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The Underworld.
A dimension that Spoke knew nothing about.
But a dimension that Jamatop knew everything about.
So now here stands Spoke, looming over an endless pit in the nether. The voidling managed to dispher just a bit of the book to find out that apparently the Underworld was beneath the Nether.
Which sorta made sense now that he thought about it- Jamatop named the prison Purgatory in the Nether which is like Hell essentially so technically the Underworld would be like under the Nether. Right? Did that make any sense? Did he connect any points? Probably not.
Regardless, here he was, inventory ready, shulkers ready and his e-chest ready. He has absolutely NO idea what to expect but it surely cannot be harder than Purgatory, right? He shivers at the thought before relaxing himself.
No use in getting worked up.
In and out.
And maybe.
He pauses.
Maybe, he can find Mapicc. It would make sense right? The Underworld is beneath the Nether so he’d find him, right? Right?
.
.
.
In all honesty when Spoke said he’d find Mapicc. He was bullshitting himself. He said it because he hated the idea of never seeing Mapicc, especially after their whole friendship fiasco. He had hoped he’d find Mapicc- and seeing no death message pop up made the idea feel..well possible. But the question still remained, is Mapicc still alive?
Spoke sours at the thought. He hopes so although the leader had sent a whole group of Null soldiers with the sole purpose of finding Mapicc. And for a powerful group- They sucked at finding the dog-hybrid because holy shit.
Spoke shakes his head, he’s getting distracted, again. Rambling in his own mind alone. God that’s pathetic.
Whatever.
Spoke runs a hand through his hair before staring down into the red like void.
It’s nerf or nothing…Or something like that.
Yolo, whatever- He walks backwards before sprinting and diving deep into the abyss below.
.
.
“OH MY GOD!”
He screams loudly, flailing his arms around- He totally did NOT think he was gonna drop this high up at all. He continues to panic as he falls before steadying his body for the impact which surprisingly isn’t that bad. Although, it’s enough to wrack is brain out of sorts as he groans.
He’s already beginning to regret this.
Spoke huffs lightly before standing up, fixing his armor as he glances around.
The Underworld is not what he expected. He expected red, maybe even blue? But green?? Green?? It just sorta reminds him off..Spoke doesn’t let that thought finish itself.
The more Spoke looks around, the more weirder he finds it. It’s like the nether but also not. He hums slightly, to himself as he begins to try and build a perch to look around.
…
Keyword, try.
He attempts to place a cobblestone block. Nothing. He blinks, confused before trying again. Nothing. Maybe he did something wrong? No- No, he couldn’t have fucked up, placing a block is the simplest thing a player could ever do- It’s like breathing! he tries again for the third time and nothing. Only then does his mind began to panic, like full blown panic. Because, now he’s trapped with almost no way getting back- Aside from a pre-set stasis chamber but god knows when the Commander would pull it!
He pulls of his helmet, irritated at the sudden tightness.
It’s fine, it’s fine! He can deal with this, no big deal. It’s not like the most important mechanic in Mine craft is gone- Haha.
.. He’s so screwed. He huffs once more, pinching the bridge of his nose as he begins walking, holding his sword tightly. He prays- Prays on everyone's lives that he does not bump into any advanced players or something. Because he doubt he could take them in a fight. Has he gotten stronger? Yes because Commander has been training him. But realistically- he probably couldn’t kill a whole group of players by himself. That’s Null’s job, not his.
He fiddles lightly with his sword, he really does hope he doesn’t find anyone..
.
.
.
Spoke had been walking around for a little over an hour and so far, he had found pretty much nothing. Well, aside from the soul sand and odd abandoned buildings..This whole trip seems useless, he’s found nothing even a bit useful- If he had a better method of transportation than maybe just maybe he could find something. Because there’s no way Jamatop would make a book about this place for no reason.
The voidling lets out an exaggerated huff, feeling all the pent up anger resurface once more.
