What if Wemmbu & Eggchan Fought The World That Doesn’t Exists’ King Instead?
Eggchan stands on a random platform.
It’s either floating in the endless void of space…
or part of a really cool build.
He can’t tell.
His render distance is too low to see anything beyond about twelve blocks. So for all he knows, this could be the most incredible structure ever created. Or just a floating square.
A voice booms from somewhere in the darkness. Deep, and powerful. The kind that clearly practiced this speech in the mirror.
“Mortal… you have been chosen-”
Eggchan squints into the void.
“to bear witness to my ascension-”
“Yeah, I can’t do that.”
A pause.
Then, louder, more dramatic:
“YOU ARE WORTHY OF BECOMING MY-”
From somewhere far above, in a location that absolutely should not be reachable-
“Mace Attack!”
A purple blur drops out of nowhere at concerning speeds.
TheKing was smashed by Wemmbu using [Crucible]
TheKing left the game
Silence.
Eggchan stares at the chat.
“…Did bro just, like, kill god or something?”
A beat.
“Should I be concerned about that?”
Then from somewhere above:
“Yo bro, don’t worry about it.”
Another beat.
“...Okay.”
Far beyond the veil of existence, something vast and incomprehensible seethes.
“Hey Wifies, slow down. Dean’s too far behind.” Parrot calls over his shoulder.
In front of them, snow stretches on in every direction amongst the mountains, bright enough to hurt if you stare too long. Meanwhile square clouds drift overhead in a dull, washed-out grey.
Parrot doesn’t bother checking behind him.
Wifies’ footsteps are practiced as he leaps over the large gaps, and expertly outmaneuvers powdered snow pit-traps in the otherwise safe biome.
Dean's steps, of course, are much harder to track. Oftentimes too quick or lagging, like he keeps having to correct himself. Unable to keep up with the pace that Wifies sets or else risk falling into places best avoided.
Parrot has counted six times now that Wifies has tried to give Dean the slip on this journey. Which, honestly, is impressive in a deeply annoying way.
And he’s pretty sure he’s lowballing it.
They’ve been at this little game of Mafia hide and seek for hours. And Parrots’ pretty sure they’d have been well on their way to the Farlands by now if this were the original timeline.
Suddenly, Dean shifts awkwardly in the back, and clearly misses a jump along a cliff edge.
Parrot hears a soft thud as Dean plummets down, thankfully landing in a bit of powdered snow to break their fall.
“How long do you think we have before they come back?” Wifies asks Parrot quietly, still pointing their stare directly at a disgruntled Dean trying to make their way back up the mountain.
But Parrot knows that Wifies isn't asking an actual question here.
What he’s actually doing is telling Parrot that he’s already figured out Dean has been leaking their coordinates.
“The mafia, or Dean?” Parrot snipes back. Uncaring for the game Wifies is trying to play.
But Wifies just sighs beside him.
“The mafia,” Wifies says, voice equipped with forced casualness, “that you somehow keep magically predicting the timing of.”
And Parrot freezes to his spot.
Heart thudding in his chest.
Caught in a trap.
“Not sure,” Parrot says, after a second, hoping his voice won’t falter. It wasn’t like he could ever explain to Wifies how he knew his information. “Doesn’t really matter anyway.”
Wifies barely shifts at that. Simply humming in thought. “Doesn’t it?”
And while the tone is calm, there’s something about the way Wifies keeps quietly staring Dean down which sets Parrot on edge.
Like a decision’s already been made and Wifies is just waiting for the right moment to act on it.
“We could go, you know.” Wifies says suddenly, under his breath. It’s quiet enough that Parrot barely catches it.
“No.” Parrot says bluntly.
“It’d be safer.” Wifies presses, turning just a fraction.
But Parrot doesn't take the bait. Instead he stares ahead at all of the places someone could use to ditch someone without anyone noticing, and makes a mental note to steer clear.
“Probably.” Parrot says into the wind, pointedly still waiting for Dean to catch back up. “But we’re not doing that.”
Thankfully, Dean makes the jump on the third try.
Their boots hit the snow just a little too hard, breaking the tension held in the air.
Dean lingers there for a moment, looking at them like he’s deciding whether it’s safe to move.
Wifies, of course, doesn’t bother to step in.
“Nice jump.” Parrot comments, and lays down a few bits of cobblestone to guide Dean the rest of the way to safety.
However the gaze Wifies’ has trained on him is far harsher than any bit of terrain could possibly match.
“It’s funny,” Wifies says, tone casual in that very deliberate way. And Parrot winces. “That the Mafia has managed to keep finding us. Makes you wonder how, doesn’t it, Dean?”
A beat passes, and Parrot watches as Wifies holds Dean's gaze. With Dean shifting uncertainly beneath it.
“…no idea,” Dean says after a second, not looking either of them in the eye.
Parrot takes a step forward in between the two of them.
“It doesn’t matter how.” Parrot says, offering Dean a reassuring glance. However, Dean's eyes are still trained silently on the frosty ground.
Parrot can’t help the small twist in his gut.
He turns to Wifies then, with a slightly more imploring tone. “Wifies, why don’t you take the lead for a bit. I’ll stay back here with Dean.”
“...Right.” Wifies says softly, like Parrot has just confirmed something for him.
But when Parrot glances over, the look Wifies shoots him is cutting, edged with quiet disapproval.
And Parrot knows instantly that Wifies has figured out that Parrot already knew Dean has been leaking their coordinates...but wasn’t doing anything about it.
Parrot lets Wifies walk ahead of him after that. Making absolutely sure to keep Dean within his sight range.
The terrain turns rough as they climb higher. The snow blocks thin, exposing stone patches that stand in contrast against the white.
Every once in a while, they even see the occasional goat walking along the mountain range.
Wifies moves with ease, expertly navigating over a narrow ridge, before suddenly pausing.
A second later, a loud thwack rings out, and Parrot and Dean share a look.
Just as Parrot is about to call out, however, Wifies reappears over the ridge.
With a small item now held in their off hand.
“Well…didn’t expect that.” Wifies says, showing off the curved dark object.
“Is that a goat horn?” Dean askes, inching his way forward.
Wifies nods, turning to show Parrot. “A pretty rare one too. Yearn.”
“Oh, that’s cool.” Dean remarks as Wifies turns it over in thier hotbar.
And Parrot stops.
Not fully. But enough that his next step doesn't feel like it comes when it's supposed to.
As if the world has just dropped out from under him.
He’d forgotten about the goat horn.
His surroundings blur.
And for some reason it feels like everything goes out of focus.
Like if he tries to reach out, his hand won't quite meet anything.
Parrot can hear Wifies start to say something.
But Parrot can't catch it.
He just stares at the goat horn in Wifies hand.
Listening to the sound of his own heart beating louder in his ears while the world fades at the edges.
Until Parrot isn’t sure what he’s looking at anymore.
Himself running? Flying machines all around him.
Sprinting to close a distance that refuses to shrink fast enough.
Chaos.
Shooting an arrow.
Himself, knocking an Invis member right off the side of a redstone flying machine.
“…Parrot?”
A totem popping.
Dean right there.
Close enough to reach.
“Parrot??”
But not enough to save.
“Parrot?!”
A horn going off-
“Parrot!!” Wifies suddenly yells, the sound blasting out his ear drums.
Parrot jumps back, and all around him the winter mountains snap back into place.
Wifies is standing in front of him now.
A lot closer than he’d been just a second ago.
Their eyes lock in on him.
“…You just, stopped.”
And Parrot blinks, before quickly snatching his gaze away from the horn.
“Sorry.” He says, looking down at the snow.
Not a battlefield.
“You okay?” Dean asks. “Lag?”
And Parrot rubs a hand down his face. Trying to get back his bearings. “Just… zoned out for a sec. I’m fine.”
Wifies gaze lingers on him for a lot longer than it should have.
But thankfully, he doesn't push it.
Instead, Wifies just tosses the horn down lightly on the ground in front of him.
“Should I get rid of it?” Wifies asks him quietly.
And Parrot backs up. His gaze lingering on the horn for a moment too long.
“No. I’d rather not.” Parrot stammers. “You can…just hold onto it.”
Wifies looks at him, silently, before nodding and carefully picking the horn back up. One tick later and the horn disappears. Safely tucked away into Wifies inventory, and out of Parrot's sight.
Parrot decides he doesn't want to talk much after that.
Instead he sticks close to Dean's side as they continue to travel. Helping them to navigate any slight adjustments, or random changes in direction.
Honestly, it should feel like progress.
But it doesn't.
Because every once in a while Wifies tries to take an odd route. Deliberately going through places that only work if you were fast enough and knew how to block parkour or clutch accurately.
All things Parrot knew Dean definitely didn’t know how to do.
Parrot stops, and watches as Dean hesitates on the edge of the cliff. Again.
Right.
That was enough.
“Go around, Dean,” Parrot says, already motioning to a much safer snow cleared route. “I’ll meet you on the other side.”
Dean nods, seemingly relieved, and begins taking a long stone covered pathway down the cliff side.
Parrot cuts across the cravass immediately, clutching and ignoring the uneven terrain.
Wifies stands on the other side, waiting for him. Like nothing had happened.
Something boiles under Parrots skin.
“Wifies, can you quit trying to leave Dean behind?”
And Wifies turns to look at him.
Just slightly.
“Why?”
Parrot feels his hand tighten over the mouse.
“What do you mean why?”
Wifies exhales through his nose, before turning and stepping towards him.
Parrot tries to look to the side. Not that it helps.
“Parrot,” Wifies says, more directly, “you know that if he wasn’t here, we wouldn’t have to keep side tracking all the time, right?”
Parrot can hear his heart thudding in his chest.
“…I don’t care.” He insists. “We’re not leaving him. He won’t make it on his own.”
Wifies looks at him properly then. Crosshairs locking into him.
“Parrot, he’s a liability.” Wifies says flatly. “We are the ones who aren't safe when he’s around.”
Parrot grits his teeth. “We made a promise to him, Wifies.”
“Which doesn’t matter.” Wifies insists. “He’s going to get us killed.”
Parrot snaps.
“I’m not going to let that happen!” He shouts back, breath ragged.
And for a moment, Wifies doesn’t move. He just observes Parrot, as his words fall into silence through the cracks of the mountain range.
Then Wifies laughs under his breath, sharp and empty.
“Parrot,” Wifies tries again, voice quieter now, “Even if we leave, Dean would be fine. He is not the one in danger here. We are.”
Parrot’s stomach twists.
“Look,” Wifies continues, tone softening, “if you’re worried, we can come back for him later and-”
“No!” Parrot snaps, not even bothering to let him finish. Seeing Wifies’ plan for what it actually was. “I already have a plan. We aren't leaving him!”
Wifies goes still, exhaling slowly, tension leaking out of him.
“Parrot… you won’t even tell me what your plan actually is.”
And Parrot tries to respond, but it’s like his voice won’t work.
He opens his mouth.
But nothing comes out.
There is nothing he can say here.
“Please. Let’s just go.” Wifies says, softly. “I will get us somewhere safe. I promise.”
And Parrot wants to scream.
Scream at Wifies.
At this server.
At everything.
…but his he can’t.
Because the worst part is-
Wifies isn’t wrong.
Dean was going to keep leaking their coordinates. And they were in danger.
Plus even if they somehow kept managing to dodge the mafia and got to Theo…
nothing would change.
…
So what could he do?
Because if he did nothing….
Parrot shakes his head, trying to banish the image of totems popping and pressure plates from his mind.
But the thoughts still sit there, heavy and irritating and impossible to ignore.
“...Please, Parrot.” Wifies pushes, something else leaking into thier tone now. The kind of thing that turns into action if left alone for too long. “Just… consider it?”
And Parrot backs away, with Wifies eyes still trailing after him.
His breathing is coming way too fast.
Sharp, and uneven. Each inhale catching like it doesn’t quite land.
Why was it that every time he tried to do the right thing it always ended the same?
Parrot grips the mouse like a lifeline.
And exhales slowly.
Forcing himself to think.
…He has the knowledge.
He just… stupidly…hasn't been using it.
Something Theo probably would’ve chewed him out for…
He was supposed to be the plan guy after all.
…Maybe it was time he started acting like it.
Parrot’s jaw tightens.
Fine then.
No more excuses.
No more holding back.
Screw the future.
Parrot lifts his head, meeting Wifies’ gaze properly this time.
And refuses to look away.
Avoiding it had changed nothing.
If anything, it was only making it worse.
“You want a plan?” Parrot finally says, voice quieter now, but steady in a way it hadn’t been before. “Fine.”
Parrot lines up all the possibilities in his head. All the routes he could take to achieve his goals.
