Chapter Text
Wemmbu surprisingly slept a little bit before being woken up by a crash downstairs and a loud yelp. The dragon wasted no time grabbing both Gambit and Treasure, rushing downstairs to the kitchen where Eggchan had fallen over, rubbing his head.
“Bro…” Wemmbu sighed, lowering his guard.
Eggchan looked up awkwardly, “…Hey, dude.”
“…You okay?” He reached a hand out to him.
The angel took it and lifted himself to his feet, “Yeah, I’m good… I dropped a glass and tried to catch it… but my arm brushed the pot I was boiling water in…”
He looked down at his arm, part of it was burning red, and Eggchan barely reacted to the pain.
“Does it not hurt?” The dragon asks.
“…Not really, angels are kind of immune to heat.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Eggchan sighed and grabbed a rag, running it over warm water in the sink, “Angels grew a high tolerance for heat back in the old days when the war against demons was still going on.”
“Ah, makes sense.”
“The tolerance is slowly fading throughout new generations of angels, but it’s still extremely high,” Eggchan placed the rag over the burn, hissing at the sting. “Sorry to wake you up, Wemmbu.”
“Nah, you’re good. I needed to wake up anyway…”
He glances outside—it’s noon again.
His sleep schedule is fucked.
“I need to get going soon if I want to be back before midnight…” Wemmbu sighed. “You still have Jaden’s pirate hat… thing?”
Eggchan nods, “Yeah, why?”
“I’m, uh, gonna visit High Water. I need an anvil, and I think Codmaster has one. Might give the hat over to him for, y’know, remembrance and all that,” he says quietly.
“Oh, yeah, sure. It’s on the armorstand in my room, his mask should also be there,” Eggchan said.
“Alright, thanks.”
Wemmbu watched as the angel grabbed a first aid kit from under the sink, munching on a golden apple in the meantime. He left the kitchen once he made sure the other was okay and entered Eggchan’s broken room.
He’d been sleeping mostly on the couch downstairs due to the state of his bedroom, the fire caught most of it and there was barely enough floor to keep it stable. The armorstand stood nearby the door, Jaden’s pirate hat hanging from the helmet stand and the mask tied around the neck.
Wemmbu took the hat off, putting it in his inventory.
The mask stayed for Eggchan’s sake.
Behind him stood said angel as Wemmbu yelped.
“Void! You scared me, bro,” The dragons said.
Eggchan smiled, “My bad.”
“Did you need something?”
“Uhm… I was just wondering— if I could come with you to High Water?” Eggchan asked, “I miss Cod.”
Wemmbu sighed, “No— I- Unless you want to stay there overnight because I’m going to Flame’s next, then sure. But there won’t be anyone to protect you. I doubt Codmaster has much combat skill and I don’t want Saparata to suddenly appear there and take you.”
Eggchan deflated in disappointment, “…Right.”
The dragon bit his lip, “Here, after I come back from giving Lomedy his mace, we can go to High Water together. How about that? I do want to talk to you about something before that, though.”
The angel lit up again, “Yes! Okay!”
Wemmbu smiled, “We’ll go in two days, okay? Knowing Flame, he’s probably going to take up a lot of my energy just talking to him… And I’m tired.”
“That’s fine, you do need the rest.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wemmbu asked.
Eggchan tilted his head, “You haven’t been getting good sleep at all. Because of the nightmares?”
“…What nightmares?”
Eggchan stared at him like he was crazy.
“…The nightmares you’ve been having?”
“I don’t remember any nightmares,” Wemmbu said, looking genuinely confused.
“About Rejoice?”
The dragon tensed up, his wings curling in, “Rejoice is dead.”
“So is Jaden.”
Wemmbu flinched.
It hurt more to hear aloud than it did in his head.
He snarled, “Shut up.”
“Wemmbu—”
The dragon pushed past him, “We’ll talk later.”
Eggchan grabbed his arm before he could leave, “Wemmbu, please, I’m worried about you!”
“Don’t be,” he said, shrugging Eggchan off him and leaving the treehouse, the door was almost slammed shut, but Wemmbu knew better.
Eggchan sighed, “…All I ever do is worry for you.”
High Water was bustling as ever, though many players were fighting each other for loot and food. Wemmbu managed to scare off some newbies with the mace he held, though coming here with barely any armor probably wasn’t a good idea.
It's too late now.
Knocking upon Codmaster’s door, the fish hybrid answered immediately, as if waiting for him. He greeted Wemmbu happily, looking around as if he came here with someone else.
“Hey, Cod. You have an anvil I can use?” Wemmbu asked, ignoring the strange looks Cod gave him.
He nodded, “Yeah, it’s in the corner…”
Wemmbu raised a brow at the sudden sad tone, but went to the anvil anyway. Carefully, he changed the name, now it was no longer unnamed. Hopefully, Lomedy will accept the name and the mace back even if he wasn’t Jaden.
