Chapter Text
Flame wiped the sweat off of his forehead, relishing in the feeling of the sun’s warmth beating down on him. It reminded him of home. He looked over his work—a simple, practical house, perfect for his needs. Nodding to himself, Flame turned around, taking in the sight of shitty builds scattered about at random, as far as the eye could see, and smiled. Spawn was a great embodiment of the Server’s inhabitants. It was rarely this peaceful, though.
Right on cue, Flame’s ear twitched at the sound of hushed voices. Now, normally he wouldn't care, but he was oddly suspicious today—and bored. He was bored. So he went to follow the voices, straining to listen. Remembering to exercise caution—an afterthought—he potted invisibility from his enderchest and took his armor off. Then he followed.
“You can’t tell anyone about this,” one of the voices insisted, checking for any eavesdroppers. According to the nametag, this was JamatoP. Dumbass Jamato didn't see the invis particles right next to him. It could be argued that Flame was also a dumbass for standing so close to them, but that wasn't important.
The second half of the dubious pair followed the speaker’s lead, glancing around half-heartedly. Their nametag read: SpokeIsHere—a player who joined only recently, if his memory served him right. “Yeah, okay, I got it…” he muttered in reply, keeping his volume conspiratorially low (for Spoke).
What could be so secret, Flame wondered?
The two managed to get ahead of Flame while he was stuck sneaking, and without any Swift Sneak at that. He was still padding down the stairs as the conversation continued.
“Wow…cool armor trims?”
“That’s not it,” the first voice claimed. “Put it on.” Impatient, Flame put his boots back on to hurry down the steps, then took them off before he could be noticed. They probably didn't hear that. And indeed, the pair was looking at…an armor stand. Netherite armor with redstone trims. Cool, but what’s so secret about that?
“Wait.” Spoke gaped, looking at the armor stats. “Yo! I thought they patched this glitch!?”
A glitch? Spoke with his hands on an exploit? Oh, no. Oh, hell no. Not again. Flame came around the corner, ready to kick some ass.
And then he stopped. Because he does not have the skill nor the strength to kick any ass.
Crap. This is why he has to get good at PvP. Like, immediately. Ugh, this is so annoying… The chungus life is rough.
While Flame was lamenting to himself about his lacking abilities, Spoke and Jamato finished discussing the glitched armor. Flame briefly considered taking the fight anyway—since he wasn’t that bad at PvP—but fighting two people, with exploited gear no less, was probably a lost cause. He didn't even have the choice when he suddenly noticed the two of them coming his way.
Stiffly, and so slowly that it was gruelling, Flame slunk around the corner while Spoke and Jamato went up the stairs, seemingly oblivious to his presence. That was close. Too close, some might say. Nevertheless, Flame wasn't worried. He waited until it wasn't completely risky to go up the stairs, not bothering to re-pot invis, and left Jamato’s base.
Flame would have to stop this. Somehow.
———————————————————————
Well, apparently Spoke was paying people to protect the Wonders…so…
Yeah, Flame is not doing that.
But! That gave him a good place to start searching. If Spoke wanted the Wonders protected, there was no way it wasn't for his own benefit. So, naturally, he was probably hiding something there. Likely something to do with those exploits.
Craning his neck to take in what he could of the impressive structure, Flame prowled his way over. And under the cliche cover of darkness he tunneled directly into the Ice Castle. This was surprisingly easy.
“Uh.”
Nevermind.
Flame froze briefly, then, pickaxe in hand, he spun around to see Spoke scrutinizing him with a suspicious expression. His own features did nothing to hide the fact that he had indeed been caught in the act.
“...What are you doing here, FlameFrags? You’re not supposed to be here,” Spoke haltingly inquired, more of an accusation than a real question. Realization flavored with indignance then dawned on the voidling. “Hey, wait! How did you get past the guardian of this Wonder? What am I even paying them for!?”
“...My cat fell on my keyboard,” Flame mumbled guiltily.
Spoke blinked. He only blinked, a palpable reaction of pure shock, and he followed it up by staring with a slack jaw. He seemed stunned by the fact that Flame came up with such a horrible, awful, painfully fake excuse and actually went with it—clearly he does not know Flame very well. After a few necessary ticks, Spoke’s brows tightened slightly, and he could do nothing but shake his head. “...Cut that out.”
Then, composing himself, Spoke inhaled and put on a professional persona. “Let me escort you back to where you should be, FlameFrags,” he insisted, grinning.
