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"Dude, can you like, slow down a bit?" Egg said over the defeaning storm. "How am I barely keeping up and I'm the one wearing the elytra?"
Wemmbu did not slow nor stray from the pointed direction of the compass. He kept his eyes on it with a fervent focus, his hands shaking.
How long had they been walking? What prize could possibly be waiting for them at the end of the line?
Whatever it was, it wasn't worth it.
Wemmbu swallowed a heavy rock. Salty rain stung his sockets.
"Wemmbu, bro, I'm serious!" Egg panted blocks behind him. He threw wind at his feet, then fumbled with the elytra as it brought him face down on the dirt.
"Keep up, Egg," Wemmbu said plainly.
"Let's—" Egg took in a lungful of air. "Let's sit for a second, yo."
Wemmbu whipped around with a stern frown. "We need to hurry. Null's gonna catch up again."
Egg groaned. "How can I fight them when I'm this exhausted?" He collapsed to the ground. "I'm resting, I don’t care!"
"Egg—" Wemmbu raised his voice in irritation, before he caught himself. It was just Egg being Egg. He should be more worried if he wasn't being annoying.
With a sigh, Wemmbu pulled Ja— the trident over his head. "You have five minutes. Then I'm dragging you by the hair all the way to the Forge, got it?"
Egg shot up. "You're leaving me?!"
"Five. Minutes."
Then Wemmbu flew up and embraced the rain.
For a moment, peace was all there was. He could exist as he was before, ignorant to the path ahead. Ignorant to how much destruction he could bring. Ignorant to how stained his hands could be.
Up so high, no one could see his tears. No one could see his difficult breaths.
"Oh, god." Wemmbu gasped out, clutching at his chest. "Oh, Jaden. God, I'm sorry, Jaden. I'm sorry."
The thunder hid his words. Jaden wouldn't hear from his place in the sky, busy commanding his crew of ghostly pirates.
Wemmbu pressed on his eyes. Plummeting.
All was silent.
"...emmbu...!" Egg's voice echoed.
He seemed tiny from up above—looking all stupid with his ill-fitting elytra, swiveling his head around looking for him.
"Wemmbuuu!" he called again, almost boredly. "Yo, it's definitely been more than five minutes, yo. I'm 'boutta leave your ass be—hind!"
Egg.
Egg, alone.
What was he about to...
God.
Wemmbu skidded across the ground, water-filled bucket splashing on Egg's feet.
"Holy crap!" Egg screamed. "Dude, you scared the—"
Wemmbu clung to him fervently.
"I didn't mean to," he muttered in horror. "I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking, Egg, Egg, I—"
Confused, Egg pulled away. "Dude, what..." he trailed off, processing his words, the implications. Wemmbu watched in real time as his face slowly fell, as his eyes widened with heartbreaking terror.
"No," Egg croaked out. He broke away from Wemmbu's hold. "No, no. Not you, man. Don't do me like that. Don't— What do you think that's gonna do, huh? You'd be dead, and then what?"
"I didn't mean to," Wemmbu said.
Egg shook him by the shoulders. "Fuck you, man! Fuck you! How could you consider— for even a second? You think Jaden's gonna want that? After he got banned saving you?!" Egg yelled. "You think Rejoice would, huh, Wemmbu? You think they're gonna be happy with you wasting their lives like that?!"
"I didn't mean to!" Wemmbu pushed Egg away. "I didn't mean to, I didn't!"
"You didn't mean to? Really?" Egg hounded after him. "Tell me, Wemmbu, if I didn't come looking for you at that exact moment would you still be here talking?"
"Of course I—"
"Don't you play in my face."
"Egg..." Wemmbu said tearfully. "Don't be mad, Egg. I don't like you being mad at me."
Egg shut his eyes and looked away.
"Egg, sorry," Wemmbu pleaded. "Sorry, it won't happen again. I promise it won't—"
Egg brought him close.
"I'm not mad," he muttered into the crown of his head. "Sorry for yelling. You scared me bad, brother."
Wemmbu burrowed his face into Egg's shoulder. "It's all my fault," he admitted shamefully. "I dragged him into my mess again. He was out, Egg. He was living his life away from all these stupid wars, and I dragged him right back. I dragged you back."
"We're not mindless victims, man," Egg said with offense. "Give us a little more credit. We chose to follow you. It was a decision we made with pride, and whatever happens after that will be our price to pay. Jaden, Rejoice...they're up there rolling their eyes at you right now."
Wemmbu wiped his nose discreetly on Egg's pristine suit. "I'd rather they roll their eyes at me from down here."
"We can't all have what we want."
The rain continued to bear down on them.
They don't let each other go.
Who cared about obtaining unimaginable power? Who cared if the server remained god-awful?
Surely, his friend was more important.
How did Spoke bear to choose otherwise?
"Don't die on me, Egg," Wemmbu whispered, tugging him closer until their hearts both settled. "I'm not that strong."
Egg was silent.
He rested his head on Wemmbu's.
"Neither am I."