But it wasn’t something he could explain. Not without sounding insane. So he didn’t try.
Instead, he meets Wifies’ gaze fully this time, even as his breath catches.
“I’m going to get us out of this, Wifies.” Parrot promises. “We’re not dying here. Not you. Not Dean. None of us.”
Wifies gaze shifts, doubt and hesitation falling off him in waves.
“…Parrot-”
“I know what I’m doing.” Parrot reaffirms.
I’m going to save you too.
“But we’re not leaving Dean,” Parrot adds out loud.
And Wifies holds his gaze back against him.
Silent.
But Parrot doesn’t look away.
He can’t.
The snow particles drift between them, slow and weightless, catching in a space neither of them dares close.
“…Alright.” Wifies says at last. Voice softening. “What do you have in mind?”
And Parrot exhales slowly, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
But he can’t stay idle for long.
Because he did need a solid plan here after all.
Or Theo was going to have to stop calling him the smartest player…
So Parrot gets to work.
He goes through everything he knows.
Searching for anything that could be useful.
If he was right about the timeline, then they had been on the run for a significant amount of time.
In fact, he was positive that they were right around when he'd found an Allay in the original timeline…
And of course, just like the original, they were still being tracked...
Suddenly, Parrot stops. And everything else falls away as an idea takes hold in his mind.
Because if their coordinates were going to be leaked anyway…
Then maybe they shouldn't bother running in the first place.…
Maybe…they just needed to prioritize who found them first.
Parrot’s mind sharpens. Snapping around the idea and clicking the pieces further into place.
It could work. No. It would work.
His pulse steadies.
“…Wifies.”
“Yeah?”
“We are going to give the horn to Dean.”
Wifies looks at him. “…You’re serious?”
And Parrot smiles, gazing out at the snowy tundra. A place perfect for pittraps, and plenty of hideaways.
“I have an idea.” Parrot says, trying to emphasize his confidence. “Just, tell Dean that it’s for if he gets separated or something.”
“Parrot, you know that’s going to bring the Mafia right to us.” Wifies states. Clearly unhappy with the idea.
And Parrot nods. “...I know.”
Wifies eyes him over, as though weighing something. “And you…want that?”
This time, Parrot doesn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
Wifies holds his gaze for a second longer. As though searching for something.
So Parrot returns it back, hoping that the friend he once had is still there.
“Will you help me, Wifies?” Parrot asks.
But Wifies doesn’t answer right away. He just looks at him, standing there in the snow covered mountains.
For a moment, it feels like he might push back.
But Parrot doesn’t look away.
Then finally, Wifies exhales-
…and nods.
“Alright, so what are you planning to do?”
And Parrot can't help but laugh at the irony of it all.
“Oh, you know.” He says, “Just catch an invisible player.”
He’d been flying for, well…he wasn’t actually sure. But he was getting real sick of seeing literally every biome except the one he actually needed!
Every once in a while he’d look behind him. Checking for any signs of pursuers.
Meanwhile his finger had evolved past all human limitations to become the world's greatest auto rocket clicker.
…Restocking later was going to be an absolute nightmare.
Still, even as he flew, that weird feeling of being followed refused to go away.
So his finger would just have to tough it out.
It was only as Theo passed over an ocean, that he finally felt like he’d scored a minor victory.
Snow.
And a bunch of ice blocks stretching up out of an ocean biome's depths.
Theo drifted easily between the pillars, weaving over the water and through the frozen spikes, riding the first decent lead he’d had in a while.
Ice was good.
After all, there could only be so many snow covered biomes close-ish to spawn, right?
This meant he had to be on the right track to the Northern Council!
…
…Yeah, there was no way he’d actually managed to miss the coordinates and had flown straight into the middle of nowhere...
That would be ridiculous.
Everything was fine.
Tiny, soft white specks drifted down around him as he flew. Masking his surroundings in a layered blur of particles, thick enough to hide the extra set of particles above him.
“See? Easy.” Theo muttered into the wind, like saying it out loud might actually make it come true.
It didn’t.
And suddenly a rocket tore through the air above him.
Instinct took the wheel as Theo snapped his elytra sideways. Just in time to avoid some invisible player dropping down on top of him.
Rude.
The player whizzed past him in a flash of particles, careening through the exact spot where his hit box had been only a fraction of a second before.
Theo twisted, adjusting mid flight, and watching the streak of diamond trimmed netherite as the player rocketed by.
Round two, he guessed.
Cutting a one eighty turn, the Diamond trim blasted directly at him. Obviously looking to slam straight into his hit box.
Theo veered off, avoiding the worst of it.
But not all.
The player had come back at him in a heartbeat, this time aiming for a sword crit in mid-air. He’d dodged the full crit, but had practically gotten body-checked out of the sky.
Theo’s health dipped enough to be annoying.
Goodbye gap supply.
Theo readied his hotbar, as he chugged down the apple. Behind him the Diamond trim had launched off another rocket. This time zipping past him in a streak of black and blue.
Wait. Was this guy actually trying to knock him out of the sky with a sword?
…They were diamond trim.
Where was the mace?
However, Theo didn’t have much time to ponder on that before two more rockets abruptly shot off behind him.
Theo F5’ed.
“Seriously?”
Two gold trims were coming up fast. One on his left, and one higher above, both angling in like they’d done this before.
Right. So he just couldn’t catch a break.
Well, okay. Group funeral, then.
Theo snap clicked a rocket and surged forward, the terrain whipping past his face.
Behind him the golds followed. Their wings cutting the angles of the ice pillars. It felt like they were forcing him into narrower and narrower flight paths over the ice spikes. If he had to guess, they were probably trying to cut him off, or force him to crash.
Yeah, not a chance.
Theo dropped, cutting his glide and diving in between two ice pillars. The world turned into tight turns and near misses, ice rushing past within single block radius.
Above him, more rockets blasted. And suddenly the Diamond trim dive bombed him for another crit.
Theo barely managed to swoop out of the way in time.
He skimmed lower now, weaving through the spikes. But above him the Diamond kept pace, adjusting mid-air like gravity was optional to them.
All at once Theo abruptly pulled up, twisting up and over one of the taller spikes, attempting to make one of them crash.
One of the golds smacked straight into a pillar, but unfortunately the Diamond followed above him perfectly.
Theo realized he was probably going to need to pot up soon.
The ice spike biome stretched around him, jagged towers rising from frozen water. But not exactly ideal for TNT detonations.
He needed some better terrain.
Theo adjusted his render distance. Scanning the area ahead and finding long stretches of flat ice connecting the base of the pillars.
It would have to do.
Behind him, the gold trims clearly struggled to adjust to his rapid weaving maneuvers.
One of them even clipped another ice spike, losing a bit of speed and taking some damage. Unfortunately, no matter what Theo did, they never fell behind for long.
So all he could do was keep rocketing forward, and keep using the ice spikes as shields.
Then, at last, they reached flat ice. And a small grin tugged at Theo’s face.
He cut his speed.
Just slightly.
Enough to look like a mistake.
Behind him, the gold trims committed immediately, blasting more rockets and diving harder at him, trying to capitalize on his ‘mess up’.
Theo dropped over the ice.
Fast.
He unequipped his elytra, boots slamming into the ice, and skidding across the flat land.
It didn’t matter for the moment that his health took a dip.
High risk, high reward.
And Theo was already moving.
He shot the arrow before even putting the rail down.
Then slammed the rest of it down a near second later.
The first gold trim collided with the ground way too hard. Mistakenly going straight into the minecart's explosion radius.
Later, buddy, Theo thought, just as his arrow struck its mark.
The poor gold trim went up before they even knew what hit them. Careening high in the sky in a flurry of blast particles.
Theo congratulated them on their impromptu space launch, and pearled after them.
By the time they came back down, Theo already had another minecart waiting for them.
A ban message went out before they even hit the ground.
But Theo wasn’t finished yet.
The second gold trim landed nearly a split second later, and from their erratic movements, Theo could tell they had attempted to abort the landing.
Too bad their momentum was already set.
In a fraction of a second they’d smashed straight into hard ice. Only for Theo to enderpearl right into their face, and hit them with an instant drop.
Theo grinned as the gold trim blew up in a pile of dropped gear, decorating their impact.
“And thanks for the restock!” He yelled, picking up their rockets.
Above him a shadow passed overhead, circling the hole he’d ripped straight through the ice.
Theo had hoped he was going to get a three for three. But unfortunately, the Diamond trim simply hovered above an ice spike, circling the crater that Theo had caused. Completely untouchable on their elytra.
Theo exhaled, rolling his shoulders as he potted up on the ice, and adjusted his hotbar.
It was go time.
Above him, the Diamond dipped their head at him, as if considering something.
“Yo, you up for a ground fight?” Theo taunted them. “Or are you here for the show?”
The Diamond cut their glide instantly, and dropped down on top of him.
Theo waited for the tell tale sound of a mace hit, reading up his shield just in case.
But again, there was none.
Instead Theo’s attacker landed in front of him, with an enchanted netherite sword flashing way too close to his face.
Theo didn’t wait.
He pearled and triggered his first TNT minecart. The explosion sending snow and ice scattering in all directions.
The Diamond trim pearled after him, sliding on the ice while Theo tried to reangle and get better access to their hit box.
But no dice.
The Diamond would always pearl forward the moment Theo laid down a rail.
Whoever this was, the way they moved was both skilled, and intense.
Theo sprinted, dropping a quick tnt cart underfoot, and then blocked over it, hoping to snipe them. Meanwhile, he kept strafing to the left as the Diamond swung, and raised his shield to get the block off in time.
Every move he made, the Diamond matched. So Theo pivoted midair, landing on a narrow ice ridge, and firing an arrow directly into the Diamond’s path, hoping to hear the cart explode before sliding back into cover.
But by the time he skidded to a stop, the Diamond was already back on him, netherite sword drawn, ready for the next strike.
Theo had to hand it to them, they were leagues ahead of the two Daimond's he’d fought before.
For a second Theo gauged them.
The way this dude maneuvered was without a doubt only something someone who had practiced relentlessly could pull off.
So whoever they were, it was someone with a natural skill in sword pvp…
...Who picked up techniques very fast...
…And had beef with maces…
..
.
Yeah, that wasn’t good…
And Theo’s heart started to race.
Because, if he was right about this, then this fight was about to be a very interesting.
…And also an incredibly dangerous.
Theo let his next minecart explode harmlessly nearby. Enough to bait the Diamond player into going in for another hit.
Almost immediately, the player reacted by slipping past the blast, and executing a perfect sword combo.
One Theo knew all too well.
His shaky grin widened into a full smile.
“Hey, Flame,” he called out casually, like he wasn’t in a fight for his life here. Almost immediately, the player's head snapped towards him. “So how’s the whole immortal demon thing going?”
His only reply was the Diamond diving back at him with an aggressive combo maneuver. Sword baring down in a flurry of strikes with constant, suffocating pressure.
Yeah, that was Flame alright.
…
He should probably stop messing around then.
Theo let that thought hang for only a moment, before he snap triggered a minecart and let his moves do the talking.
If Flame wanted to try to bring him down, then they were going to have to earn every swing they took.
More ice erupted around them into smoking particles. But Theo didn’t even bother to look. There was no room for hesitation here. If this really was Flame, he had to adapt.
And fast.
He sprinted forward, jumping over jagged spikes and massive craters, closing the gap while rails and TNT detonated in his wake.
He threw his shield up in an instant, relying on instinct to block an attack he already knew was coming.
In response, the diamond trim S tapped backwards, before snapping back in for another brutal combo.
Dangerous.
Theo didn’t even pretend to dodge the crit this time. Instead he tanked the hit, laying down the groundwork for a surprise of his very own.
Every nerve locked on the move he’d been waiting for.
Then he struck.
And suddenly the world cracked open between them in a burst of white.
The world tore apart in a deafening blast. Snow and ice shards shot skyward like shrapnel, rails and TNT exploding in every direction, scattering in smoke particles across the frozen battlefield. The icy ground beneath them shattered into water blocks, cracking and splintering under the sheer force.
But Theo didn’t even flinch.
He’d already swapped a totem into his offhand before the blast went off.
Twin sets of green and gold particles shot out from between the two of them. Effects spiraling outwards, like they were both fireworks gone wild. For a split second, he could see the mirrored particles on the Diamond trims player model. And Theo realized that they must have swapped to a totem, same as him.
Dude had quick reflexes, he’d give him that.
The silence hit just as fast as the explosion had. And Theo pearled backwards across the ice, skidding to the edge of the crater, and stabilizing himself as the smoke and totem particles cleared.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Across from him, a nametag burned clear now:
FlameFrags.
No more guessing.
Theo rolled his shoulders, adjusting his grip on his mouse, eyes held forward.