It was only natural that Flame pulled out his sword and attacked.
A yelp shot out of Spoke’s throat when it happened. The resulting fight was extremely scuffed, given that they were standing in a two block high, one block wide tunnel, and neither excelled at PvP. Flame was clearly the better of the two, however, which made a wicked smile break out on his face, showing off his sharp teeth.
Spoke ran out of the tunnel, either for a better vantage point or just for the sake of running, and, being Spoke, he was yapping the whole time. “You don’t want to do this, Flame!”
“No, I do,” Flame answered simply, sounding just short of cheerful. Spoke’s first totem popped, and Flame laughed. “Already!?’
Spoke ground his teeth together anxiously, reminiscent of that one emoji (you know the one). “Oh, that’s not good…” He potted himself with Speed—unfortunately the effects also reached Flame. “You don’t understand what you’re messing with!” he claimed, but his tone was more conspiratory than convincing. Flame just rolled his eyes and kept critting him out.
Upon reaching the end of Flame’s tunnel, they both faltered. Spoke hissed as the sunlight blinded him—even with a blindfold, Flame had to stop and cover his eyes while they adjusted. Neither of the two were from the overworld, so their eyes were less than accustomed to the sun’s blazing light.
Flame recovered first, sprinting towards Spoke, but Spoke had thrown an ender pearl blindly. “Fuck!”
He spent a good portion of his time looking for Spoke after that, doing so in a frenzy. After coming up empty for the umpteenth time, Flame viciously muttered a string of curses. He had to get rid of Spoke, or at least get rid of his exploits—not just for his own sake, but for the sake of the Server. Flame couldn't let Spoke destroy it.
He wouldn't give up.
And this wasn't even just about the evidence—this was about Flame’s gut feeling. He trusted his gut with great esteem, and it told him that Spoke had the exploits hidden in the Wonders, so Flame would keep treading down this path. No matter what.
———————————————————————
Suffice to say, everything from then on was a lateral move at best. It was repeatedly the same routine over and over: tunnel into a Wonder, get caught by a guardian (or sometimes Spoke), fight back, and ultimately have to run away.
Flame longs so badly to be a good PvPer… One day, he’ll be the best. To his dismay, however, that day was not today.
It took Flame too long to realize that he could very likely just tunnel underground from a distance, then surface to find the inside of a Wonder. He chose to focus on the fact that he did figure out this plan and not how long it took him to do so, putting the plan into action immediately.
Just as his last invis potion was wearing off, the sound of a voice that had simultaneously grown increasingly familiar and increasingly annoying came within earshot. Flame slowed down, trying to remain unheard.
“Oh my gosh, it’s still here…” Spoke sounded worried for some reason. “Okay, good. That’s good. I just have to—”
“What’s still here, bro?” Flame smiled, climbing out of the hole he dug. Spoke’s eyes blew wide while Flame looked around, finding that they were in a netherrack box with a stack of chests that went from the floor to the ceiling, and next to the tower lay an odd assortment of items. This was definitely the right place. “What’s still here, bro?” Flame repeated, laughing. His pride puffed out, feeling cocky now that he had broken into this place after being chased off so many times. Whether for better or worse, this led to him taking on a mocking tone.
“...You’re not supposed to be here, FlameFrags,” Spoke haltingly warned, still frazzled from the sudden appearance. That sorry excuse for a threat had Flame chortling.
“Alright, well-” Flame began as he finished laughing. “-I’m done, so... Guess I have to kill you now.”
Spoke scurried off when Flame approached, but he didn't do so without reaching into one of the chests first. But when he glanced over his shoulder, he found that Flame didn't have his sword out, nor was he continuing to follow. “Wha— Wait! Stop!” That was when Flame pulled out the TNT and started blowing up Spoke’s items.
Spoke took the initiative and unskillfully swung his sword at Flame, but Flame wasn't worried. “You have no idea what you just did, Flame!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“You don’t know what you’re messing with!”
Flame dodged a surprisingly good swipe. “Bro, are you done?
———————————————————————
“Oh my god, I bricked out.”
Flame dug around randomly, straining his ears to listen for any trace of Spoke’s whereabouts. He found none. And when he backtracked to get rid of the rest of Spoke’s glitched items, he was met with only empty chests. Spoke somehow managed to grab every one of them during their scramble.
Crap.
Surely Spoke will pop up again somewhere, right?
