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Hours? No, days, weeks, almost a year with how many months had passed. Maybe it had been a year, he didn't really care to check, he didn't want to have to remember what day exactly it had happened. or remember the events of that day at all. Besides, Hummer wouldn't have wanted him to be paying attention to such silly details, it could've happened on any day of the year, the date was nothing to worry about.
..actually scratch that, Hummer was the kind of man to connect the I-phone 13 to a 13th century thief from some unnamed village if it'd mean that he could see Levi. He could, and would expect Wifies to remember this kind of thing for a proper investigation.
He'd say he was a really good investigator, having been a myth debunker, theorist, and ARG enthusiast for years, he had quite a lot of experience in going insane over the tiny details, and you'd think it would be the perfect skill set to investigate the disappearance of a man who died right behind him and just disappeared.
Turns out there's things even he can't do. At least, he can't do it well. It wasn't enough, really nothing was enough. How do you find a man lost to a god? It's not like a search and rescue could do it, he could be stuck in a dimension only locked to that god, or stuck in the depths of the ocean, he could even be dead by now!
No. No, he refuses to believe that possibility. Not after Hummer went through so much just to pull him into this stupidly insane situation, there is absolutely no way that this stubborn, book smart man could be dead, he refused to believe it after Hummer had doomed him to a certainly unfortunate fate, after seeing the heart of what he assumes is the Leviathan. Hummer would rather be waterboarded until his circuits fried, than ever simply quit at something so simple as death. He was not that kind of man, and Wifies knew that incredibly well.
Maybe he knew Hummer too well.
Or.. Hummer knew him too well, well enough to know he'd assume this. What a mystery Hummer was—is, he is a mystery.
You know, you'd think he'd be used to insane scenarios by now, being a myth hunter and all, he's seen some wild shit.
Turns out, getting turned into a merman is a possibility. And he was in no way prepared, nor used to something like this, to be fair, who is?
He assumes it was some kind of parting gift from the Leviathan, he'd woken up back in the area with that asshole who stole his money, suddenly his ears replaced by large fins and parts of his skin were randomly covered in shiny scales. After he left the world, returning to his own, he'd also discovered water could allow his body to transform his legs into a fish tail.
Kind of reminds him of that one series he used to see pop up on Netflix, H2O something.
..back on track.
Because of this gift, he'd found there are SOME pluses to being a fish guy, water breathing, sharp teeth and.. claws, somehow. Because of this, he finds his search radius had managed to grow, it was nice. He was happy for that, it made the possibility of Hummer still somehow being stuck underwater easier to get, no need for those stupid water breathing potions when his body did the work for it.
The only true thing blocking him off was.. Hummer himself.
How do you find the man lost to a god?
How to you find a man who isn't even known by other people? With no apparent living relatives?
It was odd, his search for them was so weirdly empty, not a single lead no matter where he looked. He tried to question the people of that town, including Parameterization, but nothing. Nobody even remembered Hummer's face, not his voice. No leads on the internet, only small links here and there that lead him back to Hummer's original posts.
He even tried hacking for notch's sake! He managed to get into Hummer's account with the minimal coding knowledge that he had, he got into the man's email, checked for every possible thing and NOTHING!
Was this man a figment of his imagination?! It was starting to feel damn like it! But that's insane, isn't it? He feels like he was certainly going insane!
But it wasn't going to be a completely ignored possibility. Hummer, as smart as he is, no human is capable of hiding himself this well. Families exist, information can easily get out, so why is this the exception?
The evidence was certainly piling up, Wifies just couldn't understand where it was going. He scoured everywhere, any other possible solution but it all came back to this strange, fuzzy solution that only gave him a sense of dread.
Was he talking to a dead man? Was he really the insane one this entire time? Was this entire story a fluke made by his crumbling mind? Was he dead?
No. He couldn't be. That couldn't make sense because he could still interact with others, despite all the confusion and changes in his body, he knew for a fact that he was still a living, breathing human being. Even if he was part fish too.