The two of them stood at opposite ends of a crater that looked less like a TNT minecart had exploded, and more like a meteor impact.
Theo had, after all, just insta-carted them both. With stacked minecarts no less…And at point blank range.
Theo smiled, admiring his work. Both of them probably had completely wrecked netherite armor at this point.
But he knew this little bit of silence wouldn’t last for long.
Ice crunched under his boots as he shifted his positioning.
He kept his eyes firmly locked on the man who would one day claim infamy on the Unstable Smp.
I didn’t log off.
I didn’t move.
For a while, I just stood there in the mine, staring at the space where Lomedy had been. Like if I didn’t look away, the world might fix itself.
But nothing changed.
It was like everything had reverted back to its previous state.
My game wasn’t bugging anymore. No more static. There was just the normal cave noises along with the faint echo of lava bubbling somewhere deeper down.
Even my inventory was still full of the same blocks and PVP kits...
As if everything was normal.
…Except Lomedy wasn’t there anymore.
I stayed in that cave far longer than I should’ve.
For the first time in a very long time, I felt…
Like I couldn’t do anything.
It was frustrating.
Lomedy was gone.
And I couldn’t do anything…
That thought is what finally got me moving.
Immediately I went back up to the farm.
I don’t know why.
Maybe I thought if something took him, it would’ve left something behind. A mistake? Something I could use to understand what had just happened.
But the base was normal. The farm looked exactly like how Lomedy left it. All the wheat rows well tended to. Like Lomedy could just walk back in any second and pick up right where he left off.
For a while I stared at the wheat farm.
Lomedy liked to talk a lot when we worked. Nothing crazy. Just fun small comments. Stuff about the farm, about plans, or just messing around to have fun.
Now the base was silent…
I started checking everything.
And I mean everything.
The chests. The barrels. Even under the base, and around the edges of the canyon. I walked the perimeter twice, slower the second time, like I’d missed something.
But there was nothing.
No clues.
No proof of where Lomedy had gone.
Or how.
After a bit, it felt wrong standing in that massive base alone.
So by the time I made a third pass around the outer canyon, I knew I wouldn’t be able to figure this out on my own.
It was becoming clear that I needed an actual expert's help, if I wanted to get Lomedy back. Missing persons cases just weren’t my specialty.
What I needed was someone smart enough to figure out whatever clues may be left behind to track Lomedy down.
And then I could crit out that player-thing myself.
Thankfully, there was one person on this server that I knew could do exactly that. And even better, I’d worked with them before.
So I made the long trek to the Northern Council.
When I got there, a few people were milling around a refurbished courtyard just outside the castle, which apparently had gotten a full upgrade after Wemmbu had completely nuked it thrice over.
Eventually I spotted my target in a meeting room. They’d apparently been finishing up something with a couple other players I slightly recognized: Horace and Fymada.
I had no doubt the courtyard’s much nicer state was Horace's doing.
As I stepped in the room, Theobaldthebird, a former minecart PVPer, and minecart trainer cut me off.
He’d clearly been taking this whole bodyguard thing seriously.
“Hold up, Flame, you gotta state your business to the King's royal guard.”
“I- what? Bro, I just need to talk to Parrot.”
“Parrots in a meeting.”
“Yeah, I do not care bro.”
“You’re gonna have to wait your turn buddy."
“Oh my god, Bro can you just move.”
“Say please.” Theo taunted.
“You wanna go bro?” I snapped.
“Maybe. Could be a good warm up.”
Honestly, it was tempting…
But suddenly, I could hear footsteps quickly approaching towards us. And soon Parrot's head popped out of the doorway.
“Theo, can we not blow up the castle please?” Parrot asked, stepping up to Theo’s side, before quickly glancing over at me.
“Hey Flame.”
I gave a quick nod. “Hey.”
Parrot looked back at Theo “If you two are looking for a place to train, there are sparring areas nearby. Horace just refurbished this place, so… try not to blow it up with TNT.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Theo grumbled and turned back to me. “Are we doing this?”
I sighed. As tempting as a sparring session with Theo was, I had something far more important to take care of.
“Actually,” I started. “I’m here to talk to Parrot.”
Theo swung a fist at nothing, visibly tweaking out. “Oh c’mon! I’m bored!”
I huffed a laugh. Poor guy. Being the King’s guard apparently didn’t provide enough action.
Parrot turned back to me, clearly surprised.
“Really? Uh, sure.”
Then he glanced back at Horace and Fymada “As long as you two are good? We can talk later.”
The two others glanced at each other before giving their agreements and soon Theo was seeing them both out. Theo muttered something about escort missions being “pain,” and then they were gone.
“So what’s up?” Parrot asked curiously, giving me his full attention. “Everything okay?”
“Uh…Not really, bro.” I started. “I uh, kinda need your help.”
Parrot looked at me, serious. “Players aren't attacking you, right? We sent out a telegram. Everyone knows you’re no longer Wanted.”
I tilted my head at him. “Uh… I mean I’ve had a few run-ins with some Law guys with a grudge, but that’s uh, not really why I’m here, bro.”
Parrot inclined his head at that, and I took a breath.
“…Lomedy’s missing. ” I said.
Parrot paused.
“Missing?” He asked, slowly. “What do you mean?”
I recounted what had happened yesterday. The way Lomedy was randomly forgetting things. The odd glitching, and the player Lomedy and I had found lurking in the mines.
“And then Lomedy and them just up and disappeared out of existence, bro.” I finished.
“Okay. Stop. Stop. Describe that part again,” Parrot cut in. “The disappearing thing.”
I exhaled.
“I don’t know. They just blipped bro. It was like one second everything was normal and then suddenly my speakers were frying out. I couldn’t see anything cuz my game was glitching out so bad. And the next? Bro was gone.”
Parrot was quiet.
“No ender pearl particles?” he asked.
“No.”
“Totem?”
I shook my head, and Parrot hummed. He’d started pacing around, clearly deep in thought.
“And you said there was another player there?” he asked. “Did you get a look at the nametag?”
“Yeah.” Flame nodded. “The dude's name was Nufuli.”
Parrot stopped moving.
And turned his head slowly towards me.
“…That’s not possible.”
I shrugged. “Look I don’t know what to tell you bro. That’s the name I saw.”
“No,” Parrot insisted. “I mean it’s literally not possible.”
His words held a finality I couldn’t disagree with.
“What do you mean?”
Parrot had begun pacing back and forth again. “I watched Nufuli die, Flame.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“What?”
“He got banned.” Parrot explained. “It happened months ago. To an arrow cannon. I even saw the ban message.”
“What the-?,” I said. “But I know for sure that was the name I saw!”
“Hold on,” Parrot said, suddenly going quiet. But I could hear the soft tapping of his keyboard over the mic.
If I had to guess, Parrot had probably just opened the tab list. It was smart. Something most players would never bother to check. There were literally multiple thousands of players online, so scrolling through a list that huge was pain staking work.
After several minutes of silence Parrot finally spoke.
“Lomedy’s still online.” He said, deep in thought.
I blinked. “What?”
“His name is still there.” Parrot explained. “Nufuli’s isn’t. But Lomedy’s is.”
“Are you serious, bro?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Lomedy is still on the server.”
My chest tightened. “Then how did he just disappear like that?”
Parrot stared out the meeting room windows. A soft snow fall had started. “Well, If he didn’t die and he didn’t log out… then he probably just got teleported somewhere.”
“Like a remote TP?” I asked.
“Maybe. An old ender pearl stasis is possible.” Parrot theorized. “You also said your screen glitched out. So it could be some kind of exploit. There are ways.”
“So bros not banned?”
“No,” Parrot said carefully. “It’s weird though. The image he has on the tab list...”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s looks… greyed out.” Parrot says carefully. “Like someone used some kind of filter over it. Did he always have a black and white skin?”
“No.” I say, shaking my head. “He has brown hair and yellow eyes.”
“Well the eyes are still yellow.” Parrot murmurs. “That’s weird though.”
“I sorta remember his skin looking odd right before he teleported.” I say, slightly shaking his head.
“Well,” Parrot says, trying to lighten the mood. “At least it’s a good sign that they show up on the tab list.”
Yeah…a good sign.
Then I remembered something.
“Wait! The signs, bro!”
Parrot looked up at me. “Signs?”
“Yeah! They kept appearing around the farm. And in mine. Had a buncha dots and lines. Didn’t mean anything to me.”
Parrot stared at me.
“Place one.”
“Huh?”
“Show me.”
I grabbed a sign and typed out the one I remembered, whilst simultaneously mentally kicking myself for breaking the others when I did.
Maybe, if I had left them, I may have been able to show Parrot. But I hadn’t really known they mattered at the time.
But this one, I definitely remembered…It was hard to forget when it was placed right in front of me.
After a few short clicks, I step back, and let Parrot take a crack at it.
For a few moments, Parrot doesn’t say anything
Then, very quietly. “That’s morse code.”
“It's what?”
“Morse code,” Parrot clarifies. “It's something sailors used to use to communicate. It's supposed to be auditory though. Not written out like this.”
“Then why is this one?”
“Don’t know. But it looks like someone was leaving coded messages for you both.”
“That's…weird.” I say slowly. "What's the point of that?”
“Well, maybe someone was trying to tell you something.” Parrot says, deeply staring down the sign. “Something they didn't want just anyone to read.”
My stomach dropped.
“Okay…so what were they trying to tell me?”
Parrot goes back to pacing. “Depends on what the message is.”
I flick my hand at the sign on the ground.
“There was one that looked exactly like this, bro.” I say, staring at the offending sign. “It just popped up right in front of me after I left my computer.”
Parrot looked at the sign.
Then at me.
“Run.” He says.
“What?”
“It says ‘Run,’ Flame.”
Neither of us spoke for a few seconds after that. It felt like someone had pulled a rug out from under me. I grit my teeth just slightly.
“Yeah,” I finally say, “that’s not happening.”
Parrot glances at me. Then nods slowly in understanding. Outside the snow fell in quiet drifting particles.
“Then we are going to need more information.” He says.
I level him with a look. “The mine. There were more tunnels. There could be more signs in it.”
Parrot turns and pulls out a few shulkers, clearly gearing up.
I see a small spyglass flit into his offhand. Then he pops down a sign, probably to tell Theo where we are going, before turning back to me.
We headed back to the farm first. Parrot insisted on checking it for clues that I may have missed. He was the expert here, so I let him do his thing.
The sun was low now, casting long shadows over Lomedy’s wheat field. Parrot slowed down when we got there, looking over a section of Lomedy’s wheat farm.
“This isn’t as neat as you described.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
He gestured toward a section of the wheat field. Where some of the rows were slightly off or missing patches of wheat all together.
“That section,” I said, pointing. “That’s the one some guy named Tyler supposedly told him to plant.”
Parrot looked over at me.
“Who’s Tyler?”
“No idea.” I admitted. “Lomedy was talking about him like they’d been planning it together. Then he forgot mid-sentence.”
Parrot didn’t respond.
Then he immediately started blocking upwards.
“What are you doing?” I called from below, craning my neck.
“Checking something!”
He was so far up I could barely make out his silhouette on the dirt pillar. I could just barely see him pull out a spyglass and hold it up.
Then he went still.
“…Flame!” He called down.
“What?”
“It’s not random.”
My pulse kicked up, drumming in my ears.
“The wheat,” he said slowly. “The planted sections. The empty rows. They’re patterned.”
I backed up, trying to look from lower ground. But I still couldn’t see it.
Then Parrot dropped back down beside me, his tone kinda grim.
“It’s morse code again.” He said, quietly. “A bunch of numbers. Pretty sure they’re coordinates.”
“Coordinates to where?”
He read them off, and my stomach twisted.
“That’s near the mine.”
Parrot met my eyes. “Convenient.”
_______________ .--- ..- ... - _________________
We didn't need to walk far. Just off from where the original mine entrance dipped down. The sun had almost disappeared below the horizon.
But when we arrived, someone was already there. A player.
AbbyTree
They were deep into the stone layer, swinging their pickaxe with practiced strokes, like they’d been there a long time. The rhythmic thud of pick against stone echoed through the tunnel entrance, bouncing off the walls and sending a shiver down my spine.
Parrot and I exchanged a look before approaching.
“Hi there!” Parrot called out.
The player’s head lifted slowly.
“Sorry to disturb you.” Parrot said, voice polite and measured. “We didn’t know that anyone would be around here.”
The player said nothing, just stared.
“This place is close to the Law base,” I said carefully. “What are you doing here?”
They turned to me, slowly.
“Mining.” they said. Their voice was flat. Like a monotone drone.
Parrot tilted his head, pretending casualness. “And you just happened to find this spot?”
