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Wemmbu felt pretty confident on his way to the northern council. With his nukes recharged, maces at the ready and nobody to look out for... what could possibly go wrong.
“No. I was just observing. Seeing what you’re capable of now.”
Lettuce was portraying his usual picture-perfect calm appearance, but something about him felt off. Ever since Parrot had brought the demon hybrid on stage in their last encounter, there was a noticeable difference to his character. It was like the flip of a switch, Wemmbu had noticed it immediately that day. The caracal’s eyes widening in shock then narrowing in barely controlled rage.
Pure hatred laced each of Lettuce’s words, teeth gritted and voice menacingly low. His shoulders shook with hostility and the last thing the other saw was the caracal launching himself at him with his mace held high and sharp eyes darkened with murderous intent. It barely took a second for Wemmbu to react and stasis out of there, following Parrot’s plan, but the malicious expression still haunted him for a while after.
Sure he knew that the leader of the Law would be mad, but the amount of resentment in his glare was of a new level even to the demon hybrid who was despised by many enemies alike. Naturally, Wemmbu held no sympathy for him in that regard either way. Lettuce was the one who had chosen the path he was walking on. He should’ve known what the consequences would be, setting his foot on the player’s own road.
‘It’s not my fault he wouldn’t leave me alone. Of course I would fight back!’ the man told himself. He replied to the lawman with his usual taunting then paused in consideration. “Well, I mean,” he shrugged, becoming serious. “I’m acting like there’s gonna be a next time.”
Obviously, it would all be over now. Lettuce had no one left to protect him, standing alone with nothing except for the mace in his hand. The demon took a second to consider if he should simply use one of his stabshots or pop all his totems with
first then finish with a bang. MinuteTech did tell him not to kill the guy, but... after everything he had done to Wemmbu? To Minute himself? To his other friends allies?
Wemmbu didn’t want to give the caracal any hope or opportunity of potentially breaking out of any sort of ,,inescapable prison’’ that Kenadian, Wato or anyone else might build. No. The demon wanted him dead and banned off the server with no possible chance of having any sort of attempt to take revenge on him or anyone else he cared about was allied with.
Lettuce humorlessly chuckled, a hollow sound in the otherwise deafening silence. “I mean, I... just wanted to see if I’d have to use this after all.” he holstered his mace and took out a fishing rod from his inventory. The caracal’s expression remained stoic, a ghost of a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. “What’s that supposed to be?” Wemmbu squinted, tilting his head slightly to the side in confusion.
“Fishing rod.” his voice remained level, dismissing the tiny feeling deep in his chest that raised in suspicion as he got closer to take a better look. “oooohhhh-” the demon hybrid mocked with confidence, but was cut off by the severity of Lettuce’s next words.
“Remember your friend Jaden?”
The lawman’s eyes bore straight into his with a threatening intensity, and the same feeling that the man had gotten prior on stage had washed over him once again. Wemmbu tensed, any sarcastic quip that he could’ve had instantly caught in his throat. Lettuce paused for a short period of time, letting the words truly seep into the other until his gaze changed from abruptly stunned to horrified recognition.
It didn’t actually show on his face, but the player could imagine his expression. He almost wished that the demon wasn’t so guarded all the time so that he could get the satisfaction of seeing the dread himself, but the sudden stillness of his tail and firmly set jaw would just have to do. Despite the urge to display his utmost pleasure of having the upper hand again, he remained in control - both of himself and the situation.
“If I pull this rod” the words hung heavily in the air for a brief moment. “Jaden dies.”
Wemmbu couldn’t even speak. He was planning on freeing Jaden from captivity after getting his orbitals and killing Lettuce. There wasn’t a single point at which the demon considered that the caracal would try to use the pirate as leverage over him. It was stupid to ponder now, but the thought of it had never even crossed his mind. His grip on the netherite sword in his hand tightened almost subconsciously.
The air was thick with a tense silence as they simply stared at each other wordlessly for a while. Lettuce was the first one to break it with that eerily calm voice of his. “Are you ready to finally cooperate?” his tone was firm yet quiet, a slight contrast to the usual conviction it held. Wemmbu loathed the fact that there was nothing he could do because this wasn’t some physical fight that he could just pvp through and win.