He was real, he is real and he will stay real.
And with that thought in mind, he had an idea.
It was a stupid one, sure, but at this point all ideas were stupid if it meant finding Hummer. He'd been so stuck in this fit that everything had to make some logical sense. But that isn't how Hummer would've seen it.
If he had to find Hummer, he would try and think like Hummer.
And for all his intelligence, Hummer's logic and thoughts..
they were whimsical, if he had to put it lightly.
And what would this whimsical, insane man think of with his beautifully confusing brain? He would think..
He would think that the man he is searching for has hid more than just a life story, not just for privacy. He would think that the man had more power than originally assumed.
Maybe, just maybe.
He'd think- no, believe this man could be the very same Leviathan that Wifies and him had been searching for this entire time.
"This is absurd, can't believe I'm doing this." He grumbled to the air, standing atop his little boat as he removed his pants to make way for the tail that was about to come. "It's insane! Like more insane than any of my ARG theories, like ever!" Don't ask who he's talking to, he doesn't know.
Shivering a bit from his bare bottom exposed to the air, he'd take a breath. "Okay, Wifies. You've got this. You spent the better half of the 2025 to 2026 years hanging out with this TV head dude, lost him, and investigated him. You are not going to be bested by strange anomalies and deep water! You have literally faced the government after theorizing on the disappearance of someone, you can do this!" He would jump a bit in place, hands waving around as he spoke. "I was built for this kind of thing! I am Wifies! I am strong, and capable, and I went to Harvard!" And then..
Carefully he lifted his leg over the edge of the boat and dipped his toe into the water, to which his legs slapped together, muscles contorting and moving, his skin quickly, and painfully hardening at the top layer to become scales.
All the while, he flopped pathetically down onto the boat, his side bludgeoned by the edge of the boat.
"..ffreeak, ow." Wifies groaned, curling in on himself in agony. "Maybe I'm not built for this.."
With a newfound insecurity, he'd slowly let himself slide off of the boat into the water, taking a deep breath of air before his head submerged.
He'd quickly exhale, the gills on the sides of his torso slowly opening up. "Okay, time to do this."
The water was deep, impossibly deep, a void of nothing but darkness, darkness, and the occasional fish. Wifies moved slow, he knew enough about diving, making sure to let his body adjust to the increase in pressure as he went down was the most important part, at least besides the whole.. trying out this stupid idea and surviving it, part.
What was this idea exactly? Good question!
He had a theory, and after so long of nothing working.. he decided to go with it.
If Hummer was somehow more connected to the Leviathan than he thought, or Notch forbid, IS the Leviathan.. then clearly Hummer would come back if he came looking for the creature or god, thing.
He just had to believe, right? It's how he lost Hummer, it's how he'll get Hummer back. Surely.
Eventually, with his eyes adjusting to the low amount of light he'd finally begun to see the bottom of the ocean, he was honestly surprised it didn't take longer, he probably just zoned out or had managed to stop above an exceptionally shallow part of the ocean. Holding his hands out, he'd swim over to the bottom. He'd prefer to have solid ground to hold onto as he traversed the bottom.
But when he finally touched it..
It was solid. Not like a rock, but smooth, like his own scales. It was strange. Had he landed on something? Was this the reason this area was so shallow? Maybe it was an ocean monument, some abandoned one without lights?
Or..
Before he could theorize alone, the ground beneath him began to rumble, a vibration that made the whole ocean tremble. He quickly swam upwards a few feet away from the ground just before the ground opened.
Opened? It opened!
Indeed it did, splitting apart to reveal an impossibly massive eyeball, with a small oval shaped pupil surrounded by a sea of orange and yellows that lit up the area.
He found it.
He found him.
And he was staring right at Wifies, with such an intense stare that it felt like he'd have a hole burned straight through his body.
