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The law prison echoed with screams of pure torture. Guards were panicking and trying to keep up with the escaped prisoners.
Their main focus was Wemmbu, who after he got out of the law territory put on invis and was now traveling towards the great sea.
Wemmbu sighed as he was quietly moving towards Capital city, running through woods and almost getting spotted multiple times.
It didn't help with the fact that he had a huge wound on his torso that needed stitches. His whole body was littered with cuts and bruises, and he was also slightly limping for some reason.
After all that time in prison, his whole body felt numb and weak. His once beautiful, long, purple hair was now matted and cut to shoulder length.
His clothes were somewhere in the law prison, which just forced him to wear this ugly orange jumpsuit.
It was safe to say, he wasn't at his best right now. Going back to the Farlands was a must, as he was out of orbitals.
As he kept running through familiar terrain, he found himself in front of Capital city. The gates loomed over him with guards constantly patroling on the pillars.
Why was he here you may ask? Well if he wanted to get to the Great sea, he needed to take this underwater tunnel with dolphins. Which was going to be hard with the fact that every single place was going to be heavily guarded.
Wemmbu groaned in frustration, how hadn't he thought of that before? He was gonna give it a try no matter what.
Quietly, he moved to the back walls of the city. He used his pickaxe to mine through the walls and after successfully getting in, he was immediately spotted by this weird green person.
His luck couldn't be any worse as they called the guards and he was forced to retreat somewhere, anywhere.
Wemmbu has been running, staying low for the past few hours now, the wounds that covered his body needed medical attention. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have any bandages, health potions or literally anything that might help him get better.
So, he was forced to try and continue walking. As he checked where he was, he realized that he was really far from spawn. Which was good, since he wasn't in law territory anymore.
The unfamiliar terrain in front of him made him feel a bit uneasy. He has explored most parts of the server, but this place just gave him bad vibes.
Barely, he continued walking, well more like limping till he found a nice place for resting.
Wemmbu sat against a tree as he clutched his side that was still bleeding. He groaned in frustration as he searched his ender chest for anything that might help.
With no luck of finding anything except for broken armour and half mended weapons, he just decided to suck it up and rest for a bit.
He let himself think for a little. One thing Wemmbu knew was that he needed heals, badly. In an unfamiliar place like this, Wemmbu didn't know where he would find bandages or health potions.
It was such a pain in the ass, but he had to suck it up. As he tried to apply pressure on the wound, he only hissed and his hand was even more covered in dark purple blood.
His tail lashed behind him in annoyance, and for a minute Wemmbu thought that he might just die here. With no supplies, no shelter and no one to help him right now, death didn't sound too bad.
But he wasn't gonna let himself die like that. He didn't escape prison just to die to something stupid like blood loss, seriously.
His train of thoughts was interrupted as he heard muffled voices talking somewhere in the distance. Almost immediately, he tensed and grabbed Gambit, getting ready in a fighting stance.
His body screamed in protest as he got up, coughing up even more blood in process. The voices stopped talking and he could hear footsteps growing closer and closer each second.
Fuck him for not being quiet enough, he knew he would be dead now. There was no way he was surviving whoever was approaching.
And as he thought his luck ran out, the two people actually stopped walking to talk some more, which was perfect.
Wemmbu grinned in satisfaction, seems like he still had some luck left. Just as he was about to flee once again, he heard something.
"Is it just me, or do I smell blood?" What the fuck? Yeah he was definitely cooked now. Slowly, he moved towards where he thought was safe, but froze once he heard a branch snap under his foot.
Suddenly, the footsteps grew hurried, almost as if someone was running towards him. Wemmbu could only pray it was some chungie, but as he saw a flash of orange, he froze.
A lion hybrid ran towards him with a spear in their hands, "Gotcha!" they said but before they attacked Wemmbu they seemed to freeze in place, the spear dropping from their hands and falling onto the ground.
Wemmbu's eyes widened in fear as he realized who the person was.
Before him stood Manepear, frozen in place. His expression unreadable, because of the blindfold, but even then he looked shocked.
Suddenly another pair of footsteps appeared to be running towards them, and FlameFrags appeared from the bushes. "Mane? What happened—," he quickly cut himself off once he saw his rival.
"Wemmbu?" Mane called out slowly, the voice made Wemmbu flinch back and stumble backwards as his back hit a tree, he fell to the floor with a hiss.
Flame could only stare, his eyes wide behind the blindfold. Confusion was written all over his face as he just stared at his rival.