Fucking Jamatop. The damn bastard who put him in this goddamn situation in the first place. Everyone’s telling him he doesn’t have to be the bad guy- Well guess what!? He didn’t want to in the first place! It was Jamatops fault!
All of this was Jamatop’s fault.
Spoke has every reason to act this way. It’s a justified explanation. So what he’s killing people? They were bound to die anyway. And so will everyone in his path. He’ll kill whoever, he doesn’t care.
.
.
God his feet hurt.
His pace slows down before halting fully as he squats down before plopping himself onto the floor, exhausted. It’s been awhile since he’s actually relaxed, let alone quietly by himself.
With the whole BAT fiasco, he was almost never asleep. Staying up late to work on traps, making a new escape path incase things got too crazy and going out to gather supplies and resources for him, Mapicc and Zam.
And once that was over- Mapicc went missing and Spoke went wandering around for hours, searching relentlessly for his best friend. And Purgatory was a whole other thing. The voidling was itching to leave, restless and unable to concentrate a little bit as mind ran wild. The Games were the same thing too- constantly having to keep an eye open incase some group wanted to jump them. After that, it was Null. He kept himself busy with ideas, plans, etc. Before that was the Mafia and back then…
He shivers, he’s not back there anymore. He’s here and he’s fine.
.
.
Spoke continues to lay in the valley of roses and dandelions, ones that consume his body whole. A quiet breath escapes his lips, one shaky, one he’s been deprived of letting out.
He misses Mapicc. If Mapicc was here, life would be so much more easy. Mapicc is all that he needs in the end. No matter what he has, it barely matters if he doesn’t have his best-friend by his side. As much as he tries not to show it, he truly does yearn for the presence of his best friend.
.
.
Spoke stirs awake at the sudden pressure against his body. He lets out a quiet groan, his mind begin to wake up as he blinks. Before him is something big and white and as soon as he registers it does he jolt back, withdrawing his sword.
“Get away-!”
He shouts, panicked. A small churl sound is made however and only then does he realize it’s not a player before him. It’s a ghast. A happy ghast to be specific. It stares down at him, clearly a little upset as it makes almost whimpering sounds.
“Sorry buddy- You scared me..”
Spoke murmurs, letting out a relived sigh. Clearly, he’s forgiven as the ghast pushes itself against him causing the voidling to giggle.
“You are far more clingy then I imagined”
Spoke exclaims, gently patting the ghast as it purrs relentlessly. The voidling can’t help the small smile that tugs at his lips as he stands up, continuing to adore the mob. A minute passes by until it suddenly nudges itself against Spoke once more, dipping it’s body downwards. Spoke raise a brow, a bit confused before recognizing the saddle ontop of it.
“Oh, do you want me to get on?”
The ghast lets out a chirp and Spoke takes it as a yes as he lifts himself onto the ghast before lying down on it.
“Wow, you're comfy."
He comments, sinking into the comfort of the ghast as it begins moving. It startles Spoke for a millisecond before he begins to relax once more.
“Thanks buddy”
He murmurs, a small sigh of content escaping from his lips.
The ride is quiet aside from the weird ambience around and the ghasts noises. He’s not really used to such- quietness.
Let alone, emptiness.
He frowns.
“I miss him..”
He whispers, the ghast hears regardless of his hush of a voice- It coos, in a questioning like tone.
“My..best friend- God, I don’t even know if we’re best friends.. ‘
The voidling groans out, his pure white eyes beginning to waver with sorrow as thoughts cross his mind once again.
“I fucked up- I messed up a lot. I always have. But this time..this time, I really messed up. I betrayed Mapicc’s trust- God, I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.”
He chokes out, tears burning down his dark skin as he wipes them away quickly— As if someone would magically appear and care for his pathetic ass.
“..I pushed him down here- To save him, I knew Jamatop would have a trick or something. I-I thought if I pushed Mapicc off and into the void, it’d save him and everyone. Jamatop technically wouldn’t have anything against me!”
