was far from animus. It was familiar, one he had known since childhood. For anyone else it would be easy to miss the slightest of movement, as all festivity dulls most peoples senses. Not his. A huff, though the slightest of smiles etch onto lips.
“Been staring at me for long, Egg ?” The answer that followed was almost instant.
“No, “ a pause, followed by a laugh from Eggchan, “only for like five minutes, bro. ” Smile only furthers on Wemmbu’s face, yet it doesn’t meet his eyes.
“ That’s definitely staring, Egg. ” Eyes avoiding the festivities below. Wemmbu’s attention now willingly devoted to Egg. Watching how his friend finally peels himself out from the darkness of balcony archway, joining Wemmbu’s side. Egg’s wings flutter above head, moving to cover face as not to be distracted by the constant fireworks overhead. There’s a shared silence between the pair for quite some time. After years of knowing one another, it was only natural. Perhaps it’s the only silence that Wemmbu could ever take comfort in.
“ The wars over, Wemmbu. ”
“ Is it ? ” Is all but bitterly laughed out in return. Sure, this war is over. But another will soon follow. That’s when people will come crawling his way, asking Wemmbu to join them. Saying that he is their best fighting chance. Their weapon .
“ You haven’t taken your armour off. The war ended three days ago, Wemmbu. ”
“ I know . ”
“ Then why are you still dressed as if you’re still needed to fight ? ”
A glance down at himself. Heavily battered armour still snug on himself. All of it would need to be repaired, but he had grown used to the feeling. The heaviness was comforting. It was his escape. It’s how Wemmbu could continue to feel powerful & in control. Unlike when he was in the prison – forced to grovel for food and mine with wooden pickaxes. He refused to ever feel so powerless again.
“ We won the war. Everyone’s celebrating, bro. Everyone’s happy. Everyone except you . Why ? Why are you looking as though we lost when we didn’t ? ”
These questions weren’t intended to cause any hurt. Egg just wanted to know what was going on in Wemmbu’s mind. As close as they were, he unfortunately wasn’t a mind reader. He was just concerned as to why Wemmbu was so … distant. As if his mind was elsewhere entirely, always assuming the worst. It’s not like Wemmbu had anyone to fear, he was the strongest fighter here. So why ? Why was he so upset ?
No answer followed for quite a while. The vicious festivities still just a dull hum of noise. Chest rose & fell with forced breaths. Attempting to force away the deep pit of dread. He could tell Egg anything. He was his best friend. So why was his mouth so dry ? Why did no words follow every time he opened his mouth to speak ? Egg was different to everyone else. He would never use Wemmbu for his own gain, right ? … yeah , he wouldn’t .
“ I’ve been thinking. ”
“ Be careful bro, too much thinking might make you explode. ”
A playful quip that resulted in Wemmbu shoving Egg’s shoulder, but it seemed to have helped alleviate any prior tension.
“ We should leave. Leave spawn. Leave Parrot, Flame, Spoke, Lettuce… everyone. Let’s just forget them. Move on with our lives. Live somewhere far. Build a house and just enjoy life. We can go fishing every day, have our own farm even, and just relax. No more fighting. No more orbital strike canons. I’m done with it all, Egg. Let’s just have fun. What’d ’ya think ? ”
There is a loud squeal of a firework exploding in the sky. Followed by several others. Wemmbu’s gaze falls towards Egg. Why wasn’t he speaking yet ? It’s simple, really. He should just say yes and they can move on with their lives. Easy, right ?
“Wemmbu, ” Name is spoken delicately, no longer teasing his friend. Obviously that life sounded great. But … “ When was the last time you actually talked about the future ? ”
“ What ? ” Eyebrow raised. The question rang in head several times, yet he couldn’t answer.
“ When was the last time you talked about anything after a fight, bro? You never made a plan for a future like that before. ”
Silence. Wemmbu attempting to think about the last time he had seriously considered their future. It had been … a while, that’s for sure. But that wasn’t his fault. Everyone just kept trying to fight him, but now ? Now they could have a future, right ? Before Wemmbu could begin to say as such, Eggchan had interrupted.
“ Listen, I’m just saying that you have been surviving for so long, that I don’t think you have ever actually stopped to think about living . It’s nice, honestly . ”
Egg gestures to the lively kingdom below. All the people celebrating. They were all at peace, living their present and anticipating their future. Because they could . It was about time Wemmbu was also allowed to harbour those similar feelings. Egg gives a nod, then another.