“Yes.”
There was no way.
My gut screamed it. And judging by the way Parrot was fidgeting with his hotbar, he felt it to.
I was just about to call them out on it when suddenly Parrot punched me.
I whipped around to glare at him, but he was still focused on the other player.
“Oh thats cool.” Parrot said, voice dripping with forced friendliness. “We were just going to go mining too actually. Did you want to come with us?”
“What the? We arnt-”
Parrot punched me again.
“It would be fun!” Parrot insisted cheerfully.
AbbyTree paused.
There was a slow glance from Parrot to me.
Then… they nodded.
“Sure.”
I wanted to scream. What the hell were we even doing bro?
Inside the mine, Parrot kept a wide berth between us and AbbyTree, moving cautiously as we made our way down into the tunnels.
Then he quietly turned to me.
“You leave your base,” he murmurs, “and suddenly some random player shows up digging in the exact area your coordinates lead to? Doesn't seem like a coincidence does it.”
“Guess there's a reason they call you the smartest player huh.”
“Maybe,” he said, voice low, eyes scanning the dim tunnel. “We’ll see.”
________________ ... .- ...- . _________________
The tunnel swallowed up the light faster than I remembered.
I offhanded a torch but the walls felt like they pressed inwards. As if the stone itself was curving towards us. Every footstep echoed too sharply. Every breath sounded louder than it should have.
I didn’t like being back here.
Every step we took was too long. And every move we made sounded almost out of place. Meanwhile, the tunnel itself was just… silent.
AbbyTree walked slightly ahead of us.
Parrot didn’t say anything else out loud, but I could tell he was watching everything. Every movement. Every turn. Every time AbbyTree paused for even half a second longer than normal.
We moved deeper. The stone turning into deepslate.
Eventually we came upon a sign.
This time it was placed on the wall. Its dots and dashes were spaced oddly. Haphazardly. Like someone had typed it in a rush.
AbbyTree stopped. “What is that?”
Parrot stepped forward before I could answer. “Probably someone messing around,” he said lightly. Then, without hesitation, he broke the sign.
We kept moving.
A few steps later, when AbbyTree drifted just a little further ahead, Parrot slipped something into my inventory: A book.
When I opened it up, it was clearly something written by Parrot.
Under the lava.
I frowned. Not sure what it meant yet. But I guess we were supposed to look for lava or something…
When I closed the book, I saw AbbyTree.
Starring back at me.
I froze.
It was almost as if they were measuring my reaction. And then without saying anything, they just simply turned around and kept on walking.
After that, Parrot and I pretended to mine some iron, while also secretly working our way to the coordinates. We’d created an almost completely straight tunnel right to where the coordinates were heading.
As we worked, Parrot would occasionally try to casually chat with AbbyTree. But the whole thing was awkward as hell. Because no matter what Parrot said, AbbyTree would never react.
Not to anything.
It was creepy.
After what felt like an eternity, Parrot matched his stride to me.
“We’re close,” he whispered.
And up ahead, I could see that AbbyTree had suddenly broken into a large area.
Which turned out to be an absolutely massive underground cave. There was even a giant lavapool glowing in the center, that flickered shadows against the surrounding deepslate.
Parrot paused. “This is it. The coordinates point to the center of the lavapool.”
Under the lava, huh…
I nodded. “Okay. So any idea how far down we have to go?”
“Not sure. I'm guessing we are gonna need some fire rez though.” Parrot turned to me. “You're a pvper, you got any pots?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Obviously, bro.” I said, dropping Parrot two splash potions of fire resistance.
Parrot nodded, then glanced over at AbbyTree, who had made their way to the far side of the cave and was randomly digging around.
“I’m… probably going to need a bit of a distraction.”
I sigh. “Yeah, sure.”
After mentally preparing myself, I step around the lake to catch up with Abby Tree. They were standing at the far wall…staring at nothing.
“So…uh…” I say, awkwardly, “you uh, mine around here often?”
AbbyTree slowly turned to me.
“No.”
…
…God I hoped Parrot made this quick.
Behind me, I could hear faint clicks. Parrot likely placing some blocks.
Then five minutes passed.
Five long, excruciating, minutes of me awkwardly talking at AbbyTree, while they didn’t respond, and stared at me with the most deadpan look imaginable.
Then finally:
“Hey Flame, I found some iron! Can you help?” Parrot asked.
Thank god.
I quickly followed Parrot back to the cave entrance, far enough from AbbyTree to be out of their audible range.
I was just grateful to finally be out of the awkwardness.
“There was a chest under the lava. I found a book inside it.” Parrot said, dropping the book at my feat.
I picked it up, and my grip tightened.
It was signed by Lomedy.
But all the book was filled with were random usernames.
I looked back into the cave. Scanning the darkness, only to come up with nothing.
The cave was completely empty.
“Uh, Parrot, the girls’ gone.” I say.
“What?” Parrot said, whipping his head back around.
“And there’s a username in this book that looks a lot like theirs."
Parrot’s gaze fell to the book. “…That’s definitely weird,” he murmured.
I didn’t answer. I was still staring into the cave, half expecting AbbyTree to just… step back out from the dark like nothing had happened.
But she didn’t.
The cave was silent.
Parrot stayed close to me, lowering his voice, as he gazed out into the empty cave.
“On the surface…They were digging when we got here, right?” he asked. “It was right above the mine, wasn’t it? And they were randomly tearing up the ground.”
“Yeah?” I said. “So?”
“That can’t be a coincidence, Flame.” Parrot insists. His gaze flicks back down to the book in my hands. “Maybe…”
A cold weight settled in my chest.
“You think they were looking for this?” I asked, holding the book in my offhand.
“It makes sense,” Parrot replied. “It would explain why they just showed up right where the coordinates led. But then disappear the second we find it.” He exhaled slowly.
I glance back at the cave again.
“…So are we gonna go look for them?”
Parrot shook his head immediately.
“No. We got what we came here for.” He says. Then slower, “I don’t like the way they just vanished like that...We should leave. Carefully.”
The two of us began making our way back down the tunnel then, the flickering torchlight casting jagged shadows across the stone walls.
Our footsteps echoed, punctuating the silence. Eventually I tossed the book back to Parrot, who immediately flipped it open and scanned the pages again.
“This was signed by Lomedy.” Parrot notes quietly, contemplating to himself.
“Yeah.” I replied, my own voice sounding hollow in the confined tunnel.
“And the all clues we’ve found…They are the ones that led us here. To the book. Even the ‘under the lava’ message.”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard, the weight of it pressing down on my chest. “Do you think… Lomedy did all that?”
Parrot’s eyes stayed on the book.
“I think,” Parrot said carefully, “Lomedy was trying to tell you something, Flame.”
The words hung there.
Heavy.
“…Then why didn’t he just say it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Parrot shook his head, not answering right away.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But whatever this is… he didn’t want anyone else to find it. Except for you.”
Silence settled between us again. The air felt colder. The tunnel seemed narrower. I shivered at my desk, though I wasn’t sure if it was my thermostat or the weight of the revelation.
I sighed.
“…Let’s just go,” I muttered.
Parrot nodded once, eyes still lingering on the book before he tucked it carefully into his inventory. The silence settled around us, dense and watchful, as we continued back down the dimly lit passage.
I also didn’t remember it being this long. Not by half.
The cave entrance behind us had disappeared long ago, swallowed up by a darkness that seemed to follow us along the tunnel.
The torchlight in my offhand flickered, creating shadows moving against the walls. Every step echoed like a drum in my chest. Every breath sounded sharper, heavier, almost wrong.
Neither of us said anything at first.
Eventually I placed the torch along the wall as we walked, mostly to free up my inventory. Setting up my pvp kit was something that anchored me.
We continued to walk in silence for multiple minutes.
And then-
I saw a faint light pop up into my render distance.
Beside me, Parrot slowed.
“…Flame.”
This time his voice was tighter.
“What?”
“…Look.”
I followed his gaze, and my stomach dropped like it had just been punched.
There, on the wall ahead, was a torch.
Not just any torch.
…the patterns on the walls…
It was in the exact same spot I had already one placed a few chunks back.
I spun around. The tunnel behind us stretched out in a perfect, straight line, disappearing all the way into darkness. The same straight line we’d been walking down for multiple minutes now.
But somehow, we hadn’t made it any farther into the tunnel.
I checked our coordinates.
Only to find that we were still extremely close to the cave we’d been in before.
As if we hadn’t moved at all.
“…That’s not possible,” I said.
“We’ve only been walking forward,” Parrot said in complete shock. “This tunnel is straight.”
…I couldn’t answer.
Then Parrot broke into a sprint.
And I barely a step behind them.
But no matter how far we sprinted, every few chunks, the same torch stared at us from the same wall. Yet the tunnel ahead looked completely normal.
So how weren’t we getting any closer to the end?
Parrot suddenly placed a block of dirt on the floor, directly in the path. And made a complete 180. I follwed, hot on his heels.
Until suddenly there was a block of dirt in the middle of the pathway.
…In exactly the same place Parrot had placed it not even a few seconds ago.
“It's a loop.” Parrot said, stopping to stare at it. “How?”
“Is this some kind of exploit, or something?”
Parrot was in utter shock. “If it is, I've never seen anything like it.”
That’s when I knew, as we stood there staring at a nonsensical dirt block.
We were trapped.
From then on, we stopped sprinting.
“We should stay together.” Parrot said. It was clear he was deeply unsettled, but was trying to keep his cool. I couldn’t blame him. “And try to conserve what resources we have.”
Together, we tried mining through the deepslate walls. But every time we did, the same loop would just occur again.
It didn’t matter if we went up or down, sideways or diagonal.
Every time, we’d be right back where we started.
“Maybe it’s like a puzzle?” Parrot tried.
But I seriously doubted it.
Whatever was happening, was not normal in the slightest.
Then as we inched onwards. The walls began to blur.
Everything started to take on a corrupted pixelation. I could only watch as all of the games’ color drained out of every block.
All of the deepslate, the dirt, and even the light from the torch itself. Everything was draining into a dull, lifeless ash.
“…That’s what Lomedy’s skin looked like,” Parrot murmured.
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“On the tab list,” he said. “Greyed out.”
We kept going.
Each time we entered a ‘new chuck.’ The world got greyer.
Until suddenly Parrot stopped dead in his tracks.
I’d never heard Parrot curse before.
This was a first.
And when I finally got a peak over his shoulder, I knew exactly why.
Directly in front of us was a massive hole.
Like an entire chuck had just been completely obliterated off the face of the map.
And it went straight down into the void.
“What the…”
Parrot was speechless at my side.
“Parrot, I know leaving the game means a massive wait time on Unstable. But im beginning to think we should leave. Like, Now.”
We both stared down into the mouth of the drop.
“Yeah.” He nodded slowly. “That-. That’s probably a good idea.”
I immediately tried to tab out, and click the disconnect button.
Only to find that I couldn’t.
Not because it physically wasn’t there.
But for some reason, I just. couldn’t. click. it.
“Flame!?” I hear Parrot panic beside me. “Can you quit the game!?”
“No.” I say, shocked. My mouse still hovering over the disconnect button.
But I couldn’t click it…
“I can’t!” Parrot shouts. “Why can’t I click it!? I can’t get up either!?”
And it was like a cold icy water was slowly filling up my lungs.
“I don’t know.” I say. “I can’t move my body.”
Then ever so quietly a sound started coming up from below.
Like whispering.
Like lots of whispering.
And it was getting closer.
“I won’t let you have them.” They said. And for a moment, it almost sounded like Lomedy’s voice…or like some sick mockery of it.
Then the voices overlapped, repeating, distorting, breaking apart and snapping back together.
“I won’t let you have them.”
“I won’t let you have them.”
“I won’t let you-“
“Run!” Parrot suddenly shouted, breaking through the voices. “We need to run, Flame.”
I instantly turned around, about to sprint may way out of there.
But could move no further.
Because further down the tunnel, stood a glitched out player.
One i’d definitely seen before. But not for a very long time.
Beside me Parrot had stopped moving entirely. He stood completely breathless.
“…Wifies?”
The figure tilted its head.
Slowly.
And even from this distance.
I could tell.
Something about it wasn’t right.
Like the character model was wriggling at the edges.
Parrot was slightly shuddering at my side. Like he was gripping his mouse way too tightly.
“…No,” Parrot said quietly.
Then louder.
“No. That’s not-”
He stopped.
Because the figure stepped closer.
And closer.
And now there was no denying it.
It looked exactly like Wifies.
Every detail.
Every movement.
Perfect.
Parrot’s breathing hitched.
“That’s not possible,” he said, faster now. “That’s-he’s not-he can’t be here-”
The figure tilted its head at them. The edges blurring.