He exclaims before huffing as he curls further into the ghast.
“He doesn’t know that though..I doubt he’d believe me..”
Spoke sighs out, fingers lightly tracing the engravings on his helmet.
The kind mob lets out another churring noise- One Spoke can’t dispher but it compels him to keep talking.
“We’ve been best-friends for maybe three years at this point. Almost since the beginning of the server. We met because he heard me monoluging to myself-”
He laughs at the recolleciton.
“God those were the days, y’know!? Having to worry about pretty much nothing at all- We could do whatever and face minimal repercussions. I mean- sure we got hunted down for our bullshit but it was so..exhilarating. The adrenaline rush we’d get from that made it so much more worth it.” He rambles off, noting each literal memory that stuck with him.
During the Exploits- To cope with the disappearance of his old best friends, to help him right his wrongs.
During the Mafia when Ash tortured him in everyway possible and he lost himself.
During BAT when he fucked up so bad so- Mapicc was there even when he knew Spoke was in the wrong— He still defended him nonetheless.
During the Purgatory when despite how much Mapicc hated him for all he did— He still cared about him deep down.
But that care- that concern and love was long gone. And there was no way Spoke was gonna get that back. Under no circumstances. All in all, Spoke messed everything up. He’s fucked up time and time again but this was beyond bad.
Because Mapicc to him? That was his oxygen. Mapicc made living worth it, made life fun, make it..good.
Without Mapicc, Spoke was nothing. He had no reasoning and no purpose to live on. Without Mapicc, Spoke’s just a dumb little voidling, numb and emotionless. Pathetic and worthless.
He’s what everyone’s ever told him. The words Mapicc has forever has tried to shield him of. Because reality is, voidlings aren’t supposed to be this emotional, that’s the most significant factor about his species. Their puppets for peoples usage. He was never supposed to be this..human-ish. Never ever.
Mapicc made him human. Mapicc made him feel..alive, feel every emotion he was never born to feel.
The thought makes tears build up at the corners of his eyes as he chokes on a gasp.
“He— He’s the reason I’m still in even here- I..I wouldn’t be here without him..”
Spoke managed to get out, lips trembling as he covers his face.
“Fuck, I miss him so bad-”
He cries out, hands gripping his dark curls, threatening to pull them out until the ghast lets out a whine, one of sorrow and fear. It makes Spoke instantly stop what he was doing, quietly cursing himself out.
“Fuck- Sorry..sorry.”
He murmurs, crossing his arms to resist the urge of doing something stupid.
He tries to think of something else- At least to get his mind off of Mapicc.
But he can’t, he physically can’t.
“Uhm..”
He ponders, once then twice as he tries to distract himself- But when all that comes up in his head is about Mapicc, it’s sorta hard.
.
.
“Mapicc Silas Andres..is his full name”
He starts off, something small. Earlier he talked about memories and that seemed to trigger him. So what if he just..talks about just Mapicc?
“He has dark brown hair, pale skin and always wears red. He hates wearing any other color besides red-”
Spoke snorts at the thought.
“He’s also a hybrid of a wolf too, he hates acknowledging it, it makes him think he’s weak or something. I always thought it was cool though, y’know. It’s better than being a voidling that’s for sure.”
He pauses.
“I think he hates it because of his ears and tail- They convey emotion that he tries to hide, y’know?”
The ghast lets out a little churl and he takes it as him understanding his words.
“He’s really cool too. But I’d never tell him that, he’ll get too cocky. He’s also really good at innovating..or something- Like multiple times have I lied and has he backed me up with a story or something. He’s shit at rapping though. He says he’s good but, I don’t think he is.”
He rambles, waving around his hands as he yaps, not paying any mind to the ghast until it suddenly starts speeding up at a fast pace that seems nearly impossible for ghasts. Spoke tries to keep his balance, sitting up better as he holds onto the saddle of the ghast.