Wemmbu was no longer wearing his elegant clothes, instead they were replaced with a half torn orange jumpsuit. His long hair was now cut to shoulder length. His whole body was littered with scars and a huge sword wound slashed across his torso, blood slowly seeping out.
The moment his eyes locked with Mane's blindfold, the fear turned into something else. Recognition. Hurt. Guilt. Old memories that he thought he buried deep inside his mind came back flooding in.
The memories of him and Mane training happily, the memories of them eating dinner and laughing about stupid stuff hurt. Suddenly, the wounds didn't feel like they were the biggest threat anymore, it was the two people he hated the most in front of him.
His breath hithced as he tried to back off, but to no avail since he was backed up against a tree. His gaze shifted towards Flame, who only stood frozen, not knowing what to do.
Suddenly, Wemmbu spoke up. His tone was stripped of the usual edge it carried. The voice small and frightened. "W-what are...— you doing here?" He looked towards Mane who only stared back at Flame.
Mane was speechless, seeing the kid he used to train years ago made him feel guilty. Wemmbu wasn't looking like he was at his best right and it could all be his fault.
Flame frowned in confusion as he finally managed to find the right words. "Bro, the better question is, what are you doing here? You don't look all that good..."
Wemmbu just stared at him before the anger finally came crushing down, "What do you think Flame?! I was in prison because of you!" he gritted his teeth as he tried to ignore the burning pain in his eyes.
Flame was taken a back by that, it wasn't entirely his fault was it? He just wanted a rematch, not an almost dead rival staring at him, eyes filled with hurt and hatred.
He scoffed quietly. "Come one bro, it wasn't entirely my fault. You promised me a rematch! I just took the opportunity when I saw it." He stared at his rival, an uneasy feeling crawling up his spine.
Wemmbu couldn't help but laugh, there wasn't anything funny about the situation, not at all. It just helped distract him from the fact that he felt like crying. He stared at the both of them, hatred, betrayal and hurt in his dull eyes.
Mane just sighed, the soft noise escaping his mouth before he could stop it. "Wemmbu, bro, are you just gonna stand there or let us help you." His tail swayed behind him, his lion instincts just screaming at him to do something, but he knew he couldn't.
Wemmbu couldn't help but let out another humorless laugh. "You really think, you, out of all people, can just walk back into my life? Now you wanna play the hero, Mane?" he hissed in annoyance and hurt. The shock was still there, quietly lingering, but soon it was replaced with something he thought he buried long time ago.
Old memories of him and Mane came back flooding his mind, the tree house, the laughter, the betrayal, it hurt, it stung, but he couldn't do anything to change the fact that he could feel his eyes burning more and more each second.
Suddenly, sharp pain exploded through his side. Clutching the wound he doubled over and coughed up even more blood, the dark purple spilled through his fingers. Just looking at it made him sick.
Before he could fall over, he felt strong arms catch him by the shoulders. He looked up to see a very concerned Flame with his older brother next to him. Flame concerned? Bullshit, he was probably just hallucinating from the blood loss.
Flame helped him stand up, "Bro, are you seriously just gonna let yourself bleed out here instead of accepting help like a normal person would?" He couldn't help but feel worried for Wemmbu. Yes, they were rivals, but he didn't want him gone, did he?
Wemmbu took his hand off of himself, annoyance crawling up to him. "Why should I trust you, Flame? We are rivals! And you, Mane, are the worst. I'm not staying with you two any second longer. I don't need your help, I'd rather die."
With that he grabbed Gambit and started walking away, until he suddenly felt a hand grab his wrist. He flinched at the contact. Annoyed, he turned around again just to see Manepear standing there, looking more serious and concerned than ever. "I'm sorry, Wemmbu, but please. Just let us help you," his tone was that soft, soothing one he used to use whenever he would comfort Wemmbu.
"I care about you, Wemmbu. I really do. And, I'm sorry I left. I know that won't fix it, but please, just this once, let me explain myself and help." The desperation in his voice made Wemmbu pause. His eyes wide and filled with fear of leaving that never truly left.
Slowly, he freed his hand and turned around fully. His eyes were filled with anger at that. "A sorry won't make up for years of abandonment, it won't fix anything, Mane. I finally made myself forget about you, forget about everything that happened, and you just walk back into my life with a lame ass apology," he shook as he spoke, years of abandonment, years of holding it in just made him break like glass.