With an audible sigh of defeat, the demon hybrid forced himself not to glare and at least settle for a frown as he loosened the grip on his sword. He didn’t offer an answer to his question, instead choosing to cross his arms while his tail swung agitatedly behind him. It was the only part of him that he couldn’t exactly fully control. “I’m going to need your maces... and orbitals.” the leader of the Law placed a shulker down.
“You know I just got those back, right?”
“Wemmbu.”
“Fine, fine. Can I at least put them in my ender chest? Not like I’ll have access to one anyway.”
Lettuce had made the mistake of actually considering his question instead of outright refusing the request. It was a bit strange, though the man doubted that there was actually any ,,good’’ left in the player. “To prove to you that I’m not as terrible as you make me out to be, I’ll allow it.” Wemmbu represses the urge to bitterly chuckle at that, biting back a particularly snarky reply.
He knew that there was probably no way he was getting out of prison this time, but still, the caracal was an idiot for letting him stash his most powerful possessions. It was a little demoralizing to think that the lawman was certain he wouldn’t escape again. “So... that’s it? You’re really just going to lock me up again.” he asks, placing most of his gear in the shulker while Lettuce watched, still steadily holding the fishing rod.
The caracal picks up the full shulker then places another down along with an ender chest in which he lets Wemmbu place his own valuables inside. “As much as I would love to execute you right where you stand, I have some other plans for you later.” The other raises a brow, but makes no comment on it. He doubted he’d be able to conceal the swirling mix of emotions in him for much longer so best to stay quiet.
After the whole process with the demon is done, Lettuce motions for him to follow and they begin their walk to one of the Law prisons in mostly silence. The player makes sure they’re walking near each other, side by side. He was still holding the fishing rod in his other hand as a warning reminder that Jaden’s life still hung in his hand. It wasn’t long before he’d felt a need to break the peace.
“I just want you to know that you’ve forced my hand with this.” the man states sending him a quick glance. “The only reason I have this is because of your little stunt with Parrot. I didn’t make him set a stasis when I captured him since this wasn’t initially a part of my plan, but... sometimes you just have to adapt to the situation in the best way you know how.”
Wemmbu didn’t dignify him with a response.
<★>
Jaden sighed for what felt like the billionth time since he was imprisoned. A few days ago, Lettuce had forced him to throw an ender pearl into a stasis chamber. The pirate didn’t really understand why the man wanted him to do so, if he wanted to kill him then surely he would’ve just executed him on the spot. But what possible leverage could Lettuce even have with his ender pearl?
The only reason that would’ve made sense is if the caracal forced him to become a lawmen, but Jaden had been sitting in an obsidian cell with mining fatigue for weeks now. Setting his stasis was the single time that he’d been out of the tiny room and he was escorted straight back into it after he had done so with little resistance and no other option. It was better to begrudgingly do so rather than to get killed immediately.
He’d been locked up in this prison for probably a couple weeks now, if he had to guess. It was hard to tell the time without any real sunlight or clock, but the man had made his assumption based on the number of the guards’ appearances. From what he could tell, they were feeding him once every three days or so, rations must be tight with the amount of lawmen Lettuce has to feed.
Either that or the caracal had decided that criminals don’t get to eat after Wemmbu’s escape. The demon hybrid had told him a bit about his short life in prison and he exclusively remembered him mentioning being fed once a day in the cafeteria with what little he could get. Unfortunately for Jaden, he was being treated even worse. There were no communal activities for him or anything of the sorts.
Frankly, he wasn’t even sure if he was in the same prison or if this was built specifically for him, since the player had been knocked unconscious before waking up in the obsidian cell. Truthfully, the pirate didn’t even understand why the room was made of obsidian if there were iron bars at the front of his cell along with an iron door. It wasn’t like he could mine out either way with the mining fatigue.
Additionally, even if he did somehow manage to mine out, there would be at least a hundred or so lawmen ready to kill him. Jaden was powerless to defend himself if it came to it. Lettuce had not only taken all of his gear, but also his pirate hat which, in his humble opinion, was just an unnecessarily cruel touch. One last effort of completely destroying his morale and he hated to admit it, but... it worked.
