Chapter Text
Escaping the Cindercrest Army, Parrot, Theo, and Reina found themselves climbing a steep mountain. The wind was blowing harshly and the rain had started pouring. In their panic, Parrot slipped. He was about to fall to his doom when Theo grabbed him and pulled him back up, but due to his momentum, Theo fell in Parrot's place instead.
No totem, no water bucket to clutch, no nothing. It was a long drop. He'd definitely die from this height.
“Theo!”
Theo heard Parrot and Reina shout in horror.
Theo laughed helplessly as he was about to fall to his death.
Theo never thought that this would be how he dies. He thought he'd at least die honorably in battle, not whilst escaping from war.
“Well, at least I saved Parrot,” he muttered to himself.
Theo closed his eyes and promptly fainted before he hit the ground.
Splat. Dead.
At least, that's what Theo had assumed… So why is he staring up at some stone ceiling?
‘Is this supposed to be heaven?’
Theo pushed himself up into a half sitting position. One precursory glance to his surroundings, Theo noted that this could not be heaven.
No, he was in a cave.
Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat.
He can still hear the rain softly dropping outside the cave. The smell of wet soil grounded him and made him recall what happened just before he fainted.
He was sure that he fell. He shouldn't have survived from the height he fell from, right?
Buzz.
His head suddenly hurt. Theo winced from all that thinking. Why is he even thinking? He has companions to do the thinking for him. What a great idea! He could just ask Parrot or Reina about what happened. So, he started looking around for his friends.
Theo saw Reina on the look out just at the opening of the cave—she hasn't noticed him yet. Theo then searched for Parrot and was relieved that he was sleeping soundly.
But his body stiffened up when he saw someone else besides his best friend.
“Wifies?”
Is Theo actually dead? Why can he see the dead best friend of his own best friend??
The supposedly dead player looked at Theo in shock, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. But Wifies(?) had quickly regained his composure as if he already realized what happened. Wifies smiled and was about to speak to Theo when someone beat him to the punch.
“Theo?”
Theo glanced towards the voice. Reina had heard him speak and quickly approached him.
“Are you okay? You scared us.”
Theo looked back and forth between Reina and Wifies.
“I'm fine… Y– can't you see him?”
“Who?”
Reina glanced back to where Theo was staring at but could only see Parrot.
“Oh, Parrot? He's fine, just resting. You better be ready to get scolded by him when he wakes up though.”
“No! The person beside Parrot, Wifies!”
“What? Who's Wifies? Did you hit your head too hard?”
“Wha–??”
“You should get more rest. You're probably hallucinating.”
Theo paused. Maybe he was hallucinating. Reluctantly, he nodded and laid back down. It was easy enough to fall back to sleep, especially with his throbbing headache forcing him to shut down.
But when he woke back up, Wifies was still there…
“Wi–”
Theo’s call for the supposedly dead player was cut off when Wifies had gestured for him to be quiet with his index finger placed in front of his lips before disappearing.
However, Theo had already made a sound, alerting Parrot to his condition.
“Theo! You're awake! Thank God, bro. I– I thought you were…”
‘Dead?’ Theo's mind unhelpfully supplied.
Theo knew his fellow avian friend struggled with the word, especially with all the losses Parrot had been through. Theo tried to look for Wifies before turning back to his best friend.
Theo's eyes softened. He smiled at Parrot to reassure him.
“I'm okay, Parrot. I'm the biggest bird, remember?”
That comment made Parrot scoff, but there was no contempt or mockery behind it. Instead, it was affectionate. He couldn't believe the cockatiel still had it in him to joke about his near death experience.
“Sure bro. Genuinely though, you scared us,” Parrot awkwardly laughed, looking away. “You said you had no totems left? You should've told us you still had one, bro. We saw one pop when you hit the ground. You got us so worried. Why did you even faint if you knew you had the totem? We had to drag your big ahh back here.”
“Huh? But I really didn't have…”
Theo was sure he didn't have one. All his totems were popped when they fought against Cindercrest. Wemmbu showed up with his mace and well… the purple demon was the reason his totems popped.
So, how did he get another totem? Did he get lucky and landed on a random totem? Maybe an evoker also fell and died on the exact spot he fell on?
Just before Theo spirals into figuring out what happened, he hears a calm voice.
“I gave it to you.”
Theo flinched and whipped his head to the source of the voice. Behind Parrot, he saw Wifies step out. But now that his mind is clearer, Theo finally noticed that Wifies was… translucent. Not just that…
He's disfigured. He had burn marks and… open metal panellings with wires sticking out?
Theo paled at the sight.
“Bro, Theo? Hello?”
Theo snapped out of it, sweat dropping.
“H– huh?”
“Bro… you look like you've seen a ghost.”
Pfft.
