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Parrot fought silently against the grasp of Zam and his guards as they pulled him away from the red line of the chunk ban.
“I said let him rest!” Wemmbu shouted. “Spoke has to stay in there forever. Void knows what he’d do if he gets out!”
“But…Wifies is in there too,” Parrot whispered, trying not to sob. As the guards pulled him out of the room, he went quiet. Silent tears ran down his face, and he was thankful that they were hidden underneath the feathers that dotted his cheeks.
Parrot didn’t want the Zam to know how much Wifies actually meant to him. That would give him too much power.
Lifesteal was only a whisper in Parrot’s memory, but what he knew from it was that he could trust nobody. And he hadn’t since. Not when he’d tried to save the Wonders, not when he built the cannon. At least, not until now.
Parrot hadn’t realized it until it was too late, but when Wifies joined him on the quest, when he gave him the spyglass… he began to trust Wifies. Maybe it even started on the first day, when Parrot insisted that Wifies stood on the pressure plate that he knew wasn’t trapped. It wasn’t like Parrot didn’t have friends, but if he could, he would do anything to avoid putting his life in the hands of anyone but himself. But this… He didn’t know why, but this was different.
Parrot didn’t even have to question if Wifies would protect him. And vice versa, he realized. Wifies would always follow through with whatever plan he came up with. And when that plan fell apart, they were always there to cover each other’s backs.
For void’s sake, Wifies had stepped into the chunk ban because he trusted that Parrot was right about the secret. He gave up any life he could have had on the server, for Parrot.
For his best friend.
The guards hauled him up the stairs into the light of day. It was almost blinding after being underground for the fight. When they released their grasp on his shoulders, Parrot crumpled to the ground, clutching the spyglass. Spoke’s maniacal laugh echoed through his head, and he curled into a ball of feathers.
He let the tears fall freely. They began soaking his feathers, the barbules clinging together. Clouds covered the sun, and Parrot shivered as the raindrops began to fall.
He heard footsteps and looked up, expecting to see Zam and his men. But what he saw wasn’t them. In fact, he wasn’t even in the birch forest anymore, he was in a sparse jungle.
How did I get here? Parrot wondered, looking around for the source of the footsteps. Behind him, he saw something he couldn’t explain. Pacing amongst the greenery was Spoke and himself. Then it hit him. He was back in lifesteal, when Spoke was still his friend. Parrot quickly climbed into a tree to avoid being spotted. He found himself a nice spot where he could perch between two branches and watch the scene unfold below him.
Spoke handed past Parrot a book, and he read it. A flash of various emotions flickered across his face before settling on melancholy,
“I know you left our team, but this is from the very start of the server,” Spoke said, false truths almost strong enough that Parrot could smell their stench from the tree. “Aren’t day one alliances the most important? Place down the minecart. Let me save the server.”
No don’t listen to him , Parrot tried to tell his past self, but the words were only silence. He could do nothing to change what had already happened. Meanwhile past Parrot stopped pacing, and gazed indecisively at Spoke.
“I don’t know, bro. What are you even going to do with it?”
“C’mon Parrot, I’m your best friend. Just place it down.”
No, don't do it!
Past Parrot hesitated for only a moment more before placing down the command block minecart. In the same instant, Spoke placed a lever and deftly flicked it.
No! Parrot tried to shout, but his words were only silence.
[LifeStealAdmin: Made SpokeIsHere a server operator]
“What?” past Parrot cried. “Wait, what? I didn’t click that!”
Spoke’s eyes began to glow–menacingly, even dangerously.
[SpokeIsHere: Set own game mode to Creative Mode]
Parrot curled into a small ball up in the tree. Spoke’s maniacal laughter echoing in his head, endless and evil. He was no longer aware of the scene below; shivering under the shelter of the jungle leaves. He could remember clearly now the apocalypse that Spoke had called the Wormhole. The madman had already stolen an entire server from Parrot, why did he have to take Wifies too? His only true friend! Parrot had once thought that Spoke was his friend, sometimes he even thought he still could be. But now he saw the painful devastating truth of why he could never trust anyone. Again tears began to run down Parrot’s face as he cried himself to sleep.
Parrot woke up feeling miserable. His feathers were soaked, and a cold breeze swept past, chilling him to the bone. He had know idea how long he’d been out, but he didn’t feel rested at all. Parrot’s sleep had been filled with nightmares of betrayal, Spoke always looming over him in glee, snickering at him, teasing his trust and weakness.
Once he built enough courage, Parrot opened his eyes. He was high in the branches of a birch tree. He had no idea how he’d gotten there, but at least there was no one in sight; no Zam Empire guards dragging him into prison for being affiliated with the enemy.
Parrot sat up slowly and shook out his wings, wincing. His whole body ached from yesterday's fight, and some of his worse wounds still hadn’t quite healed yet. He began to search through his bag for a golden carrot or two, when he remembered his spyglass.
A rush of adrenaline ran through him when he thought he might have lost it, but it was only on his belt. Parrot sighed in relief, and tried to reassure himself by taking deep breaths. If he had lost it– Parrot tried not to think about that. The spyglass that he now cradled in his arms was the last trace he had of his best friend.
