Chapter Text
Wemmbu woke with a violent gasp as pain hit him all at once.
Everything felt agonizing. His ribs screamed every time his lungs expanded, his shoulder throbbed with every tiny movement, and his entire body felt heavy. The sudden breath he sucked in caught in his chest, forcing a strained groan from somewhere deep in his throat.
For a few panicked seconds, he couldn't remember where he was. His vision swam, blurred by exhaustion and whatever medicine someone had given him. A wooden ceiling slowly came into focus above him, unfamiliar and dimly lit by warm afternoon light filtering through a nearby window. He could feel blankets over him.
He was in a.. bed.
...A bed?
.
What?
His hand instinctively shot toward his side, only for another wave of agony to rip through him. He hissed through clenched teeth as his fingers brushed thick layers of bandages wrapped tightly around his torso. More covered his shoulder, disappearing beneath the torn remains of his shirt. There had been many stitches that sealed throughout his body.
"...What the hell..." His voice came out hoarse, barely louder than a whisper.
He pushed himself up anyway, stubbornness overriding common sense, only to immediately regret it. Another white hot pain lanced through his ribs, stealing the breath from his lungs as the room tilted dangerously around him.
"Don't move too much,” a quiet voice suddenly came from somewhere to his left. "You'll mess up the stitches."
Wemmbu let out a small moan of pain, his breath heavy from the pain. But even through the haze clouding his thoughts, he'd recognize that voice anywhere.
Slowly, wincing with every inch he turned, he looked toward the corner of the room.
“Parrot?” Wemmbu tried to not cringe at how he gasped the avian’s name. Parrot leaned back in a simple wooden chair, one elbow resting against its arm while the other hand absentmindedly rolled a bloodstained roll of bandages between his fingers. His usually neat green hair had long since fallen out of place, loose strands hanging in front of tired eyes shadowed by dark circles. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days.
His clipped wings rested stiffly behind him, feathers uneven where they folded against the back of the chair. One twitched absentmindedly before settling again.
Overall, Parrot had looked worn.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, Wemmbu simply staring as he tried to gather his own thoughts. Why was he here? What happened..?
Another sharp pain made Wemmbu groan again, the strike enforcing memories to come flooding back to him. Arachnid— that fucking bastard. Wemmbu should have seen it coming, how could he be so stupid? The more the memories came back, the more disgust Wemmbu had. That dumb grin the man had on himself as the dragon had started to crawl away, golden blood spilling out of him like crazy. He hadn’t been expecting to be led into a trap that immediately exploded him, giving Arachnid the perfect opportunity to fight him.
His hand instinctively pressed against the bandages over the wound. "...I should’ve died."
Wemmbu closed his eyes, his head slightly tilting as his thoughts cleared more. "I thought..." He swallowed, blinking slowly as he tried to piece everything together. "...I thought I was dead."
Parrot stayed silent for a long moment, not once looking over at him. "You almost did,” he said, throwing the bandages away. He didn’t elaborate any further, letting silence fill the room.
Wemmbu let his head fall back against the pillow with a pained exhale, staring blankly at the ceiling. His mind refused to catch up with reality.
None of this made sense.
He'd been left to bleed out. After barley escaping Arachnid, the spider had just let him go while laughing— claiming he’d die anyway.
"...How?" Wemmbu whispered.
Parrot paused, then looking down at the clean bandages still sitting in his lap, absentmindedly smoothing a wrinkle in the cloth with his thumb.
"I found you,” he said quietly. “You were bleeding out, bro.”
Wemmbu frowned, "you... found me?" That didn’t really give him anything.
"You lost a lot of blood,” Parrot replied, ignoring the confusion from Wemmbu. "I wasn't sure you'd wake up."
Wemmbu let out another strained breath, his face tightening as another wave of pain rolled through his chest. Every muscle in his body protested the smallest movement, his ribs aching with every inhale. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, willing the dizziness to pass.
Across from him, Parrot's expression shifted almost imperceptibly. His lips pressed into a thin line before he quietly stood, setting the clean bandages aside. Without a word, he crossed the small room and crouched beside the bed.
"Easy," he murmured.