———————————————————————
“So…Derap…” Flame began, walking into Derapchu’s base. His tone was a poor attempt at sounding conversational, and perhaps convincing, if he was feeling bold. “...Bro, have you seen a SpokeIsHere anywhere?”
Derapchu only side-eyed Flame with a raised eyebrow, not exactly wary but certainly doubtful. His response was tellingly delayed. “...No.”
Flame’s expression dropped. Yeah, he had a feeling Derapchu wouldn't tell him anything. He and Spoke were on fine terms, if he remembered correctly. “...Yeah, okay. Thanks, bro,” he deadpanned. After that totally not suspicious answer, Flame left to go find Spoke some other way.
“Wait!” Derapchu called sharply, his mouth turned down in an angry scowl. “Why would you just walk into my base like that!? I didn’t let you in!”
Flame laughed, but he didn't deign to reply. Derapchu should've noticed that earlier if he wanted a reply. How would he find Spoke’s whereabouts now, is the problem?
Welp, guess all he can do is search the entire server. On foot. Because he doesn't have an elytra, since some asshole took every one of them. This should be a good way to spend his weekend.
———————————————————————
Damn, Jamato’s base is completely abandoned too… Bro, not even a single clue? What the hell? Flame had just about run out of leads.
“Egg, write that down.”
Flame’s heart leapt into his throat. That wasn't a voice he recognized.
“...You mean that there was a zombie attached to a lead? On the ceiling?”
“Yeah, write that— Wait, everyone shut up.”
“Huh?”
“Shh!”
Flame was in the middle of fumbling a hiding place, though by the sound of it, they had already spotted his nametag. He took a terse breath, hoping they wouldn't find him in the wall.
“So… Why are we sneaking?” a third, hushed voice asked.
The first voice seemed to be rather impatient. “I saw a nametag, idiot.”
“Where?” the second voice cluelessly inquired.
“In here!” They were whisper-yelling by this point. “In this room!”
Fuck. They’re already in the same room? Flame held his breath, but to no avail.
“There you are!” the first voice exclaimed with a wicked grin.
“Shit!” Flame dashed out of the hole he had dug, avoiding an entire group—except for one, who looked to be more of a writer than a fighter. That first voice—Wemmbu, apparently—landed a hit on him, and Flame yelped. “What the hell!? Bro, how’d you do half my health with that!?”
Wemmbu cackled. The rest of the group ended up sort of just…backing off and left Wemmbu to his devices. “Dude, haven't you heard of breach-swapping?”
“No!?”
Flame loathed the way Wemmbu laughed while he could do nothing to defend himself. He hates whenever people aren't even stronger than him, they're just overpowered! It’s not a fair fight! Wemmbu is…kind of stronger than him…he’d admit that…but he’s also really overpowered!
The writer cut in before Wemmbu could actually ban Flame off of the server, thank god. “Yo, yo, Wemmbu, lay off.”
“Why?”
“Aren’t we here to find Spoke?”
“...”
Wemmbu heaved a loud, dramatic sigh, finally relenting. Flame chugged gapples as quickly as he could. Sparing no expense to diminish Flame’s pride, Wemmbu webbed him in a corner and made sure he stayed there, keeping a mace in his hand for intimidation’s sake. Fucking aurafarmer.
“So,” Wemmbu began, putting on the act of an investigator while the rest of the group gathered around, “what’s your connection Spoke…” He paused to look at Flame’s nametag. “...FlameFrags?”
Flame was unamused. “I’m…looking for him?”
Now Wemmbu was also unamused. “‘Kay, so, why?”
Flame only crossed his arms defiantly—straining to do so, thanks to the webs—and held Wemmbu’s gaze. The writer, Eggchan, decided to cut in again. “Wemmbu, why did Zam send you on this mission…?
“What!?”
Eggchan sighed and turned to Flame with a far kinder disposition. “We’re looking for Spoke to ensure the safety of the empire we’re all part of. Do you have any information about his whereabouts?”
“Dude, why are you so formal with it?” Wemmbu commented.
“That explains the matching armor trims…” Flame added, more of a note to himself than anything else. Before Wemmbu could snap at him again, he answered, “Well, no, bro, I don't.” Wemmbu didn't seem to like that answer, making Flame tense up in anticipation for another mace swing. “Bro, calm down! I can show you where his base is!”
Eggchan placed a hand on Wemmbu’s shoulder, and the latter visibly relaxed, locking eyes for a moment. “D’alright, fine.” Then he turned sharply to Flame, jabbing a finger at his chest. “If this is a trap, though, you’re dead.”
