Chapter Text
Honestly, dying from overworking was not the most epic way to go in Wifies’s opinion. Though, to be fair, Wifies wasn’t expecting to die either way.
However, waking up in the child body of a villain of the popular RPG game, Unstable Universe: The Fractured Gods, was not on his bingo card.
Wifies only knows about the game because of a group project he was in, and how apparently one of the villains looks a bit like him (too much like him). He didn’t think too much about it, only hearing little tidbits and seeing a few clips about it. So, waking up to the world of said game was quite jarring to Wifies, especially since he’s been placed in a time way before the game’s plot. And honestly, he’s pretty sure that the game’s plot doesn’t even matter with the stuff he’s pulled off.
In the time he’s been here, Wifies has:
- Saved Duke and Marquess Debunk from a falling chandelier by throwing a trident
- Wrote up a successful land cultivation plan on one of the Debunk territories
- Taken in as the Debunk’s ward(re: adopted)
- Had his first tutor fired and banned from teaching (look, the guy was supposed to teach him, not berate him every step of the way)
- Somehow, he convinced an actual competent well-known tutor to teach him
- Became friends with the lover of one of the villains
- Earned the favor of said villain (Wifies doesn’t know how this happened; all he did was help Squiddo find the correct shop to go to)
- Had his debut at the royal capital
- Nearly got strangled to death at said debut while saving two of the princes from kidnappers
So, suffice to say, Wifies did a lot despite being in a thirteen-year-old’s body. Honestly, being in the body of one of the villains, The Director, is still strange. Not only did the guy look like him, but somehow, they had the same name? It was just weird. It left Wifies with so many questions.
He just hopes that he’ll find the answers as he lives this second life.
~~
“-think we’ll have to send Wifies to one of the private territories.”
Wifies froze, his hand just about to knock on Ken and Wato’s office door. He slowly retracted his hand, intent on hearing the conversation. Despite the door being closed, the boy could definitely hear his guardians talking about him.
“I just don’t understand why they’re so persistent on meeting Wifies,” he heard Ken’s stressed voice sigh. “We keep telling them that Wifies’s in no state to meet people right now.”
“I don’t know either,” Wato’s calm voice responded. “Duke Theria and Lord Aculon don’t usually fixate on other nobility. So their fixation towards Wifies is…troubling.”
Ah. So, they were talking about Saparata Theria and Fluixon Aculon. Wifies read about their history in the books his tutor gave him. Saparata came from a long line of dukes that oversaw a desert territory while Fluixon was once a prince of a fallen arctic kingdom. Their marriage was arranged, but turned into mutual affection that led to the creation of their son, Planet.
Wifies doesn’t know much about Fluixon or Planet but he knows Saparata as one of the villains of the game. A man who acts like an angel, but secretly runs a dark organization. After the death of his husband and son, Saparata’s mental state declined. Perceiving their deaths as a cause of incompetence of the royal family, Saparata grew an army to overthrow the royal family in the far future.
Wifies remembers seeing them at the royal capital at the debutante event. Throughout most of the party, he felt Saparata and Fluixon’s gazes trailing him when he was still in the ballroom. Even their son was weird. Planet kept trailing behind Wifies at the distance, watching him closely when he thought Wifies wasn’t looking. Weirded out, Wifies ended up leaving the ballroom to the garden.
Which led to him finding the twin princes about to be kidnapped and somehow saving them from said kidnappers.
Wifies gently rubbed his still sore neck, bandaged from nearly getting strangled to death for his interference. Because of that, his vocal cords were bruised, rendering him mute until further notice.
“Their persistence irks me,” Ken’s voice breaks through his thoughts. “I won’t be surprised if one of them decides to come here unannounced just to get what they want. Whatever it is they want from Wifies…”
“That’s why I’m suggesting that he go to another one of our territories for now.”
Deciding that it was time to butt in, Wifies raised his hand and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opens to a certain cat hybrid staring at him with perked up ears. “Wifies!” she chirped happily. He gave a reciprocating wave before he’s led inside the spacious office.