No one was coming to save him and he wasn’t the king of the pirates anymore. He hated to think about the fact that his civilization was probably long gone in ruins along with his people. The man despised imagining it even more: an enormous crater, almost as vast as the hole in his heart, littered with the dead bodies of his fellow friends who never got the chance to live out their lives in peace.
Jaden tried his best not to think about these type of things, but trapped in a gloomy cell with nothing apart from his own mind to occupy him paved the way for intrusive thoughts that clawed at the back of his brain. It didn’t help that Loppezz was the one who was bringing him food, either. She never spoke, but her cold glare was proof enough of how she perceived him. They reminded each other of Rejoice, he was well aware.
Sometimes the pirate wondered about what was going on outside as his mind wandered back to when he’d set his stasis. Before that moment, he hadn’t seen Lettuce ever since he’d been captured and the lawman gave him his whole monologue about justice, order and all that stuff which he’d only half listened to. Afterwards, he was robbed of all his items then escorted to the cell and from then it was only ever Loppezz.
Then the caracal appeared again a couple days ago, to the best of his estimation, seething and roughly dragging Jaden out of the jail cell. Mace in hand, he threatened him to start walking so the other quickly complied. He was genuinely shocked seeing the player so disheveled and livid, but refused to voice it out loud. Whatever happened... what followed for him and the people involved would be even worse...
He was half expecting Lettuce to execute him in a fit of rage, but instead he was lead to a small room deep inside the prison. Subsequently, the man shoved a fishing rod and pearl into his hands and pressured him to set his stasis. Jaden hesitated, knowing nothing good could possibly come out of this, but the Law leader didn’t really give him much of an option as he swung his sword at his back once.
Hissing in pain and surprise, the pirate wasn’t going to mess with his survival chances anymore and simply dropped the ender pearl into the bubble column, casting the rod on the pressure plate as well. Once that was over with, the caracal snatched the rod out of his hand and ordered Loppezz to take him back to his cell. Even the guard herself seemed a bit shaken up by the man’s different-from-usual behaviour.
Nothing eventful had happened in the prison since then... that was until now, when the door to the cell block opened. By Jaden’s calculations, it wasn’t supposed to unlock in another day unless he had accidentally overslept for twenty four hours. The pirate immediately perked up from sitting against the wall as the last time there was a shift in routine, the consequences weren’t so kind for him.
To his surprise, when he stood up to lean against the iron bars, he was met with the sight of Lettuce instead of Loppezz. However, this time, he was accompanied by a familiar face which made his eyes widen in shock. The lawman pushed Wemmbu into the room, making him stumble slightly with an annoyed glare. His eyes scanned the room, gaze locking with Jaden’s when he’d caught sight of him.
Unexpectedly, relief and something else that he couldn’t quite make out flashed over the demon hybrid’s face before schooling it back to a more neutral expression, though the annoyance from earlier remained. “You two can share a cell... for now.” the caracal said, flipping the lever. The other stepped in then the door closed and Lettuce stood to the side for a moment, observing the two awkwardly standing next to each other.
“Enjoy it while it lasts.” he remarks, taking his leave and closing the entrance of the cell block. The room was momentarily silent, the two standing opposite each other and continuing their mutual stare when the leader of the Law was no longer present. “It’s... nice to see you again...” Jaden attempts to make light of their situation. Apparently it works because Wemmbu snorts, breaking eye contact by looking away.
“Yeah, well, I’d rather it was under different circumstances.” despite that, they were both glad to see each other though neither voiced it out loud. “How did you- Dude, what are you doing here?” the pirate couldn’t help but laugh, completely dumbfounded. “It’s uh... it’s a long story...” the demon’s voice was unusually quiet and hesitant, tail barely moving. “Well, time is one of the few things that we have in abundance here...”
Wemmbu tilted his head back up to stare at the man briefly, as if trying to read him, then he looked away again, attempting to casually lean on the obsidian wall behind him as he crossed his arms.
“Let’s just say that I didn’t really have a choice.”
“Didn’t think you did. Just tell me what happened.”
“I got threatened by Letty and then I ended up here.”
“Wemmbu.”