No, Parrot thought. Someday I’ll free Wifies. I’ll get him out, and we’ll go someplace where we never have to worry about conflict again.
But… his mind whispered, and he shut his eyes tight, trying to hide from the truth. If Wifies gets out, so does Spoke. Zam would never forgive me, would never understand.
Parrot heard a firework go off in the distance, and he ducked further into the leaves of the birch tree to keep himself hidden. Two people flew past him, talking to each other.
“How much glass did you get?” one of them asked.
“Uhh, a shulker and a couple stacks,” the second replied. “But I have two more shulkers of sand that we can use.”
“Good, Prince Zam said the builders would need a lot.”
Parrot froze. If these were Zam’s people, he especially didn’t want to be seen. He wasn't sure if Zam was actively hunting him, but they certainly weren’t on good terms. Once he was sure the two people were out of earshot, Parrot moved some of the leaves out of his face so he could see in the direction they flew. He gasped at what saw.
The structure was far from complete, but surrounding the area of the chunk ban was a colossal array of metal supports, towering all the way to build limit. Dozens of builders soared up and down the looming skeleton of a building. Two people directed the rest.
Parrot doesn't know how long he sat in that tree. He watched for days, maybe even weeks, as the Zam Empire built a prison around the chunk his best friend was trapped in. He watched as obsidian walls rose from the ground, as they were filled with lava and bubble columns. He watched as the builders placed tens of thousands of glass panes between the iron supports. The sunlight would catch the spiraling colors, casting a horrifically beautiful shadow across the forests. He watched as Zam spoke to each of his men who were to guard the prison, making full sure that all of them were trained for any situation that may present itself.
A couple times, Parrot considered storming in to break the chunk ban–before the construction was complete–but there were always people keeping a sharp eye on the perimeter of the site. He never could have gotten in undetected.
The sun would rise, and the sun would set, and Parrot would remain in his perch, deep within the foliage. He didn’t eat, he hardly drank. He vowed that he would do anything and everything he could to break Wifies out of that prison, no matter the consequences. He couldn’t tell this to his friend, but Parrot knew that wherever Wifies was now, floating in the abyss between worlds, he would know. He would trust beyond anything that Parrot was going to set him free.
One day, when Parrot awoke, he looked over at the prison, and all the builders were gone. They had finished. He dropped out of the tree and wandered closer to the enormous structure. He stumbled at first, his legs wobbly from not walking for days. When Parrot moved under the shadow, he stopped to gape at the vast panels of glass spiraling and soaring into the sky above, surpassing even the clouds.
Suddenly, he noticed the gentle whooshing sound of elytra. It was close! Parrot dove into the underbrush, hoping that the reflection of the glass was enough to hide his bright feathers. At least he’d been out in the elements for so long; leaves and traces of mud covered most of his body.
But it wasn’t enough. Parrot waited for the sound to move past, but instead he saw someone spiraling down near him. It was Rekrap, who he somewhat knew, but not very well.
“Parrot?” he called out as he landed. Parrot froze, trying not to rustle any of the leaves. Rek passed right by him, muttering to himself. “I could have sworn I saw blue and green feathers. Parrot?” he called again.
Parrot closed his eyes tightly, trying to focus on not moving, when Rek lifted the ivy that covered his face.
“Okay.” Rek sighed, grinning. “I’m glad I’m not going crazy.”
Parrot sat up and spread his wings, flapping them to get some of the dirt off.
“Woah, what happened to you!”
“Bro, be quiet.” Parrot warned. “The guards will hear you.”
Rek looked at him skeptically. Parrot realized he must look stupid; covered in leaves and dirt and disheveled from lack of sleep and sustenance.
“Then why are you here?” Rek asked, helping him up. Parrot hesitated a moment before replying. Did he want to trust Rekrap? If he’d learned anything, it was that trust was dangerous. But he promised to get Wifies out, by any means, even if that meant trusting a stranger.
“My friend Wifies is trapped in there.”
“Oh, it’s a prison? What’d he do?”
“No, well–” Parrot stopped and forced himself to take a deep breath. “Spoke tricked him into a chunk ban, but then during a fight, Spoke stepped into the same ban. Now Zam wants to keep him in there forever.”
“Ahh, Prince Zam, yeah.” Rek paced back and forth. “If you get your friend out, you also release the most dangerous villain this server has seen, as well as pit yourself against the strongest empire in this world. I see the problem.”
He stopped talking and looked at Parrot. Parrot wondered what the man was thinking. He had no idea. Rek was one of the sharpest minds he knew, able to work himself out of any trap or puzzle. Void knows what went on in his brain.
“I’ll help you.” Rek stopped pacing to look up at the prison. Parrot stood next to him at a loss for words. “I’ll be your ally in this quest. We will save your friend. I will give everything I can. Every resource, every skill.”
Parrot turned to look at him, stunned.
“Deal?” Rek asked, holding out his hand. Parrot took it and slowly shook it up and down.
“Deal.”