Theo had to look back at Wifies with shaking eyes. Wifies was looking at Parrot as he laughed. He was looking at Parrot with so much affection and amusement in his eyes.
Theo considered what Wifies found funny.
A ghost… Parrot was most likely right.
“Oh, Parrot. You have no idea.”
Yup, definitely a ghost then.
Wifies then turned to Theo, eyes kind and lacking the humor it held just now.
“You should talk to him. He might assume you have brain damage if you keep staring at empty air. I'll answer your questions later.”
Theo had no choice but to nod and turn back to Parrot, wincing at the sheer amount of scolding he had to sit through. It doesn't bother him though. He knows Parrot is like this out of care for his friends.
‘Holy yap,’ Theo thought, smiling fondly.
“So… how are you here?”
Theo finally convinced his two friends to sleep and let him keep watch. They were going on about how he literally almost died and that he shouldn't strain himself, but he really was fine. With much convincing and using his signature ‘I’m the biggest bird’ argument, he finally has the chance to talk to Wifies.
Theo observed the misty figure in front of him. Wifies still looks the same if he ignores the disfigurement. He still has his purple bandana and yinyang hoodie.
Theo vaguely remembers his short interactions with Wifies in the Farlands Civilization and District 13. He's not really friends with him, more like acquaintances. All he knows is that he's always with Parrot.
Wifies smiled at Theo.
“Well… I've always been around. I was there when you two had your potion shop. I watched Parrot in all of his adventures. I've been following him ever since I died.”
Theo flinched at the reminder of Wifies' death. He couldn't believe that Wifies was so casual about it too. But that's not what is important right now. Theo shook his head.
“No, I mean… Why can I see you?”
Wifies glanced to the side, Theo followed his line of sight and saw Reina peacefully sleeping.
“Before I answer that question, I have a question of my own. Do you see the ghost right beside Reina too?”
Theo's eyes widened. He whipped his head to look at Wifies and then back at Reina.
“No… I don't see anyone besides Reina.”
Wifies shrugged as if expecting that answer.
“Figured as much.”
“Wait, are there other ghosts around?” Theo asked, slightly freaked out.
“Nah, it's just me and Zoe right now. There might be more when we meet other players though.”
“Zoe… that's Reina’s friend.”
“That's right.”
Theo’s head fell and he went silent for a few moments. He thought about the implications of dead friends lingering as ghosts, following them.
Theo bitterly thought that if he had died back there, he would've stuck around too. He wonders how Wifies and Zoe feels. How would it feel to just be an observer—to see your friends in danger but can't do anything.
He doesn't like it.
Theo was all the more grateful that he's alive. At least this way, he can put himself in front of his friends to fight off any threat that comes their way.
His musings were broken when he heard Wifies.
“I think I know why you can see me specifically.”
Theo's head snapped back up to look at Wifies.
“Yeah, why?”
“It's because I directly interfered with your story.”
“What?”
“You were supposed to die back there.”
“WHAT?”
“Dude, inside voices please. You're gonna wake them up.”
“Right… sorry.”
Theo was… overwhelmed.
It's one thing to ALMOST die. But it's a whole other thing to know that you were SUPPOSED to die.
Theo doesn't know if Wifies is telling the truth, but he also knows that there is no reason for the ghost to lie.
‘Plus… how else can I explain seeing a dead man right now?’
Theo sighed. He looked at Wifies who was just waiting for him to process everything. Wifies was just smiling there, all… ghostly?
It wasn't like his smile was unkind. No, it was just… eerie, in a way, especially with all the damage in Wifies’ body. So, to get his mind off of it, Theo decided to just question the ghost more.
“So…,” Theo started, dragging the word as he shifted his sight to anywhere but Wifies. “Why did you save me?”
Wifies hummed, drawing Theo's attention back. However, Theo wasn't focused on the ghost’s smile anymore. Instead, he took notice of the emotions swirling in the ghost’s eyes.
Sorrow. Regret. Guilt.
“I… Parrot has been through enough. Losing his best friend,” Wifies paused, but Theo can basically hear the unspoken ‘for a second time’ after the word best friend. “... will definitely break him.”
Theo agrees that Parrot has been through enough, but he did want to argue about one thing.
“But Parrot is strong,” Theo saw Wifies still. “Even though he has lost so many people, he still bounced back and continued to make more friends and help more people. Sure, it could break him if I had died, but that's just temporary. He has Reina and other people to help him.”
Wifies looked like he wanted to argue but couldn't form an actual argument. He wanted to say that he knows everything about Parrot. Wifies believed that he knew how Parrot thinks, acts, and feels. But… isn't that false belief what killed him in the first place?
Before Wifies’ thoughts go back to his time in Paragon, Theo delivered the finishing blow.