Wrong Wrong Wrong, my brain seemed to scream.
Then it spoke.
“Parrot.”
The voice echoed.
And Parrot backed up a step.
I quickly clutched a block behind him.
Just to keep him from accidentally walking off into the chunk void behind us.
“You left me,” it said.
And I couldn’t believe how much it actually sounded like the guy.
Parrot’s entire body was still.
“I didn’t-” he started, but the words fell apart halfway through.
“You left me,” it repeated, softer now. Almost kind. “It’s your fault.”
Parrot’s mouse was shaking…
“I-you,” he said, barely above a whisper. “There wasn’t-there wasn’t another-”
“You didn’t even try.”
The words landed clean.
Cruel.
Another step forward.
“Did it feel good?” it asked. “Leaving me to die? Leaving me to rot while you played hero?”
Parrot’s head shook rapidly.
“No. That’s not-”
“You’re so predictable.”
“...”
“Look at you. You can’t even protect yourself.”
“…stop.”
“And the only person who ever could, whoever cared, is gone now.”
“…please stop.”
“You should’ve just done what I said, Parrot. It would’ve been safer that way.”
I felt something twist in my gut.
Parrot was looking down at the ground now, unmoving.
I turned to him, to try and speak.
And then the thing looked at me.
“Hello again.” it said. And already it’s form was twisting.
A mutation of shapes and edges, all writhing together.
I froze.
“You escaped us before. Thanks to your friend Lomedy… “It said, like a predator. “But that will be much harder this time.”
Hot anger filled me like a lava pool. And all at once I didn't care whatever the hell this things was. I was going to absolutely demolish it.
“Where the hell is Lomedy!?” I screamed at it, throwing my pots at my feet.
“He’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.” It said, like that was the only natural conclusion.
My throat tightened. I was going to murder this thing.
“What is that supposed to mean!?” I say, taking my own step forward, netherite sword at the ready.
“So brave.” It replies. “Or is it foolishness? No matter…your failures will make his memories all the sweeter.”
“What the-“
“So please continue with your search.” It laughs. “The agony he experiences every time he realizes he failed to warn you makes him absolutely delicious."
“What are you even talking about!?”
“Or, of course,” it says, the air heavy, “You could simply stop running.”
My heart started pounding. The hair on the back of neck standing on end.
“And we could let you see him again.” It purred.
And then suddenly Parrot punched me.
And it hurt.
How the hell did it hurt?!
“Dig!” Parrot screamed at me.
And I didn’t argue.
We turned and instantly started mining into the wall. And all at once the world started glitching out around us.
“I guess that’s a no then.” The thing called out. “That’s fine. We can wait.”
The blocks distorted, and flickered. In a state of random chaos.
Static filled up everything I could see.
Parrot kept trying to block off the tunnel behind us.
But it was clear that the glitching was catching up. Almost like the tunnel was collapsing in on itself. Like it was being erased. Or rewritten.
We didn’t stop.
We didnt think.
At one point I heard Parrot scream out in pain. It sounded like static. But beside me his glitched out character model kept on digging.
Until-
suddenly-
we weren’t in the tunnel anymore.
And we’d stumbled out into the open air.
Trees. Grass. Sky. The entrance to the mine...
Suddenly freed from whatever held me to the screen, I immediately bent over my desk, trying to catch my breath.
My hands were shaking.
My head was spinning.
Beside me, Parrot was still, aside from their head which was slowly looking around.
“…Parrot?” I called out to him.
He turned to me.
Confused.
Like he’d just woken up.
“Flame. How did I-…What were we just doing- just now?” he asked.
He doesn’t wait to see if Wifies or Dean are safe. Doesn’t say a single word to CoinMonke either. Doesn’t wait for literally anything.
He just runs.
He sprints out of CoineMonke’s house, all while Wifies is calling after him, and heads straight across the clearing, past the houses where the other miners worked, and immediately goes for the one thing he knows is still there.
The barrel.
It’s half-hidden behind some floating signs. Same place as before. Same little stash spot from the past.
He opens the barrel.
And there it is.
Luigi’s emerald.
Parrot hovers his cursor over it, and takes a deep breath. He carefully drags it into his hotbar, knowing he will enderchest it the second he gets the chance.
Parrot swallows.
“Sorry,” he mutters quietly to the emerald.
The word hangs in the air.
“I don’t know what happened but…it didn’t take me back far enough.”
A beat.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
Parrot exhales slowly through his nose, staring down at the emerald in his hand.
“I’ll do better this time.” He promises.
Footsteps crunch.
And Parrot immediately hides the emerald in his inventory.
When Parrot turns, Wifies is standing behind him.
“Parrot? ” Wifies says, glancing at the hidden barrel. “What are you doing here? We need to move.”
Parrot doesn’t answer.
He just closes his inventory and bolts.
They run.
Through trees. Over hills. Across way too much terrain to count.
For awhile now, Parrot has been taking the lead. Both Dean and Wifies trying to keep up.
Parrot knows that it doesn’t really matter how far they go or where they try to hide. The Invis Mafia will catch up to them sooner or later. Probably sooner, depending on when Dean had fired the arrows that the Mafia will use to track their location, or if Dean is just straight up leaking their cords in private messages.
So the best they could do was move quickly and erratically. Which would keep their exact location a secret, as long as they’re careful. Since it wasn’t like the three of them could outrun anyone tracking them with elytra.
No one talks.
Which is great.
Because Parrot really doesn’t want to talk.
Eventually they duck into a small dip in the terrain, half-hidden by stone and leaves. It’s not perfect cover, but it’s enough that Parrot finally slows down.
Dean takes the hint, and uses the reprieve to eat some of the steak that Parrot had tossed him.
Parrot had already divided up the golden apples, and other resources amongst the three of them. But he had decided to keep the slow falling arrows, a bow, and a set of netherite boots as well the helmet that Theo had dropped for him.
The diamond pants were currently being worn by Dean and Parrot had given the chestplate to Wifies.
It wasn’t a ton, but it was something.
Honestly having any armor was nice. Last time they’d tried running from the Maifa, they’d had nothing but a few stacks of dirt and Deans good jokes to go on.
Which is to say, they hadn’t had much.
Theo had given them a massive advantage here. And Parrot half hoped that Theo would pick up even more dropped gear from the banned Mafia players.
They could always use more armor and food down the line, he thinks, as he downs another steak.
When Parrot looks over, Wifies isn’t eating. Some of the steak is still in his hand.
But his camera stays pointed at Parrot.
Then ever so slowly, Wifies approaches him.
Uh oh.
“Alright,” Wifies says, carefully stepping closer until he’s only a few blocks away from Parrot. “I think you’ve had enough time to figure out what to say.”
Parrot grimaces. He knew this was coming sooner or later. He’d just hoped the later would have lasted longer.
“Where we are going, Parrot?” Wifies asks.
Parrots inwardly sighs. His destination is the Northern Council coordinates.
But it’s not like he can tell them that…
Partially, because neither Wifies nor Dean would understand what that even is, or believe him if he were to try.
And the other part, is because Parrot knows that anything he says could be potentially leaked by Dean straight to the Invis Mafia.
So instead, Parrot pretends to be very interested in the dirt.
Wifies eyes seem to trail after him when he doesn’t get an immediate response.
Parrot can practically hear the wheels turning in Wifies head. He’s probably going through several mental calculations right now.
“Somethings off with you.” Wifies finally says.
And then Wifies immediately takes a few steps closer to Parrot.
As though trying to stay in Parrot’s line of view.
Parrot tries not to think about it, and looks away, but Wifies continues.
“How did you know the enderpearl stasis would go off?” Wifies asks. The question is pointed. Sharp as a blade.
And one Parrot can’t answer.
So he doesn’t.
Wifies’ eyes never leave him. But his voice is tighter.
“And that guy with the minecarts...You knew him?”
He can hear Wifies footsteps getting closer.
Parrot keeps staring at the ground.
“Who are they?” Wifies presses. “Why save us?”
Closer still.
Very ground-like.
“...Parrot.”
And Parrot makes the mistake of glancing upwards.
“Why won’t you look at me?”
Parrot can’t breathe.
Wifies is standing directly in his path. Blocking the way forward.
…
“Did I do something wrong?” Wifies asks, the words are polished and soft. Calculating.
He might not be able to see Parrots face, but Parrot is positive Wifies can see through every move he makes.
Yes, you did. You will.
“If I upset you…” Wifies says. “I’m sorry.”
And Parrot knows it’s the truth.
But you're not sorry for what you’ve done. What you’ll do.
Wifies shifts closer. Trying to fully line up with Parrot’s view.
Parrot feels like he’s going to throw up.
Like the whole world is shrinking.
Like he’s stuck in a box.
Just the two of them.
Immediately, Parrot side steps Wifies. Desperate to break eye contact, he starts walking away.
Quick footsteps follow behind him.
Because of course they do…
“Please, just talk” Wifies asks, barely a step behind him.
Parrot’s fingers grip the mouse. His camera dips lower. He can’t help but glance at the spyglass in his inventory.
Because yeah.
He could talk.
He could say a lot of things, actually.
Like:
Hey Wifies, funny story.
In about a few months from now you’re going to fake your death.
You’re going to call yourself The Director.
You’re going to lock me in a prison.
And then you’re going to take everything I have, while threatening to kill the people I care about if I don’t obey you.
…until you force me to kill you.
Parrot’s jaw tightens.
Nope.
Absolutely not.
Parrot keeps staring at the ground, walking away.
But apparently Wifies's patience is beginning to wear thin.
“You almost got yourself killed back there, you know.” Wifies says.
The words are devoid of emotion.
Parrot freezes.
A shiver runs down his spine.
Upon seeing Parrot pause, Wifies must think he’s finally broken through, because immediately his tone switches back to the gentleness it had before.
“Parrot. I’m sorry. I- just want to understand what’s going on.” Wifies whispers to himself. It’s so quiet Parrot barely catches it. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”
Parrot tries to steady himself.
He’s playing a very dangerous game here.
One that he can’t just keep ignoring.
He has to get a hold of himself.
Even if he knows Wifies will keep pushing for answers.
But Parrot has to do everything he can to avoid Wifies suspicions, if he wants to change things.
But he can’t lie either.
Wifies would catch it instantly.
So he has to play this smart.
Tell the truth, but give as little information as possible.
Parrot has to remind himself that he is the one with the informational advantage here.
This time, it isn’t Wifies.
“I’m meeting Theo.” Parrot finally settles on.
The words come out rough. Choked.
Wifies tilts his head at that, but doesn’t remark on it.
“…Theo?”
The tone is inquiring, but Parrot knows better.
“Yeah.”
A pause.
And Parrot waits for Wifies demands. An interrogation waiting to happen.
But instead Wifies's tone is far different.
“I’m…surprised.” Wifies says after a moment, and it leaves Parrot mildly shocked.
It isn’t often that Parrot had ever heard Wifies genuinely surprised at something.
But then Wifies let’s the other shoe drop.
“I would’ve thought you’d go after Luigi’s place.” he says with certainty. “Not some random player.”
Oh.
So that’s your game…
You must think I’m lying. That I’m still trying to avenge Luigi. Like I’d done in the past.
You're only half right though…
But it’s clear Wifies must be fishing for information here. Probably gauging Parrots reactions.
Parrot knows Wifies must have already clocked that he has been acting way out of his norm. Which means anything Parrot says or does, Wifies will use as informational leverage here.
Parrot has to be careful.
“Wait?” Dean suddenly pipes up behind them, unaware of the little cat and mouse game that Wifies and Parrot are currently playing. “Is that the minecart guy we saw?”
Very slowly, Parrot turns to Dean, and nods.
“He’s my friend.” Parrot says. His voice is firm.
He hopes it’s firm...
Silence hangs in the air.
Parrot prays he hasn’t made a mistake in revealing that.
Wifies frowns slightly.
“…Since when?”
Parrot’s jaw tightens again.
He tries not to react.
Because yeah.
That’s the problem, isn’t it?
Since when.
Since a thousand conversations that haven’t happened yet.
Since he had practically killed himself at spawn.
Since a friendship this version of Wifies doesn’t even know was left to rot in a blown up prison designed especially for the two of them.
Parrot looks away again.
“Since…He…” Parrot hesitates, wracking his brain for something believable. “He helped me before. At spawn. Uh…When you weren’t there.”
Which again, was true, technically. Even if Wifies would make the wrong assumption about it.
“And you trust them?” Wifies questions.
With everything I’ve got, Parrot almost says.
But again. He had to play this game more carefully. Just one wrong move and…
Parrot takes a deep breath, and just nods his affirmation.
This is still Wifies, he has to remind himself. He’s not talking to The Director. Not yet.