"I tried so hard, Mane, I really did, and you just left? Because of one stupid mistake, you left me for years with no nothing, just a stupid sign that still haunts me to this day." he continued, anger finally taking over.
Wemmbu didn't realize when he started crying, he just felt the tears running down his face as his shoulders desperately shook. His breath hitched and he could feel himself breaking completely just because of someone who left him years ago, with no explanation.
He tried wiping away the tears that couldn't stop flowing. After holding it in for years, everything came crushing down all at once.
Flame actually froze at the sight. His rival, Wemmbu, was breaking apart completely because of his brother's stupidity. He felt something inside of him break at the thought of his rival cry. something he never saw before.
Mane flinched back, stumbling a few steps. His eyes were wide behind his blindfold. Did those words make that huge of an impact on Wemmbu? If he knew they would, he would have never left that stupid sign.
Flame sighed softly before walking over to Wemmbu, who didn't seem to notice him getting closer. Hesitantly, he reached out and placed his hand on the dragon's shoulder in a comforting gesture.
Wemmbu finally looked over, his eyes still teary and red from crying. The small gesture seemed to calm him down for a bit, actually make him stop crying.
Flame spoke up, careful of his words, careful of making Wemmbu not break any further, "Wemmbu, bro, it's okay. Don't listen to whatever my stupid brother said, okay? It's okay, you're okay. Now, can you please let us help you?"
Wemmbu sniffled once more before nodding, too tired to protest anymore. He was staring at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, well, blindfold. As much as he hated to admit it, Flame actually helped a bit, for once.
Mane just stood behind Flame, his eyes softened slightly as he realized that he actually can help Wemmbu. He took a few steps forward, careful not to startle Wemmbu.
He placed down an ender chest and took out a— purple shulker... Slowly, he started rummaging through it, trying to find a medkit. When he finally found one, he sat down on a nearby huge rock.
"Can you sit down? " Mane asked softly and Wemmbu huffed in annoyance but complied anyway.
Flame crouched in front of him, took out an antiseptic and started cleaning around the wound carefully. After that he made sure to apply a health potion to it.
Wemmbu hissed in displeasure, but didn't say anything. He had to hold it in and try not to show anymore weakness.
Flame tried to be as gentle with the wound as possible, but there was nothing he could do to ease the pain. After applying the health potion, he handed the medkit over to Mane, who now replaced Flame's spot in front of Wemmbu.
Wemmbu raised an eyebrow in confusion, no way was he letting Mane take care of him, he hardly even agreed for it to be Flame. Quietly, he backed off, his tail lashing in annoyance.
Mane, noticing his discomfort sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in what seemed to be annoyance, but Wemmbu knew wasn't. "Wemmbu, bro, I have to stitch you up, Flame isn't all that experienced with that. Please— just try to stay still, It'll be quick, I promise," he reassured softly.
Wemmbu just glared at him weakly and rolled his eyes, shifting a bit closer anyway, "Whatever, hurry up so that I can finally leave," he grumbled, annoyed once again. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want to go just yet.
Mane nodded before taking out the tools needed, and started stitching up the wound. It was quite deep, even a bit life threatening, but nothing Wemmbu couldn't handle.
Flame stood near them, making sure Law wasn't coming to ambush them. His gaze flickered towards the other two every once in a while, still a bit worried— wait, what? He wasn't worried! Of course not!
Wemmbu tried to be as still as possible, but the whole process hurt badly. He hissed as the wound was finally sealed.
Mane's gaze shot up, he muttered a quiet, "Sorry.." before taking out some bandages and wrapping them around Wemmbu's torso. They would need changing later, but this should do for now.
After finishing stitiching the wound and wrapping it up, Mane got up and stretched lazily.
Wemmbu rolled his eyes at that, typical Mane. It seemed like the lion hybrid was finally done with the whole healing process. Wemmbu could only exhale in relief, he was getting out of here as soon as possible.
Slowly, he picked up Gambit and stashed it into his inventory. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up, "I will be going now, bye," his words were harsh. It's not like he cared, he just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere but here.
At that, Mane shot up and appeared right in front of him. How was he so fast? Wemmbu shook his head, no need for these dumb-ahh questions now, not the time.
His raised an eyebrow in confusion befofe muttering a quiet, "What?" He just wanted to get this over with and to never see Mane or Flame again.
Mane just sighed softly as he looked away, scratching the back of his neck in a way that seemed almost as if nervous. He took a deep breath as he finally spoke, "Wemmbu I— please just wait for a bit.. I want to talk to you," his voice stripped of it's usual edge.