“Dude- Are you okay? What the hell happened?”
He exclaims, a little frightened. The ghast makes a noise and Spoke for the life of him, cannot dispher it at all. As much as he wishes to.
“I’m just gonna hope you’re not gonna get me killed or something..”
Spoke murmurs, he’s worried absolutely- But he trusts the ghast.
…
“Oh shoot- I should give you a name!”
He chirps, grinning.
“I’m the master at names so don’t you worry!”
He shouts, putting a hand on his chin as he tries to think of a name.
“I’m gonna name you…Sparky!”
The ghast makes a noise that SOUNDS like throwing up- Like retching. It makes Spoke laugh, really loud and hard- One he hasn’t let out in a while.
“Okay Geez buddy! I’ll workshop a different name for you..”
“Emmet?”
He asks, the ghast doesn’t let out a immediately but shortly after lets out a meh sound.
“Okay..we’ll place that in the maybe pile..Benji?”
It makes another hacking sound.
“Geez..picky one aren’t you?”
Spoke mutters as he lets out a heavy huff.
.
.
.
It’s almost an hour of traveling once again and Spoke has no idea where Emmet is taking him. He’s calling him Emmet since that was the only name that didn’t seem to make the guy wanna kill him. The farther they traveled- the more concern he got. Especially when they started reaching actual builds and structures. \
Before him stood a large castle or something. He wasn’t exactly sure. And surrounding said castle was a series of jail cells hanging in the air which was INSANELY ominous.
“Yikes..way to welcome someone..”
He murmurs, a cold breeze hitting him causing the voidling to shutter slightly.
Spoke glances around, hoping to find some reason as to possibly why Emmet led him here-
His gaze finally falls onto one of the cages- Inside is a person that sticks out among the rest. A figure with a red hoodie. He instantly perks up, his tail wagging as he stands ontop of the ghast.
“Mapicc!?”
He shouts out, grinning widely in excitement- Emmet seems to notice, beginning to drift towards the specific cell that Mapicc was in. The wolf-hybrid perked his head up, eyes widening at the sight of the voidling.
“Spoke?”
He breathed out, the gentlest way Spoke has ever heard from Mapicc. Mapicc eye’s are wide, doe-like with a growing grin on his face. Dopamine hits him like a truck- pure happiness running through his mind as tail wags persistently.
“Spoke!”
He shouts, laughing as Spoke jumps from the ghast and onto the edge of the cell. His calloused hands grip onto the metal bars, letting out a sigh of relief. A part of him wanted to cry even.
“Oh my god- Dude, I’ve missed you so bad-”
Spoke rambles, tears prickling at his eyes. Mapicc nods along before staring at the voidling a little too long. He notices a lot of things. First, his hands. They’re calloused, scratched and bruised. Not just that but his nails are bitten. A feature Mapicc noticed always about Spoke was his long nails, he always tried to take good care of them. Stating he liked having “claws” or whatever.
Second, he notices his jet black hair. Before it was curly, short- Even in purgatory, it still mostly remained it’s frame.. But now, it’s long- past his shoulders. And it’s shaggy now, the curls are barely intact signifying that Spoke hadn’t been taken proper care.
Third, his white scleras- Another prominent feature of Spoke but also voidlings in general. Mapicc memorized how they were shaped. Big, round- Never a moment dull. They practically shine in the moonlight. And at the right angle you'd see the opalescent tint on them. Now however..They’re firm, slanted and tired. And ontop of that, they’re not bright but instead grey.
And what sets him off is lastly— his clothes. The classic rainbow hoodie and jorts are now replaced with something far more former. A suit- Or something. The collar is up to his neck, buttoned up and with dress pants and high boots. To top it off is a cap. The whole outfits consists of black and dark deep reds which confuses Mapicc because Spoke does like all colors but his favorite is purple- Or well, it used to be purple. Now it’s teal or salmon pink.