There is still a chance here.
Which means Parrot still has something he can do. A bit of leverage of his own.
“Wifies, don’t you trust me?” Parrot mutters softly. And lets the spyglass sit quietly in his off hand.
Parrot hates himself for doing this. It feels horrible.
But it’s all he can do.
It’s the only card he has to play here.
And it’s all he can bare at the moment.
Standing here before Wifies, Parrot knows it’s not really an answer. And he also knows he definitely can’t actually answer any of Wifies questions.
Not really anyway.
But he waits.
And Wifies studies him for a few moments.
And then-
“…Alright.” Wifies says quietly.
And Parrot lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding…
Despite knowing he shouldn’t.
Because in the back of his mind, he knows this isn’t over.
Wifies will definitely start catching on soon, if he hasn’t already. And will probably demand more answers.
Answers Parrot won’t be able to give him. For several reasons…
All Parrot can do is slow the process down. And give himself enough time to change things.
Hopefully for the better.
So after another small nod, Parrot walks past Wifies.
And they push back into the forest, with Wifies and Dean following behind him.
It’s already getting dark enough that Parrot has to up the brightness on his computer screen. Dense, short, oak trees and giant mushrooms are scattered everywhere, blocking out the evening sky.
It’s good cover.
And also terrible for navigation…at least for anyone trying to spot them from overhead.
Which was exactly why Parrot had chosen this route.
He slows slightly as they weave between the trunks, and hops over a block, landing on a patch of coarse dirt. Wifies follows cleanly behind him.
Dean… takes a bit longer.
Parrot doesn’t look back right away.
Instead he watches from the edge of his screen.
And sees a subtle pause in Dean’s character movement.
There it is.
For a few moments Dean has stopped moving. He stops behind them, lingering in the foliage. Parrot can barely hear the keys on Dean’s keyboard, but he figures they’re probably typing.
Parrot listens for the sound of a bow string. And almost immediately after Parrot hears it fire, Dean looks back up and starts walking again.
Parrot exhales slowly through his nose.
Right.
That was probably their cords going out.
Fantastic.
Without warning, Parrot cuts hard to the left.
Straight into a thicker mess of trees. He needs to find better cover.
“Huh? Uh, wait a sec-” Dean says behind them, but Parrot continues forward.
Wifies adjusts instantly, following Parrot’s pace without hesitation.
Branches and leaves fill up the screen as Parrot pushes through, now sprint-jumping over a shallow dip in the ground before sliding down a small slope and into a stone outcropping.
He doesn’t stop until the ground drops suddenly into darkness.
A ravine.
Perfect.
Parrot jumps down the ledge and lands in a small pool of water, splashing in as he lands on the block.
Wifies drops in behind him a second later.
And Dean lands last.
“Uh, why did we come down here?” Dean asks.
Parrot shrugs.
“Vacation.”
Dean stares at the dark ravine.
“…This is the worst vacation I’ve ever been on.”
Wifies mutters, “You should see the food options.”
Parrot quietly huffs a laugh, all while subtly trying to herd them deeper into the ravine.
“Look, the forest was getting annoying.” He explains, gesturing vaguely upward with his head. “Too many turns. Plus we need iron.”
All technically true.
Just not the real reason.
Dean seems to accept that explanation though, already looking around the ravine. Though it’s very hard to see. And they didn’t make any torches.
Wifies doesn’t say anything.
But Parrot notices him glance back up toward where they came.
And then back at Parrot.
Parrot slows his pace, eyes looking over the flat expanse ahead. It’s extremely dark now. The sun had already set, so visibility is likely difficult for anyone without the right game settings.
Which Dean probably didn’t have.
Perfect.
“Shift,” he says to Dean.
Dean hesitates.
“Huh? Why?”
“I think there’s an edge,” Parrot says shortly, also shifting himself.
“But I don’t see-“
“Just do it.”
Dean hesitantly starts shifting, and Parrot watches to make sure the nametag above his head goes opaque.
Then Parrot slowly leads them deeper into the ravine, letting the overhangs fully conceal them from view.
Of course Parrot knew that the ground ahead was only flat stone. But the terrain wasn’t the danger he was trying to circumvent at the moment.
Parrot looks back behind him.
“You too Wifies,” he says.
Wifies barely hesitates, following Parrot easily through the flat ravine. He looks around oddly though, like he’s questioning what Parrot is trying to do.
Until they all hear the sound of a rocket going off overheard.
Then Wifies’s head instantly whips upwards.
But Parrot and company are already deep into the cracks of the ravine now, completely sealed from view.
As long as he can keep Dean from making any noise or messaging their pursuers, they should be relatively undetectable.
So Parrot keeps moving forward, and carefully steers Dean away from anything that could make a sound, while also watching to see if Dean would stop.
Parrot couldn't do anything about the arrows that Dean may have already fired in order to let their pursuers track them. But he could definitely keep Dean from messaging anyone their exact coordinates.
I’m not going to let you give us away.
Not this time.
When it looks like Dean is about to stop, Parrot punches him. Then quickly shoots him a message.
Keep moving
After all, it’s very hard to message anyone if you're actively shifting and holding down the W key.
And Dean is probably not a skilled enough player to know how to do both.
Overhead more rockets fire. And Parrot keeps subtly pushing Dean and Wifies forward through the cracks of the ravine.
As they move Parrot spots how Wifies keeps looking upwards, then at Dean, and then at him.
The subtle glances tell Parrot more than enough.
Have you figured it out yet Wifies?
Parrot knows it’s only a matter of time…
The three of them creep silently through the ravine. Using the terrain to their advantage.
It’s only once the sounds of rockets are gone for several minutes that Parrot goes back to unshifting.
Because this time, Parrot is going to make sure things go differently.
Part 4>
It takes Theobaldthebird all of six seconds to remember that he did not, in fact, remember the exact cords to the Northern Council location.
Well, he thinks, that’s just great. Fantastic.
Since it wasn’t like the dang place was even built yet…
Because time travel was freaking weird...
Which means he probably has about the same chance of finding the place as spotting Parrot’s nametag in a sea of players.
Which he absolutely does not have a problem with.
Obviously.
…
Either way, it’s not ideal.
Theo grumbles and stares past an explosion that practically takes out one of the Diamond trims at the knees. Then slams down another minecart.
He tries very hard to remember if Parrot had ever actually said the specific coordinates out loud at some point.
Nope.
“Okay… yeah. That’s a problem,” Theo mutters to himself, shaking his head, and absent-mindedly dodging one of the Diamond’s mace hits.
Well, he thinks, he was able to find Parrot once in all this time traveling mess. Finding him a second time probably wouldn't be too difficult...
Right?
Probably.
…Hopefully.
Yeah, this was gonna be a disaster wasn’t it…
Well, if nothing else, Parrot did always seem to stick his nose into whatever crazy stuff managed to happen, Theo thinks. It was like Parrots special talent was somehow ending up in the worst possible situation at any given moment.
Which meant, theoretically, if Theo can just follow the chaos, he’ll probably find Parrot eventually.
In the meantime, he needed to finish cleaning up these chumps. Then he’d start making his way in the general direction of where the future Northern Council would be.
Theo taps his pearl key automatically, already lining up the next placement in his head. He quickly slams down another minecart before firing a flame arrow.
The area goes off with a satisfying boom.
But unfortunately misses his two remaining targets.
The Diamond trims.
The three of them are the only ones left in the remains of the courtyard now. All the others had already popped their totems, or fled the scene.
Which honestly?
Smart move on their part.
Theo didn’t even need to get the kill credit here. If they just popped their totems even once, it would be all over for them.
In situations like this, numbers didn’t really matter.
They’d need to force him to mess up multiple times or severely damage his armor durability to make any sort of progress.
But for him…
Minecarts didn’t care how stacked your armor was.
All he needed was one good shot.
And between the three of them, he would definitely be hitting that shot.
Easy win.
But sadly, it seemed like the two Diamond trims had already figured that out. They’d been switching up their strategies for awhile now. Getting farther away, and forcing him to use up more pearls to close the distance.
Which meant they were stalling.
Mostly likely waiting for backup, he figured, or waiting for him to run out of armor durability.
Either way, Theo still had a bird to find.
So he knew he was gonna have to bow out of this fight sooner or later.
Might as well save up the gear for when he or Parrot actually needed it.
Especially since he had no clue how long they were going to be stuck here.
Decision made, Theo went for a double minecart quick drop, opting to have it explode right between the two Diamond trims just to make a point.
The blast decimated the cobble and forced both of them to jump back again.
One of them switched to their mace, as if going in for a hit, before quickly realizing that would require them to get back within his range.
Too bad.
Seemed like he wouldn’t be getting much of a challenge today.
Theo snorts.
“Yeah, alright,” he says to them. “You guys are no fun anyway.”
He tosses down one more minecart, just to keep them honest, and then rockets into the air as the explosion goes off.
A few more rockets and he’s blasting past them at max speed, weaving through the remains of the city.
The wind rushes by his ears as the courtyard rapidly shrinks below him.
One of the Diamonds fires an arrow that sails uselessly underneath him.
It was incredibly obvious that they didn’t intend on giving chase.
Though he isn’t sure why.
Theo gives them a lazy look downward.
“See ya!” He calls.
And then he’s outta there.
After some time, and switching between F5 to check if he’s being followed, he finally relaxes, and glides a bit lower, just barely skimming over the treetops.
Flying felt nice. It had been a while since he’d actually gotten to use an elytra.
In the future they were practically impossible to find.
And even less so to mend.
Theo hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed having one at his finger tips.
By the time the Minecraft sun set, he’d already crossed multiple biomes. Keeping his direction steadily to the Northern Council’s supposed direction.
The gentle reprieve finally gave him some time to process.
Because yeah.
“How the heck did this even happen?” Theo mutters into the wind.
Everything had been going fine, at least by Unstable standards anyway, up until Parrot had been crowned King.
Which, by the way, was a freaking miracle if he ever saw one.
After everything that Lettuce and the Law had put him and Parrot through. He’s still astonished when he thinks about it, honestly, just how lucky they actually were.
But no.
They’d actually managed to pull it off.
King of Unstable.
Wild.
It hadn’t been too long after that when this whole time warping craziness began.
Which probably shouldn’t have come as surprise to Theo. Everything going absolutely nuts was kinda the norm at this point.
Because, based on extensive personal experience, there were two very consistent rules when it came to Parrot.
First, the universe simply did not allow Theo and Parrot to have nice things.
Second, and this one was significantly more preventable, if the universe did somehow slip up and give Parrot something nice, Parrot would immediately turn around and hand it to the nearest random player like he was running some sort of charity.
Theo sighed.
Which was how they’d ended up in a meeting about finances.
Look, in his defense, bidding one hundred thousand diamonds on a chicken had been perfectly reasonable. It was a bigger number!
Anyway,
They’d been talking about how they were going to fix their newly acquired generational debt when Parrot’s microphone suddenly sounded like it tipped over.
He’d tried asking Parrot what happened, but it was like his voice had just cut out entirely.
And then everything suddenly went sideways.
Literally.
It was like the world started spinning. He'd felt insanely dizzy. And then the world had just tilted to the left for no reason.
Then next thing he knew-
He was waking up at his keyboard.
With freaking Purpled of all people standing over him.
Theo had almost killed the guy on sight.
Like genuinely.
He’d already pulled out the minecart before his brain caught up.
“Whoa! Hey- chill!” Purpled had said while rapidly stepping back.
And that’s when Theo decided to look around-
Which left him completely dumbfounded.
Because he was in the Farlands Civilization.
Which was somehow not bombed…
Oh, and he was also somehow millions of blocks away from the Northern Council.
You know, where he’d been standing literally seconds ago...
Because, as stated previously, the universe simply did not let him have nice things.
Unfortunately, Purpled didn’t seem to notice that Theo was currently having an internal mental breakdown. Because Purpled seemed to think that this was somehow the right moment to bring up some extremely confusing stuff about how the Farmers needed potion ingredients.
“What the hell…” Theo muttered.
Purpled had probably rolled his eyes before sighing and giving him a look.
“Okay,” Purpled had said to him, “I know you don’t like going on these potion runs, but it’s not like the Farmers are going to and we need the supplies.”
Theo kinda just stared at him.
Because Purpled sounded way too casual for a guy who'd been running against Parrot in the elections for weeks.
And then promptly gotten his butt handed to him in said elections.
So, what the hell was happening?
How did Purpled see nothing wrong with this situation?!
And then Theo finally noticed the problem.
The armor.
Theo had quickly switched to F5, and took a good look at himself.
The gear that both Theo and Purpled were wearing.
It was Warrior trims.
Something Theo hadn’t worn since literal months ago.