“I mean… he continued on after your death, didn't he?” Theo watched Wifies as the ghost’s eyes shook. He didn't know why Wifies didn't even think about that. So, he continued his argument. “You were also his best friend, losing you should've broken him by your logic, right? Maybe you should trust that Parrot can handle himself.”
Trust. Isn't that what Wifies struggled with the most.
Before faking his death, Wifies didn't trust that Parrot could take care of himself when in danger, so he built Paragon.
Before he actually died, standing on a wooden pressure plate with Parrot standing in front of him, Wifies didn't trust that Parrot still had hope for him. He didn't think that Parrot would keep the spyglass.
That stupid–not stupid–spyglass. The same spyglass currently in his inventory—or at least the ghost of it.
Vjg tgcn uraincuu ku uvknn kp vjg Rctciqp.
It cost his death, but maybe it was all for the best—a beautiful ending to a story he wrote.
But it wasn't the end, was it? The avian’s story continues on and Wifies is still left wandering as a ghost, watching Parrot's story unfold.
God, he was so stupid.
As a ghost, Wifies has watched over Parrot in his adventures. He watched everything Parrot has been through—every conflict, every lost friend—yet Wifies hadn't learned his lesson. He has been given every reason to trust Parrot, but he was too stubborn to see it.
After his death, he should've learned to trust the avian to handle himself.
Maybe he did, to a certain extent.
He trusted Parrot for his intelligence and ability to get out of danger, but he had failed to see, let alone trust, Parrot’s grit and determination.
No, that's wrong. He did see and trust Parrot's grit and determination. He just had some doubts, his trust wasn't complete.
Old habits do tend to die hard.
‘Was that the reason I haven't crossed over yet?’
Wifies thought of Parrot's other friends that died. They stuck for a while before disappearing, seemingly content.
As much as he enjoys watching Parrot’s adventure, he can't help but yearn for a proper end to his story.
But how?
How can he resolve his unfinished business?
Would apologizing to Parrot help? How does one even apologize as a ghost? Would Parrot even accept his apology?
Before he gets even more lost in his thoughts, a hand was basically shoved into his view, waving in front of him.
“Hello? Earth to Wifies? Yoo-hoo!”
“Huh?”
“Yo, you alright?”
Right… he was talking to Theo.
“Yeah… just– you're right. I should trust Parrot.”
Wifies smiled, while Theo scoffed.
“Ha! Of course I'm right. I always am.”
Theo said smugly. Wifies rolled his eyes fondly.
“Sure you are, dude.”
Although it hurts to admit that Theo was now Parrot's best friend, he can't help but regard this cockatiel fondly for being there for Parrot and being able to protect him.
“Anyway, you still haven't explained how you saved me? You said something about a story… what does that even mean?”
“Well, it has something to do with my ability. I found out early on that ghosts could have powers or abilities that can help them interact with the physical world, but we don't use it much because it drains our energy. It's why I look like this right now. Using the ability reverts my appearance back to the time I died.”
“So, you used this ability?”
“Yeah… I call it ‘Rewrite’. Most ghosts don't even know they have this ability since they cross over pretty quickly. So far, it's only me and Zoe who can control ours.”
‘Cross over? Is that like… going to heaven?’
Theo thought about why Wifies and Zoe hadn't crossed over. Maybe it's like having grudges or having unfinished business… that's what most fiction depicts ghosts as, right? Spiritual entities—souls—with attachments to the physical world.
However, instead of focusing on that, Theo asked about something else.
“Wait… can Zoe potentially save Reina too if she's in trouble like you did?”
At that, Wifies shook his head, which made Theo confused.
“Different ghosts have different abilities. It depends on the identity they built when they were alive. Although she can't give Reina a totem like I did, Zoe could still save her in some other way. She told me that her ability is called ‘Satiate’. She can give a player effects similar to a suspicious stew with oxeye daisy.”
“Oh! So, saturation and regen!”
“That's right.”
“Okay, I get how Zoe got her ability since I knew how she… died. But, why is yours called ‘Rewrite’ and why does it sound OP?”
Wifies pursed his lips. He is contemplating whether he should share everything about what went on between him and Parrot.
The thing is… he doesn't know how Theo would react to the story. Will he get mad on Parrot’s behalf? Will he understand why he did it?
‘I mean… Theo is as protective as I was… the only difference is that Theo has the PvP skills to fall back to, he didn't have to feel as helpless as I did when Parrot needed help.’
But after thinking about it, Theo was his only shot at getting closure with Parrot and potentially crossing over. Although there is no guarantee of Theo’s help if he does share his story, it's worth a shot. After all, if Theo does get mad, Wifies can just reason that he needs Theo's help to cross over if they didn't want Wifies around even as a ghost anymore.
After a bit more consideration, Wifies sighed and looked into Theo's eyes.
“Have you heard of the Director?”