"What..?" It felt suffocating, an overwhelming urge to escape washing over his whole body. But he did not move, only the occasional sway of his tail to keep himself suspended above the eye as he stared just as intensely into the beast. He refused to falter this time, Hummer would've never even thought of moving, so even as he thought about it he didn't give in.
And that was enough for it. The eye lids slowly returning to a closed position as the massive body sank into the depths, and for a moment there was silence once more.
"What..?" He began to look around, then back down. "What just HAPPENED?"
"YOU'RE JUST GOING TO APPEAR AND THEN LEAVE ME ALONE!?" He began to wave his arms around in anger. "I WENT THROUGH ALL THIS TROUBLE FOR YOU TO—"
"Wifies."
"NO SHUT UP HOLD ON HUMMER-"
"..Wifies-"
"STOP I HAVE A POINT TO MAKE, I WENT THROUGH ALL THIS TROUBLE FOR YOU TO AURA FARM AND LEAVE ME!? Wait-" He whipped around, eyes widening as just behind himself was.. it was Hummer.
That stupid TV head, well, kind of TV. His head had some TV attributes, but still the shape slightly resembled a human head with cable wires coming out of it tied into a loose bun akin to hair, with some new added traits. His two crooked antenna now fused together into one angler fish-like rod with a glowing end that slightly swayed in the water, and on the sides of his head were fins splayed out, similarly to the ones Wifies had.
"You're.. What-" He just blinked a bit.
"I'm alive, yes." He nodded.
"I.. I can't beli-" He'd pause as Hummer raised his hand, lifting his index finger to where his own mouth would be, had he actually had a human face. "Don't waste your time, you believed it this whole time you came down here. Even if you doubted it previously, you believed enough to come down here, that was enough for me." His voice was oddly calming, after all the insanity he'd went through not even just today but the past few months of searching as well, Hummer's voice could've almost lulled him to sleep if he wasn't careful.
"I'm surprised it took you this long to connect the dots, Wifies. Did it not click when I told you to believe in me? That when you believed in me, it was synonymous in believing in Levi?" Hummer only chuckled at Wifies' shock, slowly swimming closer.
"I mean.. it's kind of.. hard to believe that? I thought it was metaphorical or something!" He leaned back, watching Hummer's hands stretch out to gently cup Wifies' face, unfazed by how apprehensive he looked, because he knew Wifies. He knew, and believed Wifies was only nervous.
"Look at you, my gift was certainly a good idea.. did you like it? I knew you could put this to good use." He would hold Wifies so carefully, thumbs caressing his cheeks. "Kind of annoying at first, but I got used to it. I mean.. it's a lot easier to eat stuff now, and easier to cut my tongue." Wifies leaned into the touch, he didn't know what compelled him to, but he did. "You'll get used to it soon enough, I have faith in your ability." Hummer would nod, letting go of Wifies' face to gently slide his hands underneath the man's arms, slowly beginning to swim back upwards.
"What are you doing?" Wifies didn't really move, just allowing himself to be pulled. What else was he going to do? "Bringing you back to your boat, I'm sure you have many questions that you'd much rather answer while not in the deep." Despite having no face, his screen slightly cracked from some past accident, his voice held a hint of a smile. He was amused. "Okay.. I guess that makes sense." Eventually Wifies got himself moving on his own, moving away from Hummer so he could swim beside the man. "Does this mean I have to call you Levi now..? Or do you still want to be called Hummer?" He'd look over at the TV, head tilted to the side.
"Hummer is fine, I know you're used to calling this form that name, and I quite like it. The Leviathan is such a bland name, isn't it? It has so little flair after so long of being used." Hummer would return the gaze for a moment, before focusing on the sight ahead of the two as the boat came into view. "I guess it makes sense, being called 'The Leviathan' after a couple thousand or so years has GOT to be boring.." He nodded.