And suddenly it all made very dizzying sense.
Somehow.
He’d gone months backwards.
He still doesn’t know how.
But, the undestroyed Farlands Civilization, the armor trims, the fact that Purpled of all people was somehow acting chummy with him?
As absolutely crazy as it sounded, it all made sense.
So naturally, in face of pure cosmic chaos, and the threat of having to listen to Purpled continue to talk, Theo had done the only logical thing he could do in that situation.
He lied.
And then he got the hell outta dodge.
Honestly he didn’t even remember what excuse he gave.
He’d just kinda started ransacking the entire Warriors faction training area for all of their gear.
He’d loaded up every rocket he could find, checked the durability of every piece of armor, pocketed shulker boxes stuffed with arrows, xp bottles, pearls, and spare gear.
And then he plotted a route.
A route that involved the fastest horse he could steal from the Farlands training stables, the nether roof for speed, and a heavy object from his real-life room to hold down the W key.
Because above all else, Theo knew he had to find Parrot.
Because if Theo had gotten thrown back in time, then Parrot, who had definitely been experiencing the same thing he did, absolutely had as well.
And because, as previously stated, the universe would simply not let them have nice things.
So his plan was to find Parrot and figure out what the heck they were supposed to do about all this mess.
The only problem was…
Theo had no idea where Parrot was.
Because if they really were months in the past, which was definitely looking like the case here, then Parrot could be anywhere.
Actually, if Theo was right about the timeline. He technically hadn’t even met Parrot by this point.
So all Theo had to go off of were random snippets he’d picked up from Parrot.
Eventually after wracking his brain, Theo came up with two things.
First, something Parrot had mentioned about the old Capital City, Reddoons, and the Mafia.
Theo hadn’t known all the details, but it had clearly been one of those stories…
The bad ones.
The kind Parrot didn’t like talking about.
And the second thing he had to go off of was LettuceK.
Specifically when Lettuce had brought him and Parrot to some old ruined minning area on the outskirts of old Capital City.
And then yapped about how Parrot had apparently saved Lettuce’s life back in the day?
And then the dude had some emotional breakdown about it….?
Honestly… Theo’s not really sure what was going on there…
But, thank goodness for the emotional breakdown, I guess, because he’s pretty sure that’s the only reason they lived through that whole thing.
Not to mention it also provided Theo with a clue on where he could actually find Parrot.
Because if Parrot had been involved with the old Capital City and the mining area around this time…
then it was as good a lead as any.
So he set his trajectory, and let the horse and rockets carry him there…
…
And It took hours.
…
Multiple hours.
…
By the time Theo made it to the location, he just wanted to take a nap.
But it seemed Parrot had other plans for him.
Because when Theo looked down from above the city sky he saw Parrot.
With absolutely zero gear…
Walking directly into the worst possible situation imaginable…
Surrounded by Invis Mafia players…
And talking to Ashswagg…
Well actually it was less talking and more Parrot yelling at the guy.
So yeah, he knew where this whole thing was about to go.
Enjoying the show, Theo had suited up, and decided to watch from the roof tops, and waited for his moment to tap in.
Parrot never failed to disappoint, of course.
Theo shakes his head, still smiling slightly.
Classic Parrot, he thinks. The invis to the face was a nice touch.
But at that point Theo knew he’d need to make his grand entrance, preferably before the definitely much smaller bird got absolutely wrecked.
So he enderpearled down and the rest was history…
Or was it still history? Now that he’s reliving history, did it still count as history…?
Whatever. It counts now.
His entrance was epic and no one can take that away from him.
Theo tilts slightly, adjusting his glide.
Unfortunately all that mess had amounted to was that he’d found Parrot for a grand total of five minutes before promptly losing him again.
Theo sighed and shook his head.
Leave it to Parrot to get into something insane.
Well, If there was one thing Theo trusted Parrot to do…
It was to get into enough chaos to make himself easy to track down.
Theo grins.
“Alright,” he says into the wind. “Let’s see what kind of mess you’re getting yourself into now.”
And with that, Theo angles his elytra and spams a few more rockets.
Unaware of the Diamond trimmed player quietly following behind him.
Part 3>
“The fear,” Ashswagg says, practically purring the word, “the conquering of fear that you three have just shown me gives me an idea.”
Parrot grits his teeth behind the microphone. He can't help but feel annoyed at all the unnecessary dramatics here. I mean, he'd heard this line, what, twice now? Man…time travel really gave him a headache. Someone should’ve handed him a medal for patience instead of a crown. If Theo were standing here, he’d probably have already cart-bombed this place down to bedrock.
Unfortunately Ashswagg still wasn’t done talking. Tragic.
“You three would be really useful in the Mafia.”
And there it is. The stupidest line he remembers hearing once upon a time. He can’t help but grimace.
No one would try this, in the future. In his time. Not anyone who knew him anyway. Becoming Unstable’s King had at least afforded him that.
The problem was, this was the old Ashswagg. Invis Mafia Ashswagg. This Ash didn’t know the things Parrot had been through. Or that the Parrot standing in front of them at this very moment had already been through all Ashswagg and his Invis Mafia could throw at him, and still Parrot had won.
Meaning this little recruitment speech was just about the most pointless proposition one could try. And honestly, Parrot had just about had enough of it.
Being thrown back in time to the days of working in the Capital City mines under the Mafia’s and Reddoons corruption was already bad enough. Like some twisted rerun of one of Parrot’s worst moments. The worst part being he hadn’t even been early enough to stop Luigi from dying. Instead he’d opened his eyes to Reddoons giving him some stupid spiel about material value. And now he had to stand here and listen to Ashswagg’s dumb recruitment speech all over again?
Nah. He’s done done.
“Who the hell do you think you are!?” He spit at Ash. To his right, Wifies seemed to cringe, and Parrot did his best not to look at them. Instead he tried rolling his eyes. “You know what, screw it, even freaking Lettuce had a better speech than this. This is just sad, bro.”
Wifies was shooting him a look now. Parrot could practically feel the confusion and unease radiating off their player character.
A moment later a private message pops up confirming that.
Which Parrot promptly decides to ignore.
There really wasn’t time to unpack all his trauma right now. (And preferably, there never would be). So if Wifies looked pained at the life-threatening crisis that Parrot had once again walked himself into? Good. A little payback for the months of emotional hell, which his friend had literally blown up in his face for, was justified.
Parrot can at least thank whatever Minecraft gods exist, because for a moment Ash actually paused his nonsense to consider him. Probably, because Ash was taken aback by the absolute vehemence in which Parrot talked, but that was semantics.
However, unfortunately for everyone present, the Minecraft gods clearly didn’t account for Ash’s level of self-absorption and ability to barrel past warning signs. Despite even the Invis players catching on and giving quick glances at each other, Ash still continued to keep this pointless conversation rolling.
“I can offer you a deal. A place here.” Ash tried again, clearly trying to make some dramatic point. “You guys conquered your fear, to steal those diamonds, to free all those people you wanted to free. That’s worth something.”
Ridiculous.
Parrot isn’t listening anymore. He’s too busy mentally calculating that he has about five seconds before he either snaps completely or starts bashing his head against his keyboard.
Apparently Ash didn’t get the memo. He’s still deep into his two-bit salesman’s pitch.
“Join me. I’d even promote you instantly.” He says and looks at the Diamond trims standing behind him. “You could be right there.”
Parrot makes the executive decision that he, in fact, did not want another headache later.
Snapping it is then.
“And why the hell do you think I care about you or your dumb Mafia, Ashswagg.”
Ash stares at him.
And Parrot revels in the feeling of taking the wind out of his sails.
But the brief moment of silence doesn’t last.
“Uh, Parrot,” Dean whispers to him. “I know we aren’t joining and all, but… maybe we should, uh, not yell at the guy who has a bunch of netherite players with maces? Maybe?”
And yeah, Parrot does feel a bit bad for dragging Dean into this mess. It isn’t his fault he’s about to witness a historical crash-out.
Meanwhile, Wifies has clearly noticed there was something very wrong with Parrot. He keeps glancing frantically between the enemies Parrot has chosen to actively piss off, and Parrot himself.
But it’s not like that hadn’t been a recurring theme in the past.
Wifies can cope.
“Nah, im done with this.” Parrot grits out, half to himself.
And suddenly Wifies steps directly between him and Ash, with Wifies clearly positioning himself as a body shield between them.
“Parrot, please, just calm down.”
Several more messages are filling up Parrots screen.
Okay, maybe Wifies wouldn’t be coping after all. Parrot thinks. Maybe he never could…
His chest aches.
Wifies eyes are staring into him.
Parrot keeps his eyes pointed away.
Parrot honestly just wasn't sure when exactly Wifies had fully committed to the whole Director persona.
Had it already started by now?
His throat tightens.
Don’t think about it.
Right now, his priority is stepping around Wifies and walking just far enough forward to force him out of his line of sight.
If he can just keep Wifies out of his field of view, he can keep pretending.
So Parrot takes a few steps closer to Ash instead. A move which Ash tilts his head at; perhaps thinking Parrot was going to be more reasonable. As if that would ever happen.
“I could make it worth it, for all of you.” Ash says, leveling his voice at the three of them, Wifies and Dean included.
Logically, Parrot knows that he’s probably about to dig a hole for himself. And yes, he knows that Wifies probably thinks he’s attempting another moral suicide mission. But he doesn't really care about Wifies’ opinion on that right now.
At least yelling at Ash had been a better distraction.
“Why the heck would we join your sinking ship?” Parrot scoffs. “Like bro, you do know what server we're on right now. Your dumb Mafia isn’t going to last.”
That seems to finally hit something, because Ash all but drops the recruitment tone and finally switches to the good ol fashioned threats.
“Watch the way you talk.” Ash says, and one of the Diamond players steps forward. “I can always force you to join, you know.”
“Your delusional bro.”
Ash laughs.
“Oh Parrot, you think I don’t get it?” Ash sneers. “I’ve got you and your little entourage all figured out.”
“No. You really don’t.” Parrot says, before his voice goes to a quiet whisper. “Not that I did either…”
Ash doesn’t seem to hear him.
It doesn’t matter.
Wifies was standing in front of him again…
Staring…
“I think you'll find I can be very persuasive.” Ash mocks. “Fear is an excellent motivator. Control someone’s fear, and you control them.”
“Controlling people…” Parrot echoes, giving Wifies a small side glance. “What an original idea. No one would have thought of that.”
Wifies is still staring directly at him.
Parrot can’t breath.
Looking at them had not been the smartest plan on his part.
Damn it.
Parrot snaps his crosshairs back onto Ash, who has begun talking again.
But Parrot can’t hear anything.
Doesn’t want to feel anything.
Multiple private messages are now popping up onto his screen.
Parrot looks away.
Looks for a reprieve.
However, rage-baiting Ash is the only thing here that has proved to be a distraction.
Priorities.
“Ash,” Parrot starts,“have you just never considered the ticking time bombs that live on this server? They are not going to be controlled.”
“They will. I know what they fear.”
“Oh come on bro. Do you actually think that fear matters to most of them?” Parrot insists. “Seriously, just how long do you think it will take for Spoke to absolutely wreck your operation from the inside out?”
“He will be handled.” Ash says, shrugging him off.
“No shot.” Parrot laughs. “I give it week before he starts living in your walls, just waiting for the chance to stop you. Like everyone else on this server will be.”
“You think just anyone can stop me? Stop us? This?” Ash swoops his character around, as if making a point. “There is no one capable of that.”
Too bad for Ash he’d missed the mark. Parrot was a much better shot.
“No. What I know, for a fact, is that the second Eggchan so much as pops a totem to one of your guys, your whole thing goes up faster than you can say ‘Mace attack.’”
And that seems to rattle Ash somewhat.
“We have guards for that sort of thing.”
“Oh yeah?” Parrot tilts his head at the trims. “For how long?”
“What?”
“Because I’m willing to bet that half your Diamonds are just waiting for the chance to turn on you.” Parrot emphasized, staring down the two Diamond trims behind Ash.
Parrot half wondered if one of them was Quackeinstein…
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ash rebuttals. “Killing me just gets them all killed.”
Parrot laughs.
“And when has mass server casualties ever actually mattered to Spoke or Wemmbu?”
“Clown will take care of-“
“Oh, don’t even get me started on Clown!” Parrot snaps. “Are you kidding me, bro? You think that just because he’s with you now, that this is gonna hold his attention forever? No way. Not a chance.”
“I have an army of-“
“Oh right! The army!” He takes a few steps towards Ash. “Because that totally works against an Orbital Strike Cannon. Yeah. Tell that one to Zam. I’m sure he’d agree.”
“Can you stop interrupting me!?” Ash snaps at him, before suddenly going very calm.