“ A farm sounds nice, and I’ll be the best fisher you’ve ever seen bro. I’ll be finding fish that have never been discovered. I don’t know if you have it in you to be a farmer though, Wemmbu. You always walk over crops and ruin them. ”
“ Rude, “ scoffed out, but his laughter that follows is genuine. In that brief moment of respite, his chest felt lighter. Eggchan wanted that to be their future too. Great ! Finally, everything felt manageable again.
“ But . ”
And the unease weighs down Wemmbu’s body again. He can’t bring himself to look at Eggchan, fearing what might follow. After all, no one knew Wemmbu as well as Egg did. Honestly, sometimes it felt like Egg knew him better than he knew himself.
“ Do you actually want a farm ? Or do you just want to leave ? ”
To want a farm is to have a dream . Leaving … is an escape.
Wemmbu hates how his throat feels so tight again. He suddenly grows conscious of the weight of his armour . God, he’s even reeling back to try hide himself within the confines of it. Pathetic. But- he does want a farm . He knows he does. But perhaps this illusion of a farm was merely an escape from everything.
No. No. He isn’t escaping or running away from anything . Wemmbu wants this. He wants to live with Eggchan on some silly little farm and just fish every day.
“ I mean, yeah, we would be leaving, but there’s nothing worth our time here. Parrots the king now, they don’t need us. So we could just go build something far away. I know some empty land we could use. We could … I dunno, make a treehouse. Maybe make a den like the one we used to hide in from Minute when we were kids. ”
“ And it’d have a farm ? With what crops ? ” Egg asks .
“ Yeah, of course, a farm . I dunno what crops. Uh . Whatever’s easiest to grow, I guess. ”
For someone that said they had thought about a future home, he really wasn’t convincing Eggchan on it. Egg knew that Wemmbu wasn’t imagining a future. He was imagining an escape route. And the more Wemmbu continued, the more Eggs smile dropped.
“ There would be no more wars, Egg. Less chance for you to get hurt by someone. No King to tell us what we can & can’t do. No more politics to keep getting dragged into against our will. ”
The words begin to spill out of Wemmbu’s mouth faster. As if he may really convince Egg that this was his dream future, and not a way to escape.
“ There would be no need to fight anymore, we wouldn’t even need weapons . We would be alone . No prison cells for them to lock us up into. No rules, we could live however we want. Besides, there wouldn’t be anyone for us to disappoint. No one would see us as failures or some damn hero . No worrying about who might stab us in the back next ! See, doesn’t that sound better ? ”
Finally Wemmbu’s words come to a halt. He had kinda expected some sort of bigger reaction from Egg. Maybe a cheer of support, or an instant, ‘Yeah that sounds great, we should start that asap Wemmbu!’ ’ . Both of them just stared at each other in silence. Neither wishing to speak to fill the void it seems. Tongue clicks in mouth, Wemmbu still just waiting.
“ And what happens when somebody comes looking for you ? ” Because as great as Wemmbu’s idea sounds, there is one flaw. The fact that he is Wemmbu . Cursed to a lifetime of fighting because he is feared. That won’t stop just because he lives far away. People will always fear him. People will always want his power for their own gain.
“ I’ll deal with them like I always do. ”
Silence. Again .
“ Would us leaving and living on a farm make you happy ? ”
That question felt like a slap to the face. Wemmbu, despite how quick he had been to try convince Egg of this big dream of his, hadn’t dared to think that far ahead. Would he be happy ? Was he allowed to be happy ? Being away from war . No longer being used like some sort of fucked up pawn . That would be enough to make him happy . That’s how normal people live, right ? They just wake up, farm, fish, and they all seem to be pretty fucking happy in his eyes.
“ Yeah . It would make me happy, Egg . ” & Wemmbu is telling the truth, in his own way. It’s his twisted notion as to what happiness should look like. After years of simply surviving, it was about time he learnt how to live. Being away from war, politics & people . That would make him happy. He would finally be free .
At this point, Wemmbu really was just expecting Egg to accept the idea. It was dragging on for too long. There’s only so much future talk one person can handle. Especially someone that never once considers the future and always lives in the present, just surviving as best as they can.
Its obvious to Eggchan hat Wemmbu wanted. Obviously he wanted peace. Egg could believe that Wemmbu truly did want them to go live on this farm of his. But peace did not always guarantee happiness. Egg wasn’t entirely sure if Wemmbu had been able to comprehend such a fact. They could run as far as they wished, but that didn’t mean that Wemmbu would be happy .
Another loud chorus of, “ LONG LIVE THE KING ! ” interrupts their peace. And Eggchan can’t help himself. He knows it would be easier to just move on & agree, but he needed to understand Wemmbu. Or perhaps, he needed Wemmbu to understand himself.
