Chapter Text
“I just- I have a question,” Wemmbu said. He quickly typed on his communicator for Egg to fly away as he stared at PrinceZam, who was standing on top of a post. It probably held torches at some point, or something.
“Sure, let’s hear it.” The empress hummed, clearly amused.
“What’s in the vault-?”
“Oh, that’s on a need to know-”
“Everyone that’s come here hasn’t gone for it. They just- they just tried to kill me. And I mean, there’s- the vault doesn’t even have anything in it!”
Zam snickered, before laughing quietly. “So you figured it out?”
“I think you just want to kill me,” Wemmbu narrowed his eyes.
“Ha-! You think I want to kill you, my sweet sweet Wemmbu?” Zam chuckled.
“Well what else has been happening?” The demonic avian deadpanned.
“Yeah, I mean,” the empress hummed, “the whole betrayal thing was made up; I did ask Flame to kill you. But you know what I realized?”
“..What?” Wemmbu took a step back and Zam hopped off the post she was standing on. And subtly, the demonic avian pressed a button on his communicator to make sure Egg could hear everything, since both of them had muted up earlier.
“You’re a little too pathetic to be killed, Wemmbu,” the changeling stated. “You know, I was going to have you killed cause I thought you’d betray me, like in the trial chambers. I thought you were gonna try and ruin my empire, so I was going to have you killed.”
“I- what?-”
“You’re just so unbelievably weak that- I’m not even going to try to kill you!” Zam laughed, “I mean, just look at you! You don’t have any boots on, your hair is honestly a mess, your entire place is blown up; you’re not a threat to my empire, not even a little bit. You’re nothing.”
“What are you going to do if not kill me, then?” Wemmbu asked tensely. By now his hands were tightly clenched around his shield and axe. Not that they did anything, though.
“Sorhin, Merffinn,” Zam called her guards’ names, “you know what to do.”
And before Wemmbu could do anything the two guards were already cornering him. He was too weak from his recent fight with Flamefrags, his gear was messed up, and to be a little honest his mind was still trying to catch up with what was happening. Because Zam had just betrayed him and apparently been betraying him. He should have listened to Egg the moment the angel said he didn’t trust the changeling.
Soon enough the demonic avian was stuck in a small obsidian box, fully surrounded. Even if he tried to mine his way out, the guards just put more obsidian and then cobwebs in his way. Trying to escape was useless.
“And now for what I had planned,” Zam said. Wemmbu’s eyes widened when he spotted a yellow shulker box -a chunk ban- in the empress’ hand.
“Wait a second-” Wemmbu began protesting. “You don’t- Zam you don’t need to chunkban me or anything-”
“I’m not taking any risks, Wemmbu,” Zam hummed. She stepped closer, presumingly to where the chunk border was. The empress was just outside of it, while Wemmbu was stuck inside it.
“Zam-” Wemmbu started, his voice just on the edge of begging. His eyes darted around, before landing on Flame. The demonic lion looked.. Uneasy, maybe. Conflicted even. The demonic avian looked away. “Zam you couldn’t even keep Spoke chuckbanned for a week, I mean, come on-”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen with you,” she glared. “Enjoy, my sweet sweet Wemmbu.”
“Zam!-”
Zam tossed the chunkbanned.
It hit the ground.
And-
The first thing Wemmbu felt was cold.
And then nothing.
And then everything.
He could feel his rapid heartbeat, his quick breathing, the small bit of sweat gathered on his cold skin. He could feel how raw his throat felt from yelling at Zam, his harsh blinking, his tears beginning to pool in his eyes. He could feel how tense his body was, how the hair on his arms and behind his neck pricked up, how goosebumps rattled over him.
He could feel the blood in his veins moving, he could feel his stomach twist, he could feel his bones and joints lock up, he could feel the air moving around inside and outside his body, he could feel everything.
And it was pure torture.
One moment he was cold. One moment he was burning up.
One moment he was standing up, back pressed against obsidian, hands pounding at the black-purple block to see if he could somehow break it without a tool. The next moment he felt nothing behind him, his hands hitting at nothing.
Just one moment changed everything.
One moment passed by and everything was different.
He couldn’t hear the explosions of his empire being blown up, he couldn’t smell the gunpowder, he couldn’t feel the grass beneath his shoes, he couldn’t see the blue sky and white clouds, he couldn’t taste the saliva in his mouth.
He could hear.. Nothing.
He could smell nothing.
He felt.. Nothing?
He saw… Black? Or was it Void? Or was it also.. Nothing?
He tasted nothing.
Was this what nihility was?