“That’s literally what happened!?”
“Seriously.”
“Alright! Fine.” the player released an annoyed huff.
The silence that followed gave the pirate the impression that he’d have to push the other more, but just as he was about to speak again...
“Lettuce said he was going to pull your stasis.”
Jaden’s eyes widened, bewildered. “What?”
“And I wasn’t about to find out if he was bluffing or not.”
He was momentarily stunned into silence. “Wemmbu...” his voice softened from surprise at the implication behind those words - Wemmbu genuinely cared about him, there was no doubt.
“That’s how I ended up here.” The demon hybrid didn’t dare glance at his friend ally. “Can you stop staring at me like that now?” he sent him a quick annoyed glare, eyes barely flicking over while his tail swung lightly. There was a dorky smile on the player’s face that made him feel warm weird in his chest.
“You actually saved me...”
“Okay bro, I didn’t save you. I didn’t even know for sure if Lettuce was telling the truth!”
“But you weren’t willing to take that chance, were you?”
Wemmbu was speechless for a second. “Of course no- I mean, obviously no? Why would I risk that?” he chuckles. “Like you would’ve died. That’s just... stupid...”
“You could’ve saved your own skin though.” Jaden grins, mouth concealed under the mask though it was clear from the way the corners of his eyes crinkled and cheeks raised slightly. “But you didn’t. Instead, you chose to bare the consequences.”
“D’alright, bro. We just be saying anything.” the demon rolled his eyes with a tiny smile.
The pirate walked over the short distance towards him. He raised a brow as the other placed a hand on his shoulder. “Uh?-” then suddenly, the man pulled him into his chest and gently wrapped his arms around him. Wemmbu’s mind went blank, body stiffening for a minute and tail going completely still. ‘What the-’
Jaden was hugging him.
Why was Jaden hugging him...
“Thank you for not leaving me.” his voice was quiet and soft. “You’re the only friend I’ve got left.”
‘Oh.’
Hesitantly, the demon hybrid returned the gesture by enveloping him as well. His tail hung low, slowly flicking from side to side in content. Once the pirate’s hand slid down from his shoulder to back and pushed him ever so closer, Wemmbu finally relaxed fully. When was the last time he’d been embraced like this? He couldn’t even remember but damn did it feel nice.
It was... unexpected, how safe he felt in Jaden’s arms. Safe and warm, comfortable. The demon didn’t have many people that he could even consider friends, but... well, he guessed he was fine with giving that title to the pirate. Subconsciously, his tail leisurely wrapped itself around the player’s leg as a sign of affection. The other stifled a giggle at that, happy that he’d returned the gesture.
They stayed like that for a short while, just enjoying the comfort they provided each other. Wemmbu didn’t want to pull away, grateful that Jaden was the one to do it first to save his ego. He shuffled to the side, purely out of embarrassment, pretending to observe the room through the iron bars. The man didn’t comment on it, feigning ignorance and allowing him an out from addressing the vulnerable moment.
“If you’re looking for a way out-”
“What else would I be looking for, bro.” a defensive response.
“Well, I’ve already studied this entire room multiple times. There’s even more security than before in the prison so... even if we do manage to get out of here somehow...”
“Without gear we’re screwed.”
“Pretty much.”
Wemmbu heaves a long dramatically drawn out sigh as he plops on the floor next to the bars. The pirate joins him, sitting down next to him - close enough to be able to reach out, but far enough not to crowd, just how the demon hybrid liked it. Honestly, he was surprised that Jaden knew that about him, unaware that the player had learned it by observing him with Egg in Pirate City.
Speaking of...
The player was reluctant to voice the thoughts, but he just needed to hear the confirmation from his friend. “It’s all gone... isn’t it...” it was supposed to be a question, but sounded too defeated and broken. “What?” Wemmbu turned his head towards him, confused. “Pirate City?” Jaden’s voice was barely above a whisper. “The orbital strike canon blew everything up, didn’t it?”
“No, Pirate City is chill, dawg.” he sadly looks away. “Everyone kinda died, but Egg and I managed to destroy the cannon before it actually blew the place up. It was fine when we left and Lettuce has no reason to destroy an empty civ so... I mean when we get out you just have to recruit new people, but other than that- Are you crying?”