“Uhm…” Codmaster started, standing awkwardly with the door still open. “…Is it just you?”
Wemmbu looked up, “Yeah? I messaged you I was coming over.”
“Yeah, I know, I just…” He stared out the door. “I was… expecting Jaden to be with you.”
Oh.
Right.
Codmaster doesn’t know.
“Right… uh,” Wemmbu looked around, “You… might want to sit down for this.”
Codmaster looked at him in worry.
“Okay…” He slowly sat down at the dining table, waiting for Wemmbu to finish renaming the mace.
Soon after, the dragon sat down across from him.
He brought out the pirate hat from his inventory and handed it over to Codmaster.
“Here,” he said.
The fish took the hat, looking down at the familiar blue and black, “Why… is… What happened?”
Wemmbu sighed, not daring to look the hybrid in the eyes, “Jaden’s gone.”
Cod’s breathing picked up, processing the words.
“…Gone?”
Wemmbu nodded, “…He’s dead.”
A choked sob left his throat as he held the hat close to him.
Wemmbu shifted awkwardly.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
Cod inhaled, trying to steady himself, “Do… you have his Trident? I want his Trident.”
Wemmbu paused.
Then shook his head.
“I do have Treasure, but it would be better in my hands, I’m sorry, Cod.”
“No— he was my friend, I want his Trident,” he stood up, angry.
“Cod—” Wemmbu stood with him, trying to calm him down, “—I’m telling you, for both yourself and your sanity, the Trident is better in my hands.”
Cod sobbed, “But…”
“You’re in High Water, Cod… Someone will try to take it from you regardless of the meaning behind it. You’ll lose it instantly, and neither of us would want that. You have to understand it’s safer with me than it is with you, I mean no offense.”
The fish hybrid sat back down, “…I understand.”
Wemmbu sighed in relief, “Thank you.”
But the awkward silence came back.
Wemmbu stood up, heading to the door to leave.
Cod stopped him, “Can… you stay for a little?”
The dragon paused. The hybrid had just been told his best friend—his only friend—is dead. Wemmbu may not be the best at comforting others, but the least he could do was stay and just… be there.
“Okay,” He smiled, “I’ll stay for an hour.”
Cod pulled them to the couch, “Can you tell me what happened to him? You don’t have to…”
“…No, but you deserve to know, he was your friend, too,” Wemmbu said. “After we left yours. . .”
Soon, the sun reached evening, and Wemmbu still needed to head to Flame’s to find Lomedy. The two had just finished eating a lunch Cod prepared while Wemmbu spoke of the adventure in the Farlands and the fight against Null.
“Sorry, Cod, I have to go now,” He stood from the table, “But thank you for lunch.”
Cod smiled, “Of course, Wemmbu. And… thank you, for telling me everything. Safe travels.”
“You’re welcome, Cod. Oh, bye the way,” Wemmbu stopped, “Eggchan and I will visit you again soon, Egg kinda misses you.”
“Oh, alright! I’d love to see him again. Bye, Wemmbu!”
Wemmbu waved goodbye and left the house. He felt refreshed, food in his stomach and a weight lifted from him.
It felt nice to talk to Cod about what happened, even if he forced himself to speak. If anyone deserved to know what happened to Jaden, it was Codmaster.
Leaving High Water was the easy part. Now that he had the mace named, it was time to head to Flame’s base. But that was thousands of blocks away, and Wemmbu did not have his elytra on him. It hasn’t gotten around to repairing it, and he could care less about it.
This was good for him, he told himself. To take in the scenery and the sights, to not rush himself. He had his destination, and he knew where he was going. It wouldn’t be long until he was in the mesa.
Though, it’s unfortunate that the mesa was burning fucking hot and Wemmbu did not like heat much. Warmth he can handle, like the warmth Jaden and Eggchan brought to him, but the searing heat of the sun glaring down on him was different.
Reminded him of Flame’s own fire.
The large base was over the horizon, and the water at the bottom of it looked so refreshing.
Wemmbu shook his head, continuing walking over to the entrance of the base, the bridge was under a shaded area, and Wemmbu felt so much better.
Though, the moment could’ve been longer if FlameFrags himself didn’t jump down from the Aethers and almost kill him.
“Ack—!” Wemmbu huffed, backing away from the sudden attack.
He didn’t bring his sword.
“Wait— Flame—!”
“Wassup, bro! Come for that rematch?” The familiar voice of the tiger said, Wemmbu could hear the smirk and almost feel the excitement from him.
“Flame—”
The tiger wouldn’t even allow him to speak, already rushing towards him. Wemmbu managed to dodge, sliding to the right before the tiger could touch him.
Play defensive.
He ducked under an incoming swing from the flaming sword, but he couldn’t dodge the sudden kick to the stomach. When did Flame just randomly jump into battles like this? Oh wait, I’m Wemmbu.
He needs to stop this before he throws up.
“Fla—”
“Why are you not even fighting? Bro, c’mon!”