Mapiccs gaze locks on the odd outfit and then onto his belt where an enchanted totem is held. His brain begins to work, gears turning.
The totem.
Jamatop.
Purgatory, the Games, the Nether- Everything.
Spoke betraying him- twice.
The original rush of dopamine crashes instantly, anger settling in as he steps away, brows furrowed and expression changed.
“Get away from me dude.”
He sneers, Spoke’s face changes within an instant, tilting his head in confusion.
“Dude, what? No- Let me get you out, c'mon man—”
“No! No- You can’t just come here and pretend nothing happened, fuck you man!”
Mapicc shouts, backing further into the jail cell. Spoke flinches, his eyes softening as he backs off, sitting himself on the ghast.
“Mapicc- Please, I’m sorry, I really am- I told you I was going to get you back- I sent a whole search party for you!”
Spoke pleads out, visibly upset and it makes Mapicc crumble at the sight, his ears drooping before he manages to control himself.
“No dude- How should I fucking trust you, huh!? What’s stopping you from betraying me again??”
Spoke’s eyes gauge open, mouth agape as he tries to muster something up.
“B-betray!? No- No, I was trying to save you- Mapicc please-”
“Fuck you.”
Mapicc spits, turning over his heels as he sits away from Spoke, crossing his arms. A small gasp is heard from the voidling and it makes Mapicc frown— But this is to prove a point. He’s not going to let Spoke walk over him again. The boy has to win him over.
And so, he sits and closes his eyes. He doesn’t muster a reply, a noise, a movement, nothing.
Spoke whines, begs, complains and each time, his ear flattens and his tail tucks itself further into him.
“Mapicc, please..”
“C’mon, lets just get out of here!”
Mapicc…”
“Maplee..”
“Mapey?”
The wolf-hybrid just lets out a quiet scoff, one he instantly regrets as he hears Spoke let out a sob.
“Mapicc- I’m sorry..I-I really am. It was fucked up of me, I admit that, I swear! I-I just..Jamatop, the only reason he kept winning was because he kept using you— Every time, every time I tried to make things better, he’d come and threaten your lives. I just wanted to do what was best for you-”
“Then why’d you leave me, huh!? Why the hell did you push me off!?”Mapicc shouts, finally looking at Spoke only to see the boy crying pathetically as opal colored tears stream down his face. It makes Mapicc double back, sinking into himself out of guilt.
“Spoke..”
He murmurs, reaching his hand out before taking it back. He can’t forgive Spoke.
“Mapicc…I thought- I thought if I pushed you off- Showed Jamatop that I quote on quote- didn’t care then I’d finally be able to get us all free, y’know? Which I did! I-I did! Everyone got freed from purgatory.”
Spoke adds, voice trembling as he speaks. Mapicc opens his mouth to reply however Spoke beats him to it.
“Trust me, I regretted it, so much. After I got freed, I instantly sent a search part for you- I didn’t know where you could’ve gone. I’ve missed you so much, so so much. I can’t live without you Mapicc- You’re everything to me. You’re the only reason I’m still here, you’re my purpose for existing- I can’t stand you hating me!”
Spoke cries out, choking on his own sobs as he begins to break down crying. The voidling holds himself close, unable to control his wails. Mapicc winces at the sight, instantly shifting closer without a thought. He sort of hates that it’s his instinct to go to his best friend once he hears him crying.
The jail bars still hang strong but Mapicc manages to wiggle his hand through the gaps, reaching out to Spoke and grabbing his. Spoke perks up, surprised but relieved as his cries only intensify.
“Shh..It’s fine..you’re okay..”Mapicc reassures, hoping to calm his best friend down- especially when he starts shifting in and out of reality.
“Hey, hey bud..C’mon look at me.”
He ushers to the man who locks eyes with him, his gaze all teary.