“ When I asked you what would make you happy, ” Egg begins . Only for a loud groan to exhale on Wemmbu’s behalf, “ oh my god bro, we can’t seriously still be talking about this ? ”
“ We are . ” And Eggs voice is serious . Enough to cause Wemmbu’s posture to straighten . A jostle of his elbow against Wemmbu’s side, though regretting it slightly as the armour ended up hurting Egg more than anyone else. “ You didn’t answer what made you happy. ”
“ I literally did, just a second ago. Jeez is your memory getting that bad ? ”
“ No. ” Retorted once more . His attention fully on Wemmbu, “ You just told me things that would stop hurting. Not things that would make you happy. ” Wings twitch as he watches Wemmbu’s expression harden, jaw clenched to try act impassive and not allow Egg to see how the truth was actually terrifying .
“ You talked about there being no wars, “ One finger lifts, “ No kingdoms, ” Egg lifts another finger for everything he lists, “ No weapons, no prison, no expectations, no people. ” His hands lowers after a moment . “ You never once told me what you would actually do, Wemmbu. You only told me things you want to run from. ”
Egg watches as Wemmbu harshly swallows . They both know he is right. Whether Wemmbu cared to admit it or not. But Egg follows it up once ore, as not to allow them to both swell in silence.
“ You said we would fish, what kinda fish ? ”
“ Huh? I dunno, fish fish … the fish kind of fish. ”
A loud snort follows from Egg .
“ That’s not an answer, bro. What the hell do you mean fish fish ? There’s salmon, cod, uhm … I might need to find my book on fish to continue listing them. I do remember the time you tried to catch a salmon with TNT, that was pretty funny. But you know nothing about fishing . ”
“ Hey! The TNT absolutely worked when I got that salmon. I just … also kinda wiped out the whole population of fish in that river. ”
But for the first time in a while, the tension between them eases. Not by much, but enough for the corners of Wemmbu’s lips to tug upwards again. Eggs smile lingers from the fondness of the memory, but gradually disperses. They needed to continue this conversation. Wemmbu needed to understand himself if he was ever to be happy.
“ Wemmbu . ”
Wemmbu’s jaw clicks , tongue sliding along mouth. Perhaps a way to soothe himself. Waiting for Eggchan to continue . Eggs words were careful . Slow . Treating Wemmbu as if he wasn’t one of the strongest players in this moment .
“ So . Tell me . What happens when you wake up one day … and you discover that all of the fighting isn’t the thing making you miserable ? ”
Wemmbu may physically be one of the strongest players . But Eggchan words pierced through him & hurt a fuck ton more than any attack he had felt. It had him disarmed entirely. Breaths no longer controlled. Each inhale and exhale was at a sporadic pace, lungs beginning to burn from the lack of air. Head reels, feeling lightheaded. But he forces himself to focus. Fuck . Why was he acting like this ? It is just a question . Just egg asking one stupid question .
‘ What happens when you wake up one day … and you discover that all of the fighting isn’t the thing making you miserable ? ‘ The words are ringing in his head, repeating over and over. Its taunting him.
Again . And again .
The sharpness in throat hurts. He grows achingly aware of how his veins are visibly protruding and pulsating.
Attention diverts to the fireworks . Naming every colour he sees in mind. Theres red, blue, purple, gold- but they all blur into one big blob.
Eggchan was wrong. He has to be wrong about him .
Leaving spawn. Leaving this life behind. It would help. Of course it would. Why wouldn’t it ?
No wars . No kingdoms . No people. No expectations. No prison. No fighting. No –
Thoughts come to a rude halt upon a realisation . A realisation that made that pit of doom begin to growl with growing hunger. Not once had Wemmbu thought about what came after. He just kept focusing on what he could leave behind if he would run away.
Fuck.
Egg was wrong . He had to be wrong .
Wemmbu grips onto the railing of balcony again. This time the force of grip causes the railing to whine beneath his fingers.
Egg was wrong. This was different. Fishing – even a farm . That sounded nice. Being left alone to do whatever he wanted. That sounded nice. Right ?
The answer to Wemmbu’s own question should come easy, but it doesn’t. That fucking pit grows. The knot in hi chest tightens.
And Eggchan watches, but he doesn’t find the need to say another word. He understands. But the silence only makes it worse.
Gaze ventures towards his hands, sight wavering yet he forces himself to focus on the present . Hands that were calloused and torn from years of fighting. Then he focuses on his arms. Eyes following until it lands on his armour. The netherite armour that was worn out from days of battle.