Wato smiled at him from the desk full of paperwork, subtly hiding a letter under the current papers in front of them. “Hey, Wifies,” they greeted the young teen.
Wifies nodded as he sat on the couch in the room. He took out his communicator and started typing. “I heard your conversation,” the electronic voice of the communicator beeped. The cat and wolf hybrid froze.
“You little eavesdropper,” Ken tsked, smiling before sitting on the couch across from Wifies. “So, what do you think? Going elsewhere for a while.”
“I don’t mind,” Wifies answered. “Can I go somewhere with a nice view?”
“Hm, I think we have a plot of land in one of the plain biomes,” Wato hummed, flicking through some papers. “I think one of them is a small farmland, how about that? Somewhere isolated enough where people won’t bother you much, and you can relax until your throat is healed.” Wifies nodded enthusiastically. “Okay, let me look through the papers.”
“If we’re sending him there, I think we’ll only be able to send two people with him,” Ken pouted. “You have any preferences, Wifies?”
“Lord Hutchins and Sir Demayo,” Wifies answered easily. “Lord Hutchins is my tutor but he’s also an efficient survivalist, and Sir Demayo is stronger than most of your guards and probably one of the most sought out fighters.” Technically, Derek and Avery were under Wifies’s employment, not Ken or Wato’s. Wifies met Derek during one of Ken’s territory inspections and had an insightful and meaningful conversation which led to the man applying to be Wifies’s tutor. And Wifies saw Avery be discriminated against and put down for being a slime amongst knight rookies which led to Wifies being the only one to give him a chance. One of the smartest men and one of the strongest fighters wrapped around Wifies’s finger.
Wifies suspects that there’s something going on between those two, but he won’t say anything…yet.
“Of course,” Ken chuckled. “They’re your people, pup. Pretty sure they’ll follow you anywhere.”
“Found it!” Wato grinned as he took out a piece of paper. Most likely the deed to the land. “A nice sizable plot of farmland. There’s also a town nearby as well if you guys need anything. Sound good?” Wifies nodded. “Great. Then we should probably have you pack soon.”
Ken stood, shoving her hands in her pockets. “I’ll go ahead and tell Derek and Avery about the plan.”
Wifies smiles at his guardians’ protectiveness of him. They know all the safest places (and the most secretive ones). Nothing could possibly change that.
~~
Wifies…was very confused.
He doesn’t even know where to start with this. Wifies, Derek, and Avery had promptly left the main Debunk territory in the middle of the night upon two steady horses and light luggage. Ken and Wato originally wanted to send them off in a carriage, but Wifies and Derek insisted that it would be more stealthier for them to simply leave on horseback. It wasn’t too much of a hassle. Spending a few years alone on the streets made Wifies quite resourceful, so he can survive on less than when Ken and Wato offered. Not to mention, Derek is an expert survivalist, and Avery survived the wilds when he was just a little slime block, so Wifies knows that it’s safe.
It was a nice change of pace from the tall cobblestone walls to the lush greenery and beautiful oceans.
However, one moment, they were resting near a field of flowers getting ready for lunch, the next, a very ornate carriage stopped next to their horses and supplies.
Which somehow led to this…strange predicament with his guard and tutor very tense and Wifies utterly surrounded.
“Hey, hey, try this! It’s really good!”
“Wemmbu, he can’t have any solid foods right now. Here, we have some soup-”
“Parrot, stop hogging him, you literally have your wing around him!”
“Flame, let Parrot do what he wants, he’s allowed to be selfish~.”
“Hey-Spoke, give that back! I was gonna give it to Wifies!”
“Boys! Behave!”
“Sorry, Minute!”
What were the chances of the royal family going down the same road as them…?
~~
Wato stared blankly at the couple sitting across their desk. They and Ken anticipated either Saparata or Fluixon coming unannounced. Neither of them were expecting both of them and their son to come to their territory altogether. Ken had given herself the task to entertain Planet while Wato conversed with Saparata and Fluixon.