A hand settled lightly against Wemmbu's back while the other steadied his shoulder, careful to avoid the fresh bandages. The movements were gentle enough not to aggravate the stitches, confident enough that it was obvious he'd already done this several times while Wemmbu had been unconscious.
Wemmbu hissed through his teeth as Parrot helped him into a sitting position. His vision swam for a second, black creeping into the edges until he forced himself to focus on the floorboards beneath his boots.
Parrot reached toward the bedside table, retrieving another healing potion. The glass bottle clinked softly against his ring as he uncorked it before holding it out.
Wemmbu accepted it with an unsteady hand. His fingers trembled enough that Parrot didn't immediately let go, waiting until he was sure the bottle wouldn't slip before releasing it.
The potion tasted just as awful as every other healing potion he'd ever had. Parrot couldn’t give him golden apples or something?
He grimaced, forcing himself to swallow every last drop before handing the empty bottle back. Almost immediately, warmth spread through his chest, dulling the sharper edges of the pain. His ribs still screamed every time he breathed, but it was enough that he no longer felt like he was seconds away from passing out again.
"...Thanks." The word left his mouth before he really thought about it.
The avian gave a small nod, setting the empty bottle beside the others already gathered on the table. There were... more than Wemmbu expected. A lot more. His stomach twisted.
How long had he been out?
He watched Parrot settle back into the chair at the other side of the room, exhaustion evident in every movement. He sank into the seat rather than sat, rubbing absently at one wrist before resting his elbows on his knees.
Wemmbu had a lot of questions. Why did Parrot save him after everything he’d done? The dragon’s jaw tightened. Did this mean he owed him now?
Wemmbu found himself studying him.
Good deeds always come with debt. That was just how the server worked.
Wemmbu swallowed, shifting carefully until his back rested against the headboard. Even that tiny adjustment sent another ache through his ribs, drawing a shaky breath from him.
"...Where's Theo?" Wemmbu found himself asking instead.
Parrot had never gone anywhere without Theo for long. The yellow winged avian had a habit of appearing whenever Parrot did, usually with some dumb comment or cocky grin that managed to irritate everyone in the room. If Parrot was patching up injured enemies, Theo should've been barging through the door by now to complain about how stupid they all were.
Parrot's shoulders stiffened at the question. His eyes dropped toward the floor, and for the first time since Wemmbu had woken up, something cracked through the carefully controlled expression he'd been wearing.
"...I don't know."
Without elaborating any further, he continued staring at a knot in the wooden floor.
Wemmbu let the silence linger for another few moments, his gaze drifting toward the window. Warm afternoon light spilled through the glass, illuminating dust floating lazily through the room.
Given the short answers Parrot was giving him, Wemmbu figured he’d ask about it later then. He shifted against the headboard, trying to ignore the persistent ache in his ribs. "...Where even are we?"
Parrot followed his gaze to the window before answering. "Thousands of blocks from spawn." His voice remained quiet, almost absent-minded.
"I found a stretch of forest that nobody really travels through. Built this place a few days ago."
He paused. "It's temporary."
Wemmbu’s jaw clenched. Thousands of blocks? How did Parrot even get him here? No offense to him but.. there’s a reason his best friend is Theo.
That far?
Wemmbu let Parrot’s word sink in a bit more until his stomach dropped. He was thousands of blocks away from Egg— dammit, is Egg okay? Is he still locked in that room? Is he free now that Wemmbu is.. well, dead? His fingers tightened against his arms as his mind raced.
Parrot watched him quietly, studying the way Wemmbu's expression had fallen. Whatever conclusion he came to, he kept it to himself. Instead, he leaned back in the chair with a tired sigh.
"Since you're lucid enough to ask questions..." His eyes met Wemmbu's. "...What even happened to you, bro? I found you half dead."
Wemmbu immediately looked away, arms hugs himself as he made a popping sound with his lips. How was he supposed to answer that?
‘Yeah, so I willingly worked for the guy who destroyed your kingdom because he bought my best friend like he was property and convinced me I'd get him back if I did enough terrible things.’
Yeah, no.
His arms folded tightly across his chest, immediately making him regret it as pain shot through his ribs.