“I’m not mad- or correction, I’m a little mad but trust me, I could never hate you. You’re literally my best friend..”
He pauses.
“And only friend.”
He then adds, getting a stiffled laugh to escape the other, the sight makes his ears perk up once more.
“I’ve missed you too Spoke..”Mapicc finally admits, huffing quietly as he leans his forehead against the cold metal. Spoke does the same too and it regulates the voidling despite the barrier.
“You okay?”
Mapicc asks after a few minutes which he receives a nodd from Spoke.
“Yeah..yeah..”
.
.
“So, how do I get out?”
Mapicc questions, not wanting to ruin this sentimental moment but at the same time, he’s been itching to get out of here. Spoke blinks, once then twice before slipping a chorus fruit between the bars. Mapicc eagerly takes it, eating it an instant before he’s suddenly teleported ontop of Spoke, sending the two of them crashing into each other. Spoke lets out a yelp only to laugh as he holds the man tightly. Mapicc’s tail wags extremely as he curls himself into Spoke.
“I missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too..”
____
Hours pass once more, Spoke and Mapicc laying together on the ghast, talking about absolute nonsense.
“Your hair looks like shit y’know..”
Mapicc mutters, running his fingers through the strands making Spoke retract with embarrassment.
“Dude, I know- I can’t get it back to normal…”
He replies, huffing as he takes his cap off. Mapicc stares at his head, confusion crossing his face.
“Woah, wheres your headband?”
He points out, Spoke flinches before sighing, fidgeting with his hair.
“It got burned..and I haven’t had the time to make a new one”
Spoke explains, Mapicc hums lightly before digging into the side pocket of his cargo pants only to pull out a fresh rainbow band. He gestures it to Spoke who gasps loudly, smiling.
“Woah!! How do you have this!?”
He shouts, tail swaying from side to side.
“Well, you remember that one time you lost it?”
“Yeah, I threw a whole fit..”
“Yeah that- So when that happened, I ended up making extras incase you lost them. And I replace it before you notice especially if it’s hanging on by a thread.”
Mapicc says, rubbing the back of his neck gingerly. It doesn’t take long before Spoke hugs him tightly, smiling.
“Dude, this is why you’re my best friend!!”
He shouts and it forces a grin out of Mapicc.
“I know, I just have that much aura.”
“Okay buddy, don’t glaze yourself too much..”
The ghast lets out a small churl and Spoke gently pats his head.
“Thanks for carrying us Emmet.”
Mapicc recoils back, raising a brow at Spoke.
“Emmet?”
He repeats, Spoke scoffs.
“I know, I know- It’s under workshop but I can’t figure out a name! This guy is so picky on names!!”
Spoke exclaims, Mapicc nods before looking at the side of the ghast, noticing it’s little flaps or gills are much bumpier and rounder. He squints, thinking for a moment before turning back to Spoke.
“You know the ghast is a girl, right?”
Spoke stares at Mapicc, completely dumbfounded before letting out a loud ‘OH’
“OH MY GOD- That’s why she was so picky!! I thought she was a boy!”
Spoke yells, the ghast letting out a sound that was almost like an “I was trying to tell you!” Mapicc just cackles loudly, rubbing at his eyes.
“Oh my god, you’re so misogynistic”
“DUDE- I’m not!!”
“You ASSUMED the ghast was a girl!”
“That’s not my fault!! Okay whatever- Let’s come up with a name for her then.”
Spoke states, crossing his arms and looking away.
“Hm..What about Maisie?”
Mapicc suggests, Spoke thinks, placing a finger on his chin.
“I like that! Got a nice ring to it. Do you like the name Maisie?”
Spoke says, the ghast makes a slight motion before letting out a purring noise. But Spoke and Mapicc locking eyes, smiling at the sound.
“I think she likes it!”
They both say in perfect unison before giggling again.
“God I’ve missed you laugh..”
“Is my laughter your medicine?”
“Shut up bro..”