Flame rolled his eyes and finally untangled himself from the webs Wemmbu placed earlier. “I mean, it’s not, bro. You’re not gonna find anything there though, I already checked and it’s empty.”
…
“THEN WHY ARE WE GOING!?”
———————————————————————
They went anyway.
“So, I’m noticing that there's nothing here…” Wemmbu observed, unimpressed.
“Bro, I literally told you it was empty.”
A despondent exhale left Eggchan’s lungs. “Yo, can you guys stop fighting for a second?” he helplessly pleaded.
Flame and Wemmbu’s bickering finally skidded to a halt, for the first time since they had met, when they turned to Eggchan.
…
“Egg, what are you doing, dawg…?”
“I’m getting cozy, bro!” Eggchan insisted, bundled up in Spoke’s bed without his armor. Wemmbu punched him, forcing him out of the bed, which earned a sad, pitiful sound. Flame wasn't sure what he was watching.
“Uhh, well…” Wemmbu’s eyes landed on Flame, narrowing, and after much deliberation, he gave a careless shrug. “Guess we’ll have to take you to Zam. So he can decide your fate, obviously.”
“Bro, what?”
“Do you just wanna go back to Zam?”
“Shut up, Egg. We’re going.”
“Bro, hello!?”
———————————————————————
Flame sulked the entire way there. The ride was cramped, loud, and gruelling. He found himself squished into a corner to avoid the group of guards being in his space.
He crossed his arms and tried to ignore how Wemmbu complained the entire time about how these hot air balloon contraptions were so slow, how elytras are faster, how they should just use elytras, or even walk through The Nether if they had to. Flame tried not to flinch at the mention of his homeworld.
Eggchan glanced at Wemmbu from over the book he was reading. “Wouldn't he have one if you hadn't taken all of them?”
Flame snapped to attention. “Wait, bro, that was you!?”
Wemmbu laughed without shame, guilt, or anything. “Yeah?”
“Why!?” Flame demanded.
With a smirk playing on his lips, Wemmbu shrugged his shoulders. Apparently Flame’s dismay was very amusing to him. “Thought it’d be funny.”
Eggchan narrowed his eye, directing that unnerving gaze towards Wemmbu. “Didn't you give all of them to Zam?”
“...”
Flame’s eyes flickered between them. However, before Wemmbu inevitably told Eggchan to shut up and brushed the interaction off, he noticed land beginning to load in after hours of pure ocean. First it was the edge of a cliff, then houses situated atop said cliff, then more and more structures, all more impressive than the last, before finally a large, intricate castle came into view. Flame found himself enamored by the sight, not even registering Wemmbu’s groan of, “Finally!”
After another long couple of minutes, Wemmbu was the first to use an unnecessary ender pearl to get off of the balloon, sprinting off in what Flame assumed to be the direction of whoever Zam was. Eggchan sighed and climbed off onto the dock, making sure Flame got off safely, before continuing and leading him through this maze of a palace.
“...Bro, do you have any idea where you're going?” Flame eventually asked.
“Well…” Eggchan took a sweeping glance at their current surroundings. “I have some ideas,” he settled on.
“...Comforting…”
“Egg!” Wemmbu called in melodramatic fear and desperation, backtracking to find them in a completely random area of the castle. Flame plugged his ears. “Dawg, you really gotta learn your way around this place. It’s been too long.”
Eggchan sighed with low spirits. Apparently this was a long running issue. “I usually just follow you! You went ahead and left me to escort this guy!”
“Just follow my nametag!” Wemmbu retorted.
A pointed clearing of the throat interrupted their bickering. Wemmbu’s attention was gone yet again, and he quickly made his way back where he came, a grin on his face. “Zammy! We brought you fresh meat!”
“What!?” Flame furiously shrieked. “Bro, can you stop talking like I’m not right here!?”
Upon a grand throne sat a player with the title of PrinceZam, and they covered their mouth with their hand while chortling brightly. Flame’s focus shifted immediately, narrowing down to just her.
She was entirely adorned in gold. Golden curls flowed down her shoulders, framing elegant features with eyes like two aquamarine stones and soft, golden skin—which was odd, Flame noticed, considering her aquatic features. Upon closer inspection it became clear that she had covered her scales up with makeup. Flame would've pondered the matter further had he not been snapped out of that.
“So,” Zam began with a sunny smile, tilting their head, “what brings you to my empire, Flame?”