“Duke Theria, Lord Aculon,” Wato hummed nonchalantly. His hands folded on the desk. “Odd of you to come unannounced like this. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Duke Debunk,” Saparata calmly smiled, holding one of Fluixon’s clenched hands, “let’s not beat around the bush. You keep snubbing our requests to let us meet Wifies.”
“And I’m sure Ken and I have told you time and time again,” Wato sighed, “that Wifies is not in a state to meet with anyone. He is recovering.”
“Sounds like an excuse,” Fluixon scoffed. “Very convenient that young Wifies isn’t here. Like you anticipated our arrival…”
The wolf hybrid shrugged at the human. “Maybe, maybe not,” they hummed. “We definitely weren’t expecting the whole Theria-Aculon family to be at our doorstep.” Wato leaned forward, raising their intertwined hands to rest their chin on. “Tell me, why are you so persistent about meeting my ward? It is quite concerning with the constant letters. Almost borderline obsession, if you ask me.” From their periphery, Wato could see Saparata’s unoccupied hand clench.
The wolf hybrid has always been wary of Saparata. Ever since they and Ken first met the angel, the both of them could sense something off with the man. It felt like he was too squeaky clean. Anything considered “gruesome” he would let Fluixon handle (yet it feels like the angel’s hands were dirtier than his husband’s). He would often venture to the poorer side of town to help the needy (but the state and situation there barely ever changed). He adores his son so much (however, there seems to be a distance between them that never closes). The only thing that Ken and Wato were certain is true is that Saparata loves his husband and son.
“Obssession? Oh, no, no, no, nothing like that,” Saparata tried to assure. “We’re just concerned about his well-being.”
“Your concern is well appreciated,” Wato narrowed their eyes. “But, again, Wifies isn’t here. He’s currently off to a calm and quiet place to properly rest-”
“Dammit, don’t play with me!” Fluixon yelled, standing to slam his hands onto the desk. Wato flinched backwards, away from the noitette. His pink eyes scowled at the human. “Just tell us where he is-!”
“Flux!” Saparata scolded, gently pulling his husband away from the desk. He looked to Wato, his eyes pleading. “Please, Duke Debunk. We really must meet the young master. It’s important.”
“Why?” Wato emphasized. “Why is it important? What is it that you ignore every refusal, including the letter from Wifies himself, that you have to see him?”
Silence.
A deep growl reverberated in their throat. “If you have nothing to say, then leave-”
“There’s a secret that we’ve kept since Planet’s birth.”
Wato paused as Saparata spoke. The angel’s eyes looked truly solemn. “What?”
Saparata made sure Fluixon sat back down before continuing. “Planet already knows about this secret. We made sure to tell him when he was young.”
“What secret?” Wato scowled.
“Planet is not our only son,” Fluixon gritted out. “He was born with a twin.”
The wolf hybrid blinked. “What?”
“We…,” Saparata started, sighing. “Thirteen years ago, when Flux and I went to the land of Pandora, we were blessed with a pair of children. We were so excited when the twins were born. We were so excited to announce it when we got back to our territory, but…”
“Before we left to go home with them,” Fluixon huffed, looking defeated, “one of our sons disappeared. Taken. Kidnapped. However you want to call it, he was…gone. We didn’t even name him yet…”
“We searched, of course,” Saparata said, his voice thick with grief. “We searched for him so desperately. Six months. But we had no choice, but to cease the search. Planet…Planet was growing up, and we couldn’t neglect him.”
“So, we had to go back home,” Fluixon said finally. “We announced only Planet’s birth. Our other son was left unknown to the public. We didn’t want to risk lookalikes trying to covet what belongs to him.”
Wato blinked at the information given to them. The fact that the couple had not one, but two sons? But never announced the second one? Wato could sort of understand why, but to give up on their lost son after half a year? Something sounded a little fishy.
Wait…
“Hold on,” Wato spoke, pressing a palm on his forehead and raising the other to keep the couple from speaking. “So, what you’re implying to me is…”
Saparata and Fluixon looked at each other before looking back at Wato.
“We believe Wifies is the son we lost.”