Wemmbu hated it.
Wemmbu.. Wemmbu was just confused. He didn’t get it. He didn’t get why Zam betrayed, why Zam chunkbanned him, why he was here. No, he knew why he was here, he just didn’t know what here was. It was a chunkban, sure, but…
The demonic avian paused. He took a breath-
The demonic avian couldn’t breathe.
He froze. He tried again. Nothing. He didn’t take in anything, he didn’t push anything out, his chest didn’t move, his lungs had stopped. Yet he wasn’t choking. He wasn’t dying.
Wemmbu waited, and counted for five minutes. And still no reaction. Was time just frozen here? Was time even a thing here?
He tried to speak.
“Hello?”
‘Hello?’
Hello?
Hello
Hel-..
H…
…
Okay. He could speak. It just faded away. It echoed. And then disappeared.
But not like how words normally disappeared, not in the way where they left someone’s mouth and drifted off into the air for you to remember later. It just.. Disappeared. Like it had never been said. And for a moment, Wemmbu forgot if he had spoken at all.
He hated this.
Wemmbu hated this.
The demonic avian wanted out.
He wanted to get out of whatever he was in, and then punch Zam. Maybe kill her. Maybe chunkban her, let her see what it feels like. And for a while, Wemmbu just thought about revenge.
~~~
Time passed, maybe. Or maybe it didn’t. He didn’t know. Wemmbu couldn’t tell anymore, the only way he could keep track was by counting in his head. But he didn’t have the energy for that, it was like this place was sucking him dry. Draining him in a way he had never felt drained before.
He learned eventually that he could move. Kind of. He floated, instead of keeping his feet on the ground. Because from what he could tell there was no ground. There was no up or down, or left or right, or any direction. There just was. And maybe there wasn’t.
Wemmbu would try and spin himself upside down, to see if he’d get that familiar, sickly and dizzy feeling. There was nothing. It was like he had never moved in the first place.
Slowly, he thought less about revenge.
Just about where he was. Where he wasn’t.
What he was. What he wasn’t.
When he got here. When time passed, or when it didn’t pass.
Who he was. Who he wasn’t.
Why he was here. Why he wasn’t somewhere else.
How he was alone. How he didn’t even know if he was alone or not.
Quickly, Wemmbu learned that being wherever or whenever or whatever he was, let him think. Think for a very, very long time. Or none at all.
He thought about Zam. He thought about her empire. He thought of his own empire. He thought about Eggchan. He missed Egg.
Oh Void.
Wemmbu wouldn’t get to see Egg anymore. He might never get to see Egg again. How- how would he live like that? Was he even alive? If he got freed would he be alive? Would he remember Egg, or be able to find the angel? Does Egg even know what happened?
If he could breathe it would be quickening. It would become ragged. It would stop and restart as Wemmbu tried to catch his breath. Except he couldn’t breathe. He could only panic without feeling the effects of it.
Which was worse, because it meant he wouldn’t pass out. He would just spiral and spiral and think and think and think and it would never stop until he calmed down which he would have to do himself because he was alone and that just made everything worse all over again.
Wemmbu wanted to go home.
~~
The demonic avian had spiraled for a while. Or not a while. It felt like forever. And maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. He had no clue. Wemmbu gave up trying to keep track of time. He gave up questioning where he was. He gave up a lot of things already.
But he kept his stubbornness.
His spite.
His rage.
His hope.
Wemmbu knew he’d get out eventually. When that time comes he has no idea.
Maybe it’d be when chunkbanning got fixed and patched again.
Maybe it’d be when someone came to save him.
Maybe it’d be when Zam wants to use him again.
Maybe maybe maybe.
So many maybes, and not enough reassurance. Or confirmation. Or anything.
Because here, in the chunkban, nothing mattered. Nothing existed. Nothing was allowed to be. Nothing could be free, nothing could be trapped, nothing could feel, nothing could move, nothing could do nothing. And Wemmbu was trying so hard to not become part of that nothingness.
He repeated his name.
Wemmbu Wemmbu Wemmbu.
He repeated Egg’s name.
Eggchan Eggchan Eggchan.
He, since he wanted revenge, repeated Zam’s name.
PrinceZam PrinceZam PrinceZam.
Sometimes he’d remember Manepear.
Or Flamefrags.
Or Pangi.
Or SpokeIsHere.
Or ParrotX2.
Or Clownpierce.
Sometimes he forgot who they were.
Then he randomly remembered.
At some point, Wemmbu didn’t know when, Wemmbu felt like he was going insane. He felt like whatever space or Void or nothing he was in was eating him alive. Like it was taking from him. And taking. And taking. And never giving him anything.