"Yes, you understand." As they reached the boat, Hummer was the first to surface and climb onto it, reaching down so as Wifies surfaced, he could pull the merman onto the boat. Wifies taking a deep breath through his mouth as his gills closed up. "So.. wait, does this mean that you're like.. all of the stuff you said about growing up isn't real?" He spoke as he got pulled in, being laid comfortably on the boat. Hummer taking the initiative to grab the paddles and start rowing back towards land, which Wifies did not mind, who would? "Somewhat, yes. This body of mine did experience life, but I did not. I created this Hummer persona to be able to reach people like you easier." He nodded, looking down at the comfortable fish. "Wait- does this mean that technically.. the super British accent is faked technically?" He snickered at the thought, and even more so at the implied deadpan he got from the TV head.
"No, this body grew up in the UK, meaning his speech is my speech because I am Hummer. In this body now, I am a man who is British and has grown up in Britain." Hummer shook his head, quite unamused by Wifies' questions.
"Pfft- that is really funny.. The Leviathan, the crazy elusive god, is a freaking British man." He couldn't help but laugh, the idea was so ABSURDLY funny. "Yes.. I am British. Why is that so funny to you?" He did not sound very happy. "I don't know, it's just funny! You'd think this cool god guy would have some ancient accent from an old language, or like.. just be something else! But nah, just a random British dude."
"You humans are so confusing." Hummer sighed, dropping the issue. There wasn't any point in getting upset over it. Besides, Wifies being happy was enough for him, that silly and quite contagious smile was so good at quelling his anger.
"Yeah, but we're funny too so I think that makes up for it, don'tcha think?" Wifies would chuckle, moving in his spot to be able to look at the horizon better, now just spotting the land in the distance. "When we land, we'll collect our things and return back to my server."
"Alright, that sounds fine with me. I'd like to get back to having legs soon." Nodding, Wifies would lean his head back and instead stare up at the sky. "I like having a tail, but.. it's kinda annoying after a while, especially knowing I could be doing a lot of stuff right now if it weren't for the tail." He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. "That's understandable, don't worry Wifies. We'll be back at the server in no time, would you like for me to help you dry off? I'm sure having four hands at your disposal would be useful, no?"
"Pfft, yeah right. As long as you're okay with seeing my bare butt cheeks when I get my legs back."
"I don't mind."
"What-"
The two didn't take long, they reached land, Wifies got dried up and dressed, and then they headed off to Hummer's server where they'd enter a house built by Hummer himself. A small replica of his childhood home, fully functional as an actual home
"So.." Wifies sat at the table in the kitchen, head and arms laid over the table while he waited for Hummer, who was currently cooking up a meal for himself and Wifies. "So?"
"What's the point?"
"The point of what, exactly, Wifies?" Hummer looked over to the fish man, tilting his head. "I mean.. the point of this? Why go through all the trouble to find someone like me.. and turn me into this?" He spoke almost absentmindedly, dragging his finger over the table to trace shapes into the small layer of dust that had collected over the months of neglect. "..Gods aren't as powerful as you might think, Wifies. All of us feed on something, and for me that is belief. The belief in me feeds my strength, and keeps me alive."
"Okay.. and about doing this to me?" Wifies raised his brow as he sat up, pointing to the fins on his head. "Because you're special to me, Wifies." Hummer would let out a sigh, not a tired one, more amused than anything as he turns back to the stove, reaching out his hand to turn grab the dial and switching the burner he was using off. He'd stir his pot just a bit before letting it simmer with the remaining heat, then began approaching Wifies. "..Special? What does—"
"Do not speak, let me do this." Hummer stopped beside the man, a finger pressed against his lips to silence him, before his hand would move once more to gently grasp his jaw from below.
He would lean in, holding Wifies' head in place. Relishing in the hitch in his breath, the slight upturn of his brow and the widening of those beautiful and deep purple eyes of his, with a slight shimmer of blue, red, green, all reflected from Hummer's screen.
"Let me show you how special you are to me, Wifies." He would stare for a moment more, and then lean in. His screen pressed lightly against Wifies' lips and giving off a gentle static-y shock that made his skin tingle.
And Wifies would lean in.