"...The stupid spider backstabbed me."
Yeah, nice answer Wemmbu.
Parrot stared at him, his expression didn't change, but there was a long pause before he finally let out a slow breath through his nose. "...Betrayal, hm."
"What?"
Parrot shook his head once, “mm, nothing.”
"No, dude." Wemmbu's voice sharpened. "You said it like you meant something."
"I did. I just don't think there's much point saying it."
Wemmbu felt irritation flare in his chest. “No, no. Say what you want to say bro.”
Parrot looked at him for a long moment, eyes narrowing before finally speaking. "Bro, you betrayed everyone to help Arachnid win the war and then he backstabs you? I just think it’s ironic, but not surprising.” Bitterness swept through his words.
Wemmbu's expression hardened, "the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I think you should've known better than to trust him in the first place,” Parrot shot back.
Wemmbu let out a dry, humorless laugh, wincing as the motion pulled at the stitches in his side. "...Seriously? God, what king you are.” Wemmbu leaned back with a pout. "You don’t know anything.”
“I don’t know anything?” Parrot let out a bitter laugh of disbelief. “I, don’t know anything?” He repeated louder and stood so abruptly that the wooden chair scraped harshly against the floor, the sound echoing through the tiny cabin. "Because of you..." His voice caught for the briefest second before hardening again. "I lost everything."
Parrot wasn't looking at him anymore. He'd started pacing the room instead, one hand dragging roughly through his green hair as if trying to physically pull himself together. His clipped wings shifted restlessly behind him, feathers ruffling with every uneven breath.
"Saparata took my throne. He's King of Unstable now."
Wemmbu blinked, trying to hide how his eyes widened.
...What?
Parrot wasn't—
He wasn't king anymore?
He.. he shouldn’t be surprised. Wemmbu just.. Well, some part of him deep down figured Parrot would be able to figure it out like he always has.
"When I lost the duel..." Parrot continued, his breathing growing uneven, "he took the crown, and do you know what he's done with it?" His voice shook with grief. "He has massacred twenty-two thousand new players." Parrot had to look away then, his hand coming to rub his face as he attempted to catch his breath again.
Wemmbu simply stared. He hadn't cared enough to know the beef between the old and new players. Sure, he'd heard arguments like people complaining that the server had changed—but…
Twenty-two thousand?
That was.. Yeah that was a lot even for him.
Parrot's chest rose and fell with a shaky breath. "Twenty-two thousand people who joined this server because they thought it was somewhere they could belong." His voice had grown quieter again, but it shook with every word.
"They were just... players." He swallowed hard, his jaw clenching. "And none of it..." His voice cracked before he forced it steady. "None of it would've happened if you hadn't betrayed us."
A heavy silence settled over the cabin.
The anger that had burst from Parrot only moments ago seemed to leave him all at once. His chest rose and fell unevenly as he caught his breath, one hand braced against the edge of the table. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second before looking away, his jaw working as though he were biting back everything else he wanted to say.
The room was quiet enough that Wemmbu could hear the crackling of the fireplace in the corner.
Neither of them moved.
Wemmbu stared down at the blankets gathered over his lap, his stomach twisting into knots. His ribs still throbbed beneath the bandages, but he'd almost forgotten about the pain. It was drowned out by something far more uncomfortable.
Parrot had every reason to hate him.
Every reason to leave him bleeding in the dirt.
Instead, he'd stitched him back together.
Wemmbu’s fingers curled tightly into the blanket. And after a few more moments of silence, he quietly said something. "...I didn't have a choice."
Parrot stayed facing the window, shoulders stiff. "What?" He asked with a scoff.
"I..." Wemmbu hesitated. God, he hated this. He hated admitting when he wasn't in control.
Weakness got exploited on this server. It always had. The second someone knew what mattered to you, they used it against you. He knew that better than anyone. But, something inside of Wemmbu felt as if Parrot deserved an explanation.
His jaw clenched. "I wasn't working with Arachnid because I wanted to." He cringed at the way his voice began to shake. "I never wanted any of this."