“I’m unarmed!” He screams, throwing his hands up.
Flame pauses, still on guard but he looks down at Wemmbu like he’s said something crazy.
Everyone thinks I’m crazy today.
“Why the hell are you here unarmed?” Flame finally asked, gesturing his sword like it was his arm.
Wemmbu kept one hand up as he maneuvered his way to his feet, “I’m not here to fight you.”
“Then why are you here, bro? Get to the point.”
“I’m here to give you this,” Wemmbu takes out the mace he renamed, handing it over to Flame.
But the tiger refused to take it, “I’m not taking a mace from you, bro.”
Wemmbu scoffed, “Okay, fine, whatever. Can you tell me where Lomedy is then?”
“Why the fuck would I tell you where Lomedy is?”
Wemmbu groaned, already getting annoyed, “Dude, either take the stupid mace or tell me where Lomedy is.”
“Why are you trying to give me a damn mace?”
The dragon inhaled sharply, “Flame, I swear to the void, I will walk away and go search the entire server for him myself.”
Flame shook his head, “Then go do that. Why come to me?”
“Because I’d rather not take years walking the whole server trying to find your friend when you obviously know his location.”
“Why are you walk— Y’know what, fine, whatever,” Flame sighed, flailing his hands about. “He’s up north at his farm, I can give you the coords. If he’s not there, then he’s at Merchant City.”
Wemmbu exhaled deeply, “Thank you.”
“Thank-? Bro, what— I- okay.”
Wemmbu was already gone.
Lomedy finally finished this month’s batch of carrots and potatoes, pushing the last potato crate into the shed for them to be cleaned later. He dusted himself off and took off his gloves, hanging them on the door of the shed and closing it shut. Locking it tight and hiding the key underneath.
“Finally done,” he said to himself. A dog ran up to his leg and barked, tail wagging, “Hey, Ashen! Ready for dinner?” The dog barked in return.
The farmer stretched his arms, yawning as he made his way inside the house.
“Hm… I think I still have some leftover carrots from the last batch… Perhaps some carrot stew will work for tonight,” He spoke, grabbing the carrot bag and dog treats. “Ashen!”
The dog came running up to him, sitting down and waiting patiently for his treat. Lomedy held it to him and the dog almost took it, but—
Ashen stood up suddenly, turning to face the door of the house and started growling. Lomedy took the treat back and quickly grabbed the sword hanging on the side of his fridge.
There was a knock at the door, “Lomedy?”
The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t name it.
“Who are you? I’m armed!” He yelled.
“It’s me, Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu?
Lomedy relaxed just slightly, “Flame’s not here.”
“I’m not here for Flame, I’m here for you.”
The farmer looked down at Ashen, confused. The dog tilted his head up to Lomedy, also confused.
Lomedy lowered the sword and slowly made his way to the door, “Why are you here for me?”
“I’m unarmed, don’t worry. I need to give you something that belongs to you,” Wemmbu said.
Lomedy hesitated, “I… I don’t trust you!”
“That’s completely understandable. I can leave the item on your porch if you feel more comfortable. I will drop it and then leave immediately,” He said.
“Okay… That’s fine.”
Lomedy heard a loud thud outside the door and heavy footsteps slowly walked away. The farmer waited three minutes before opening the door, on the porch in front of him laid a mace.
His mace.
The one that Jaden stole from him.
Lomedy reached down and picked it up.
It had a name now. Did Jaden name it?
Lomedy hovered over it.
Amending Tides
… Confusing.
Wemmbu was already gone.
But in his place stood Flame.
“Oh, hey, Flame— Wait, why are you here?”
Flame looked over where the dragon left, “I was following Wemmbu here. I was making sure he didn’t do anything to you. But he was already leaving when I got here. It’s… so weird seeing him walk away instead of him flying away.”
Lomedy hummed, too focused on the mace.
Flame looked down at it, “What’s that?”
“Wemmbu… gave it to me.”
The tiger contemplated, “Isn’t that…”
“The mace Jaden stole.”
Now Flame was even more confused.
“Why would he give you that?”
Lomedy shrugged, “I think the real question is why would Wemmbu give it to me and not Jaden?”
Flame stopped, pondering the realization, “Something fishy is going on with him.”
“You don’t think…” Lomedy trailed off.
“Wemmbu probably did something to him.”
“Weren’t they friends, though? Wemmbu protected Jaden against you when you tried to fight him back at the Law fight,” Lomedy said.
Ashen pushed back him to rub against Flame’s leg. He bent down to pet the dog, “That’s why something is off about him. He’s not flying. He’s not armed. And he just… I don’t know. He’s just off.”
“The mace is named,” the farmer said, Flame stood up and looked at the mace, “Amending Tides.”
“Why would…” The tiger stopped, “Okay, something definitely happened to Jaden and I intend to find out what it is.”
“I’m coming with you,” Lomedy said.
Flame sighed, “Alright, gear up.”