Flame seemed to hear what was happening, instead of stepping in, he just walked a bit further, seemingly giving his brother space to be open to whatever he wanted to say. How thoughtful.
At that, Wemmbu froze. No, no, no he couldn't do this now. He couldn't bear another talk with him. It was all too much, he couldn't afford to be vulnerable once again. He swallowed a lump in his throat, "Mane, I don't wanna hear it. You left me for years, and now you wanna talk?" he spit in anger, his voice like poison.
Mane flinched back, it's been a while since he heard Wemmbu sound so angry, well a while since he heard him at all, but not the point. He knew he wasn't going to get this easily, Wemmbu had always been stubborn, even after all these years, it's like nothing has changed.
He sighed as he reached behind his head, his hands wrapping around the blindfold tightly tied around his eyes. In one swift motion, he pulled and the orange blindfold was off, revealing majestic purple eyes staring right at Wemmbu.
They stung a bit, as the cool air practicality abused his eyes. They were sensitive, way too sensitive for this world, the only reason he wore a blindfold for.
Mane took the blindfold and handed it to Wemmbu. Showing him that he was trustworthy, since he only let Wemmbu see his eyes a few times.
Wemmbu's eyes widened as he saw those familiar eyes. The egde they used to carry was now replaced with that sad, desperate, pleading look he wasn't familiar with. Something about that made him pause and reconsider it.
He took the blindfold and looked at it as if it held the answers to absolutely everything. His grip tightening around it, in a protective way.
Wemmbu sighed loudly, and finally properly looked at Mane, who could only stare back in expectation. "Fine, whatever, let's just get this over with," he mumbled quietly.
Mane's eyes lit up at that, his tail wagging behind him, indicating he was happy. He spoke up, "Thank you, Wemmbu, you won't regret it."
Wemmbu scoffed at that, trying not to smile, but his expression betrayed him. "Don't make me regret this," he said, trying to look annoyed.
All of a sudden, Mane got all serious, his tail stopped wagging, his eyes dull and somewhat empty. He took in a deep breath, fidgeting with his fingers as he laughed nervously, "Where do I even start?" It seemed he wasn't all that confident in himself.
Wemmbu gave him a deadpan look, rolling his eyes at that, his tail lashed behind him with the new annoyance at that. Seriously, this guy wanted to talk so bad just to end up not knowing what to say? Pathetic.
Mane sighed and sat down on a nearby tree log, patting the spot beside him for Wemmbu to sit. After he did, Mane finally started talking, "Wemmbu, I wanted to apologize for— you know, everything." he looked away, unable to look at his former student.
"I'm sorry I sold Egg out, I was just— mad, mad about the fact that you wouldn't listen to me. I know it was wrong, I know that a sorry won't fix it, I know I messed up."
Wemmbu stilled, he hadn't expected anything real coming from Mane, but here he was, apologizing for his past. His eyes stung, and he chose to ignore the feeling of the tears pickling at the corner of his eyes.
Mane took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry I left that sign, I never really meant what I said, it was just an impulsive decision, something to make myself feel better, but after I left, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I know I was in the wrong, If I could go back in time, I would try and fix everything. I'm sorry for being a bad mentor."
And that did it, those last few words broke Wemmbu completely. What he tried to hold in, came back spilling as he sobbed quietly.
Mane's eyes widened in confusion, before softening. He stood up and held out his hand to Wemmbu, wanting him to take it. Wemmbu looked up, confusion written all across his face, he stiffened as he finally took the lion hybird's hand.
Only then did Mane pull him into a tight, comforting, embarce. Strong arms wrapped around him, one rubbing comforting cricles on his back, and the other holding his head gently.
Wemmbu sobbed loudly and returned the hug, wrapping his arms tightly around his mentor. Tears couldn't stop streaming down his face, staining Mane's orange hoodie. Suddenly he spoke up, his voice muffled against Mane's chest, "I missed you so much I– You didn't have to leave…”
Mane only held him tighter, whispering soft reassurances to calm his student down. “I know, I know, I'm really sorry,” he mumbled softly, scratching his hair gently while rubbing circles on his back.
It took Wemmbu a while to calm down, but even when he did, he couldn't let go. And deep down, Mane knew he couldn't either.
•×•
Flame watched from a distance as the both his brother and his rival made up. He smiled softly before turning around and walking away. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.