To Ash’s credit, he at least has the threatening aura thing down.
“Tell me, Parrot, do you just not care about the lives of your friends here?” Ash says looking at Wifies and Dean. “Because if you really want to walk out of this alive, you should take this.”
There’s a pause, and Ash throws Parrot an invisibility potion.
Parrot knows Wifies is probably about to spam CoinMonke to trigger the enderpeal stasis. If he hasn't already…
Parrot tilts his head slowly.
Might as well.
“Buddy, I’m the biggest bird on this server.” He laughs. “I really don't give a damn.”
Then Parrot chucks the invisibility potion directly at Ash’s face.
All at once the trimmed players pull out their weapons and converge on him.
One of the Diamonds rushes Parrot.
There’s the pop of an ender pearl landing.
And then-
A minecart instantly explodes next to the Diamond player.
Parrot blinks.
The sheer force had knocked the Diamond away so badly they’d gone flying straight up into the air. Poor bro probably didn't have blast protection.
“What the hell?!” Ash screams. “WHAT WAS THAT?!”
And suddenly a familiar voice cuts cleanly through the chaos.
“Correction,” Theo says calmly from a crater of his own making, “I’m the Biggest Bird!”
And for half a second, nobody processes it.
Then another pearl lands and instantly a minecart explodes next to where Ash had just been standing.
Farther away Parrot sees a fishing rod get pulled. And in the next instant both the rod and Ash are gone.
Unlucky, Parrot thinks.
Around Parrot, the world has turned into explosions. He knows it’s barely been a few moments, but already the terrain is covered in holes.
Any of the remaining Gold trims are scattered, desperately trying to not get blown to smithereens or pop their totems. Meanwhile, the two Diamonds are actively chasing Theo down around the courtyard.
Which has started to imitate Swiss cheese.
Next to him, Wifies sounds like he’s shouting something, but Parrot is completely still.
This hadn’t happened the first time.
Theo shouldn’t even be here.
“You know, not wearing any armor is a pretty dumb move on your bosses part!” Theo taunts. “Especially when I’m around!”
Parrot feels like he can breath again.
“You all should be thanking Parrot.” Theo laughs. “That shot probably would have killed your boss if they hadn’t gotten an invis potion to the face.”
“Theo…” Parrot whispers.
“Hilarious though! Nice shot Parrot!” Theo calls back to him.
And then suddenly Theo is right next to Parrot, geared to the nines, and dropping some extra gear in front of him.
“Come on Parrot, start running!” Theo says imploringly. “How am I supposed to protect the King of Unstable if he just stays standing there?!”
And all at once it clicks.
This is Theo. His Theo. Future Theo.
Which sucks because Parrot realizes exactly what is about to happen.
He whips around, and for the first time dares to look directly at Wifies; who is now staring downwards without moving. Parrot doesn't have to guess that Wifies must be rapidly signaling CoinMonke to pull the stasis.
Which means Parrot doesn't have much time.
“I’m about to get ender-pearled!” he blurts out. “Theo! Meet me! Northern Council!”
Wifies head snaps up towards Parrot. “Parrot what is going on!? Where is-? No, who even is that?”
But Parrot tunes everyone else out, still staring at Theo, who is already spamming more TNT minecarts like a man possessed.
“You got it!” Theo calls back in between another explosion. “I’ll meet up with you soon!”
There’s a detail in Wifies final moments that I keep coming back to. It’s small, but it’s strangely beautiful.
In ParrotX2’s video, the song Eternity plays quietly in the background. The music carries this steady, unwavering pulse. Almost like a timer.
Then, from Wifies perspective, you can hear the soft ticking of a clock.
Like it's counting something.
In Minecraft, it takes an item five minutes to despawn.
I can’t help but imagine that Parrot started counting the moment he dropped the spyglass on that pressure plate.
But Wifies’ death message only appeared after about two minutes.
So while Parrot may not have seen Wifies pick up the spyglass, I like to believe that he still knew what Wifies choice was in the end.
By the time I clocked that something was wrong, it was already too late. Something had started changing at our base.
Not the crops.
Not the build.
Him.
Or FlameFraggs has finally started basing again with his friend Lomedy on the Unstable Smp. Except Lomedy’s ARG followed him there.
The following account is an AU from Flame’s perspective.
Lomedy’s farm was stupidly well organized.
Perfect patches of wheat stretched across the ground in green and gold stripes. Carrots and potatoes sat in their own clean sections, water sources spaced exactly where they needed to be. Every block placed perfectly for maximum farmage. All of it lined up in this weirdly satisfying symmetry that only Lomedy would care about.
After their neighbors had rebuilt Flames canyon base far too big, they’d been given almost too much room to work with. So it was a pretty easy decision that a section of it would be dedicated purely for farming.
And said section had been fully converted into a farmer’s paradise.
Lomedy’s paradise.
And now, I guess, mine too.
I jumped from fence post to fence post, testing my movement, attribute swapping mid-air just to make sure everything still felt clean. I didn’t know when that former Law assassin dude would be back; so the rest of my time would be spent training. All the while Lomedy lazily replanted seeds, as though we weren’t on a server where peace lasted about five minutes max.
“You realize,” I said, landing perfectly on a fence corner, “you could automate, like… half of this.”
“I know,” he replied easily. “I just like doing it.”
“Bro. It’s wheat.”
“It’s farming.”
I hopped down, grabbed a stray stack of seeds, and started planting beside him. “You’re way too peaceful for this server.”
“Someone has to be.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not me.”
The clouds drifted quietly overhead. No name tags in the distance. No random fight requests. A calm afternoon for once.
“I think we’re almost done here,” Lomedy added. “The seeds that Tyler asked me to plant earlier should be grown soon. We can go back and harvest the rest later.”
I froze mid-step.
“Who?”
He kept planting. “Tyler.”
I scanned the farm. Just us. Same as it had been all day.
“Bro,” I said slowly, “who’s Tyler?”
He paused. “…What?”
“Tyler. You just said Tyler asked you to plant something.”
He turned toward me, genuinely confused. “I didn’t say that.”
“You literally just did.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Bro.”
“I didn’t.”
Lomedy stood there, staring at me with seeds still in his hand.
I shrugged, letting it go.
“Okay. Sure. Ghost farmer Tyler. Whatever, bro.”
He huffed a small laugh. “You’re weird.”
We went back to harvesting.
The sun dipped lower while we worked, shadows stretching long across the crops. We were almost finished when a creeper slipped out from a hidden corner.
Lomedy didn’t turn fast enough.
I did.
I got in a clean sword hit. Knocked it back. But it already started detonating. The blast clipped Lomedy’s side and blew a small crater straight through the perfect wheat row.
“Ow.”
I turned immediately. “You good?”
“Yeah?”
“You said ow.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Not this again-” I shook my head. “Alright, bro. Sure. Are you good?”
“I’m fine.” Lomedy assured. “It barely hurt.”
I tossed him a few golden apples anyway and turned to patch up the crater.
Behind me he gave a quick “Thanks!” and I heard a few quick crunching sounds.
Which abruptly stopped.
I glanced back.
Lomedy was standing completely still. Head tilted just slightly, like he was focused on something past the farm. Completely frozen.
“Uh… Lomedy?”
I blinked.
And he glitched two blocks forward.
“Bro what!?”
“What?” he said, snapping back to life like nothing happened.
“What is your lag, bro?!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just teleported.”
“I did?”
“You literally just glitched out.”
“Huh, that’s weird. My ping is fine.” He laughed lightly. “Maybe your internet just can’t handle all my wheat?”
“My internet? Are you serious, bro?”
I stared at him longer this time. Something was going on.
But he just laughed and went back to planting like nothing had happened.
We worked until the sun fully dipped below the horizon.
At some point I stepped away to grab more seeds.
When I came back, Lomedy wasn’t farming anymore.
He was standing near one of the animal pens.
Staring at a something in the dark.
I walked up beside him, and took a glance at it.
A single sign was sticking up out of the ground.
.. - ... / -... .- -.-. -.-
I narrowed my eyes. “What the-?”
“I didn’t write it,” he said. “It just, it was just here.”
His voice was quieter than usual. Like there was something about this sign that legitimately scared him.
“Okay…” I said slowly. “You’re the only one who builds here though.”
“I know.”
“You seriously don’t remember placing a sign?”
“No.”
He didn’t look away from it. Just kept staring it down, like it was gonna move or something.
Eventually I broke the sign.
“Hey!”
“Look, if someone’s sneaking around the base,” I said, voice flattening, “that’s a problem.”
“I haven’t seen anyone.” he murmured.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
He sounded sure.
I wasn’t.
We packed up early that evening and transported the rest of the crops inside.
I suggested we could get more sorting done around the center of the base, but that was just an excuse. If someone was lurking around, I’d rather Lomedy be somewhere defensible. Somewhere I could see every entrance.
I watched out the windows while he headed to the top floor.
By the time the Minecraft night had passed, I got hungry.
In real life it was actually getting late, so I went to grab some real food from my fridge.
I was gone maybe ten minutes.
When I came back, there was another sign on the computer screen.
Right in front of me.
.-. ..- -.
I stopped.
“Lomedy?” I called out.
“…Yeah?” came the reply from upstairs.
“Get down here.”
He dropped down, and I stepped aside.
“You’re messing with me,” I said flatly. “You put this here.”
He stared at the sign.
“No.”
“Okay. So someone else came here?”
“I didn’t see anyone…”
“Bro, I was gone ten minutes,” I snapped. “If no one was here, then how is this here?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t hear anything? Doors? Steps?”
“No.”
His voice was barely a whisper now.
“I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I don’t remember.”
My irritation faltered.
“You don’t remem-. Bro.”
“I don’t. I don’t know.”
And he wasn’t lying.
I could tell.
After that, I decided to take it seriously. Maybe someone was messing with us? It wouldn’t have been the first time. Maybe another farmer? Those surviving Law members with a grudge? Or maybe Lomedy was sleepwalking?
I had no idea.
I went through my ender chest and handed Lomedy a goat horn I’d taken off a dead Law commander. They wouldn't be needing it.
“If anything happens,” I said firmly, “you blow this. I don’t care what it is. You blow it. Got it?”
He nodded.
I circled the perimeter of the base three times that day. Checked the canyon for invis particles. Looked for hidden name tags. Broke into spots that could’ve been hiding places.
Nothing.
No one.
After a full day of nothing and me pacing around, we decided some mining was in order.
Well, Lomedy insisted we needed iron.
I insisted on coming.
The entrance to the mine looked normal enough. Two blocks wide, two blocks tall, simple staircase heading down.
But the further down we went, the less normal it felt.
At one point the tunnel narrowed from a two-wide to a one block without any reason.
I took the lead.
Sharp turns began appearing where there shouldn’t be. Like this tunnel had been made by someone running away or someone trying to juke another player out. The whole thing was like a maze. It didn't make sense. And then there were these random drop offs on the side of the path leading straight into darkness.
There being almost zero torches didn’t help.
I slowed down.
We walked in silence until the path ended abruptly at a cobblestone wall.
“Have you been down here?” I asked Lomedy quietly.
“No… I haven’t.”
I nodded.
Then I started breaking through.
If someone was playing games, hiding out in their mine and trying to freak them out…Well then, they were about to find out what a maxed out what a maxed out sword in the hands of a Combat Master could do.
At the end of the passage was another blocked off cobblestone wall.
And another sign.
don’t go further
“At least we can read your sign this time,” he joked.
“I didn’t write this,” Lomedy said immediately.
In one quick motion I broke the sign and the wall.
“Yeah, you keep saying that….” I replied, and then turned towards the tunnel.
“Look, if anyone's down there you better come out!” I yelled.
But nothing moved.
“Okay, last chance or I’m gonna slime you out!”
No one replied.
Welp, cant say I didnt warn them.
I sped up along the winding tunnel.
After taking a few more turns, I realized the tunnel had fully leveled out.
Was there no more room to go down?
But there were still multiple drops lining the path….
How had they not hit bedrock yet?
After turning another corner, another sign blocked the path.
While Parrot teaches us to always strive to do the right thing, Spoke reminds us that even when we make mistakes we are never too far gone for redemption. When Flame bids us to dedicate our lives in the journey of honor, Wemmbu reminds us that company on the road is what makes the journey worth continuing.
Where Eggchan shows us that guiding someone away from violence can matter just as much as stopping it, Mapicc reminds us that helping someone face their wrongs doesn’t mean ignoring their darkness, but staying close enough to keep them from being consumed by it. When Lomedy teaches us that a harmless life with the ones you care for is the essence of true strength, Theobald shows us that a true friend will stand beside you not because you’re always right, but because you’re worth protecting anyway.