Parrot slowly turned back toward him. His expression had softened, if only slightly. The anger hadn't disappeared, but confusion had begun to edge its way in.
Wemmbu looked anywhere but at him, eyes stelling on the floorboards.
“Parrot, he has Egg.”
Wemmbu drew in a slow breath, wincing as it tugged painfully at his stitches. The words had been barely above a whisper.
"He bought him from the invisible freak that wanted to kill Egg." A hollow laugh escaped Wemmbu before he could stop it. “Not sure if you remember that guy or not..”
Wemmbu did bother to look at Parrot, he knew the avian was staring at him.
"Arachnid, he told me..." He rubbed a hand over his face, his voice cracking with frustration. "...he told me if I did everything he asked, if I helped him win, he would free Egg.”
His fingers trembled where they rested on the blanket. “Y’know, a part of me knew he was lying.”
When he looked back up, the anger he'd been carrying since waking had vanished, replaced by something much harder to admit. “But he had Egg.”
Parrot didn't say anything when Wemmbu finished. His expression had gone still, green eyes searching Wemmbu's face as though trying to reconcile the man sitting in front of him with the one he'd spent weeks believing had willingly abandoned everyone. His jaw tightened ever so slightly before relaxing again.
The anger still lingered in his chest, refusing to disappear so easily. Capital City was still gone. Twenty-two thousand innocent players were still dead. He still didn't know where Theo or Reina were.
But Parrot should’ve known something was up. Honestly when Wemmbu flew in that first time and nuked High Water, all Parrot could think was that he should have never trusted him. In a small way, he felt blinded by his own views once again. Maybe, just maybe he could have prevented this if he’d just given the dragon a bit more credit. HIs fingers twitched slightly, but he swallowed the urge to pluck out his own feathers right now.
After several long moments, Parrot let out a quiet breath through his nose and swallowed.
"...Is Egg okay?"
Wemmbu's grip on the blanket immediately tightened, his knuckles turning pale beneath his gloves.
He couldn't answer right away. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on the wrinkled fabric in his lap, his throat suddenly feeling far too tight.
"...I don't know." The words barely left his mouth. "I..." He swallowed hard. "I don't know."
For weeks, every horrible thing he'd done had been justified by the fact that Egg was alive. Yet now he couldn't even be sure of that anymore.
Parrot watched the way Wemmbu's shoulders subtly slumped, the confidence that usually defined him nowhere to be found. The dragon hybrid looked... lost.
He pressed his lips together before quietly exhaling. Without another word, he walked back over to the chair.
For a second, Wemmbu expected him to sit. Instead, Parrot dragged it closer to the bed until it rested beside him before lowering himself into it.
"...Then we'll find out."
Wemmbu looked up, meeting Parrot’s eyes. "We're going to save him,” Parrot said.
The certainty in his voice caught Wemmbu off guard.
"There has to be a way back into Arachnid's territory. We don't know where Egg is being kept anymore, but that just means we gather information first." He spoke the way he always had when planning. "We'll stay hidden until you're able to stand without falling over. In the meantime I’m hoping to find Theo and Reina.” His eyes flicked briefly toward the bandages wrapped around Wemmbu's torso. “It’ll be tricky considering I’m exiled and you’re— well, dead. But we’ll figure it out.”
Wemmbu continued staring at him with wide eyes. His brows furrowed, eyes scanning the avian. "...Bro." His voice came out quieter than intended. "...Why?"
Parrot frowned, "Why what?"
"Why are you helping me?" Wemmbu asked if the question was obvious. "I helped destroy your kingdom. Did you forget that?"
"I know,” Parrot responded immediately. "I know exactly what happened."
Wemmbu searched his face, waiting for the catch. "So why?"
Parrot leaned back in the chair, his gaze drifting toward the window for a moment before returning to Wemmbu. "Because you were once my last hope dude."
Wemmbu blinked.
Parrot let out a quiet breath. “I.. still don’t know how to feel about this Wemmbu, I’m not gonna lie. You sacrificed thousands for one person.” Parrot’s eyes lowered to his clasped hands.
“But.. right now it seems like I’m your last hope.”
…
Several thousand blocks away, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different.