Did he even deserve to be given anything? Did he deserve to be free from whatever he was in, whatever he was not in? Did he deserve to be put here? In this nothing?
…Did he do something wrong? When did he, if he did? Zam never told him anything, she never told him anything, and now Wemmbu was stuck in nothing. He wasn’t stuck with nothing, he was stuck in nothing, and he hated it!
He wanted to be with Eggchan again. Eggchan. His best friend. His day one. His brother. His angel. His Egg. He wanted to just be with Egg, to stay with Egg, to see or even hear Egg. Wemmbu wanted to go home. He wanted to go to Eggchan.
~
Nothing mattered.
So maybe everything mattered.
Who was he to decide?
He was just a stupid, naive, demonic avian who didn’t know anything.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know enough. He didn’t know anything.
Sure, he could still speak. He said random words to make sure he never forgot how to speak. He said the alphabet. He said names. He said plans.
Yes, he could move. He spun around, because he never got dizzy from it. He floated about to see if he could find a wall or ceiling or floor. He stretched, even if he never felt sore.
And okay, maybe he could still think. He thought of plans. He thought of people. He thought of places, items, and revenge, and the grass and sky and stars and trees and lights that he would never get to see again!
…
But, he couldn’t fight. He had no tools or items. All he had was his organs that paused their work. And his hair that didn’t grow. And his clothes that never moved even if he moved. And all he had was himself and nothing else.
One time he forgot his name. He got it mixed up with Eggchan’s. At least he didn’t forget Egg. Then he remembered Egg calling him Wemmbu. Sometimes Wemm or Wems. And one time Bu.
Nearly, he forgot what he once. Then he looked at his dark purple, almost black tail with a spade end, and his violet and gray feathered wings, and he tried to feel for his dark purple, almost black set of horns. He was an End demon. He was a violet-backed starling.
Wemmbu, because that’s his name, his name is Wemmbu and he’s a demonic avian and he wanted to learn how to use a mace and he’s best friends with a seraphim named Eggchan, wanted to leave.
This abyss, this Void, this black, this nothingness.
“Can I leave yet?”
‘Can I leave yet?’
Can I leave yet?
Can I leave…
Can I le-..
Can I…
Can..
Ca-..
…
Of course.
Echoes.
Repeats.
Mockery.
Why didn’t he think of it sooner? This was all to mock him! To show that he was weak and worthless and naive! He never should have trusted that ruler in the first place. He shouldn’t have trusted anyone other than himself and Egg!-
He- he..
“Please let me go home already..”
‘Please let me go home already..’
Please let me go home already..
Please let me go home alre…
Please let me go ho-..
Please let me go…
Please let m-..
Please l-..
Pleas-...
Plea…
Pl..
…
~~~
It’d been five months since Zam made possibly the best decision she’d ever made: Chunkbanning Wemmbu. The empire had been thriving like usual, but now they didn’t need to waste resources on a random colony with barely any citizens. Those citizens either joined the grander empire, or simply left.
They hadn’t found where Wemmbu’s little friend went, however. So they had no idea what the angel was up to. Zam just had to hope that Eggchan didn’t know about Wemmbu getting chunkbanned; and if he did then Zam would just have to hope that Egg didn’t try anything.
But there were no worries about that. Zam hadn’t worried about Wemmbu in a month now, after making sure that there was no possible way for the demonic avian to get out. Anyways, back to Zam. Because Wemmbu didn’t matter anymore. He wasn’t a problem to be worried about.
Currently, the empress was learning about an uprising faction. The Invisible Mafia, supposedly. From what Zam’s guards had gathered, they wore invis constantly, sometimes did assassinations, occasionally did trading, and had a lot of resources. Like- they were rich enough to rival the PrinceZam Empire.
Even worse was the fact that Zam’s pretty sure that when Flame and Mane left her empire, they went to the mafia instead. They had the combat skills for sure, they’d become pretty high-ranked quickly. Diamond-trims, if she was remembering correctly. Which would be really bad if the mafia attacked the PrinceZam Empire.
The good part however, was that Zam was working out an agreement with the mafia’s leader, Ashswag, so that didn’t happen. It was a slow process, slower then Zam would like, but it would be worth it. As long as the empire was safe, it’d be fine. But first.. She had to figure out what to give the glitch in exchange, so he didn’t attack her empire.
And she had a rather.. Interesting idea. It could work, maybe. But Zam wasn't sure she even liked the idea. What is the idea, exactly? Well…