Three days ago the war ended. 3 whole days ago. But he still hadn’t taken his armour off. Suddenly the idea of his armour repulsed him, and his breath hitches. A somewhat bitter laugh wheezes out of throat .
What if leaving wasn’t enough ?
The thought was quick to strike through mind . its presence unwelcome, but it was all Wemmbu could then focus on. Until he shoves the thought away.
No. Absolutely fucking not.
If he accepted that though …
If he believed that leaving wasn’t enough …
If peace wasn’t enough …
Then what was enough ?
And for the first time that evening, Wemmbu really had no answer to splutter out.
Eggchan watched, but slowly begins to reach out. Hand settling to rest atop of Wemmbu’s paled knuckles that gripped so viciously onto the balcony. He hadn’t intended for his question to cause such a sudden crisis. Head leans against Wemmbu’s shoulder, close enough for his wing to curl around and tickle the tips of Wemmbu’s ears . “ Bro, it’s okay . You don’t need to think about all of that right now. You can think about the question later. I just … I just wanted you to really think about what you wants. That’s all. I just wanna see you happy. ”
Quite visibly Wemmbu begins to become more grounded. Eggs hand is horrifically cold atop of his own, and his wing tickling his ear was so annoying ! But. He needed it . One by one his limbs unstiffen, until half of his weight is rested against Eggchan. They have each other & that’s all that really matters. He has his best friend.
“ You should really take your armour off bro. Its heavy as hell. Besides, I can go get it fixed for you. There’s all sorts of people in the market. I’m sure I can find someone that can fix it up for you. Besides, you don’t need your armour on right now. It’s just us. ”
Smoothly trying to reason for Wemmbu to do what seems like such an easy action. It’d help to ease the burden on his shoulders. And he was genuinely exhausted from wearing it with very minimal rest between. Minutes pass, but finally Wemmbu begins to pull each piece off. One by one. His boots first. Then his bottoms . Then his chest plate. Lastly, his helmet. Which Egg quickly replaces with Wemmbu’s usual crown. Egg doesn’t act like it’s a big deal. If he did, then Wemmbu would probably put it all back on again.
“ Doesn’t that feel so much better ? ” Mused out, as Egg begins to force the armour into his already overfilling shulker box of supplies he carried for Wemmbu.
Roll of shoulders, neck swaying side to side, a loud groan of relief. Egg was right. It felt so much nicer just being in normal clothes with no armour. “ thanks. ” is all he utters in return. “ Alright, you’ve got diamonds to pay with, yeah ? … just come back here after. We’ll stay one more night in the castle, but we leave at dawn. We’ll go build a house, okay ? ”
Egg looks him up and down a few times. Only nodding when he finally believes that Wemmbu really was okay now. He wasn’t about to freak out again because of their talk. Shulker box is quickly discarded into ender chest . “ Sounds like a plan, bro. Alright, I’ll see you at dawn. Make sure you get some sleep. ” A fond jostle of elbow against Wemmbu’s side, this time actually not hurting himself . Gradually Eggs figure is covered by the shadows within castle hallways.
Alone . Wemmbu’s alone again. He has the ability to leave the balcony, but he doesn’t . The balcony felt so… desolate without Egg at his side. Like earlier, he watches as everyone celebrates. It goes on for hours. They really didn’t show any signs of stopping their celebrations.
Hours passed . Wemmbu hadn’t budged at all. All noise and light had droned into one big blur of time passing with every blink . Eventually people of spawn fade away. Children taken to bed, so exhausted from running around. One by one the lanterns dull until their flames are extinguished by those who pass by. Voices disappear. No more bangs of fireworks in sky.
Silence.
He was truly alone.
Eyes focus on the darkness of spawn & then beyond towards the horizon that never seems to end. There’s so many possibilities to where he could run. So many endless possibilities of where he could hide from this life. But none of them felt far enough.
Lips press taut together. Chest tightens, again.
If he really leaves tomorrow … would anything change ?
And again, no answer follows. Incapable of telling himself the truth. Surely there would be somewhere far enough ? A place he would love to call home ? This couldn’t be it .
Would anything change ?
It gnawed at his mind . He was growing wearier by the minute. Such a plaguing question. A sigh hissed out, frustrated.
No matter where he went, would some form of calamity always follow ? Would he ever really get what he wanted ?
What was it that he wanted ?
…
He doesn’t acknowledge the voice he hears speaking, until he realises it is actually him . His wish was whispered with just the moon as his witness .
“ Free . I just want to be free . ”