The underground meeting chamber buzzed with uneasy whispers. Members of Arachnid's faction lingered outside the heavy oak doors, speaking in hushed voices after hearing the rumors spread through the base.
"...You killed Wemmbu?" Yungy's voice cracked with disbelief.
He stood on the opposite side of the long wooden meeting table, both hands planted against its surface as he stared at the spider hybrid sitting comfortably at its head.
"B-but..." He threw both hands into the air. "Bro... how?!"
Instead of answering, Arachnid calmly shuffled through a stack of maps scattered across the table, moving a few markers around as though they were discussing crop rotations instead of murder.
"More importantly..." Yungy continued, nearly tripping over his own words, "why?"
His eyes widened. "We literally spent our entire supply buying Egg!"
He pointed accusingly toward the ceiling, where several floors above them the angel remained locked away.
"We spent weeks setting this whole thing up! We got Wemmbu exactly where we wanted him!"
Arachnid finally looked up. "He was becoming a liability."
"...A liability?"
"The promises stopped working."
Arachnid leaned back in his chair, folding one leg over the other. "At first, the hope of seeing Egg again was enough."
His fingers tapped idly against the armrest. "But every mission he became less obedient." His red eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Yungy frowned. "So... you stabbed him?"
“Oh please Yungy are you dense? I did much more than that.”
The answer came so casually that it made
Yungy stare. "Dude..." He rubbed both hands down his face.
"That's… I mean..."
He struggled to find the words. "That guy practically won us the war."
Arachnid shrugged, fingers drumming against the tabletop. "Wemmbu served his purpose."
"...I thought the objective was for you to become king." Yungy said, shifting uncomfortably.
Arachnid smiled, "It is." The smile didn't reach his eyes. "Cindercreast simply believes we've accomplished their objective."
"You're gonna betray them too?”
"Naturally."
Yungy let out a slow whistle. "...Remind me never to trust you."
"I've never asked you to."
Yungy paused, shifting uncomfortably.
Before another awkward silence could fill the room, Yungy suddenly looked up at Arachnid with a small realization. "Wait, if Wemmbu's dead..." His expression brightened slightly. "...Does that mean we're letting Egg go?"
"No."
The single word immediately wiped the hopeful look off Yungy's face.
"...No?"
"No."
"...Seriously?"
"Egg stays."
Yungy's shoulders slumped. "Bro… What do we even need him for now?" Yungy liked the guy in full honesty. There’s no point in keeping him here, might as well let him go and let him grieve on his own.
Arachnid stood, walking toward the massive map mounted against the wall. His gaze lingered over several colored markers scattered across it.
"We have another problem.” Arachnid paused, jaw tightening. “Wemmbu’s friend, the pirate.. What was his name?”
Yungy followed his gaze, “Jaden?”
“Yes! That guy. Well, the moment he learns Wemmbu is dead..."
Yungy’s brows twitched, his eyes finding the floor. "...He's going to come after us." Yungy winced. He hadn’t even thought of how Jaden would react. The pirate may not be as strong as Wemmbu, but he is still very strong.
"Wemmbu kept him cooperative,” Arachnid continued. He folded his hands behind his back.
"Without Wemmbu, Egg becomes Jaden's responsibility. Both out of obligation and the pure fact Egg is also his friend.”
Yungy's eyes slowly widened. "Oh… don’t you think that’s kinda.. A longshot? Jaden doesn’t seem like the type—”
“He will. If not for Egg, then for Wemmbu.” He smiled again, “and hopefully he’ll be a more obedient pawn than Wemmbu was.”
Yungy didn’t respond, only looking away with a small hint of guilt in his expression.
Arachnid didn't acknowledge the silence. "There is another reason for keeping Egg."
Yungy looked up with confusion as Arachnid let out a hum.
"Wemmbu's orbital cannons. Their location died with Wemmbu." Arachnid chuckled and turned toward the direction where Egg was imprisoned. "Only one other person knows where they are."
Yungy's expression slowly fell.
"If anyone knows where the orbitals are hidden," Arachnid continued. "It's him."
Yungy looked away and started biting his own tongue. "...And if he doesn't tell us?"
"...He will."