Jaden wiped away the tears that were starting to gather in his eyes. “Sorry I- Dude, I thought... You actually saved it?” The demon sympathetically smiled. “Yeah, bro. You really think I was just gonna let Letty nuke all your hard work?” he readjusts his position to lean back more comfortably. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Wemmbu...”
“Yo can you stop with that ,,soft surprised voice’’ already?”
“Alright mister ,,never shows his real emotions’’ here.”
“That’s not even-”
“Don’t you dare deny it. You’re not nonchalant, dude.”
“D’alright bro.”
Both of them laugh and a nostalgic sort of calm settles between them. Wemmbu’s tail which was previously just lying on the floor between them was occasionally bouncing up with pleased serenity. It almost would’ve felt peaceful if they were to ignore the place and situation they were actively in. “So you really think we’re going to get out?” Jaden suddenly breaks the tranquility.
“I got out once.”
“Because of Spoke.”
“Only ‘cause I was running out of time ‘til my execution. Otherwise I would’ve come up with something myself.”
“Dude, I hate to break it to you, but you’ve got even less time now...”
“Thanks, Jaden. I was unaware of that.” he sarcastically quips, tail starting to pick up its lashing in annoyance.
“We need to come up with a plan, fast.”
“Yeah. Obviously.”
The cell was momentarily silent again, as Jaden’s thoughts strayed to something he had been thinking about often lately. “Hey, uh. There’s... something I’ve been meaning to tell you...” There was a serious undertone in his words which made Wemmbu curiously raise an eyebrow. “Go on?” The pirate took a deep breath, rehearsing the words in his head again like he did countless times before in the past weeks.
“I know that what happened in the abandoned civilization is my fault.” the demon instantly tensed at the mention of the place already knowing what the man was implying with that. “Jaden don’t-” his friend cut him off, stuttering. “It’s okay I’ve-”
“Let me finish.” his voice held the same authority that he’d used with his pirates and it immediately shut the other up. “Please.” A lump formed in Wemmbu’s throat that he’d barely managed to swallow down. Without realizing it, his tail had wrapped itself around him, kind of protectively in a way. The pirate watched for a second as he all but shrunk in front of him, figuratively.
“If it wasn’t for me... Rejoice would probably still be alive today. I’m sorry for constantly taunting you about him. I only realized how wrong I was about... well, everything, when your name got revealed in chat. I guess that’s also when I realized that... he was right. It was already too late, but I didn’t want to be your enemy anymore. While reshaping Ranger Point, I had a lot of time to think about what you did for me.”
“Bro-”
“Shut up, Wemmbu. There was no reason for you to spare me. You could’ve just killed me like that Lobster guy. No one else was around. You let me stay and rebuild my pirate civilization in the Great Sea. You helped me in so many ways, probably in many more that I don’t even know about. And from that point... well, I guess that was when I started to view you as more of an ally, someone I could rely on.”
Jaden tilted his head to meet his gaze with a smile. “A friend.”
Wemmbu was unable to stop his brain from pulling out the memories buried deep within it - out of sight, out of mind, that’s how he operated. Except now, they were all rushing back to the front as if the dam which was keeping them from flooding back had been broken - a dam built of glass, easily shattered in an instant.
He thought about that day, Rejoice’s body slumping before his eyes and then quickly sent it flying back, far away in his head. Jaden’s previous pirate civilization, the one which he’d blown up with others alike before, was gone by his hand. It was strange, wanting to help him on his endeavour to recreate it even when Wemmbu’s own mission was over and yet he didn’t regret it even though it revealed his identity.
The demon hybrid could barely even hold eye contact. This was too raw. Too deep. Too... vulnerable. Wemmbu couldn’t- There was no way he could utter a single word without it getting caught in his throat along with grief, sorrow, guilt a bunch of feelings he had no interest in naming, much less addressing even to himself. Despite all of that, the pirate continued talking, much to his dismay.
“I will always be grateful for the way you opened my eyes to that and everything else. Saving my city... The least I can do is apologize. I owe you a lot, Wemmbu. But I need to tell you this just in case. I want you to know that I’m so so so incredibly sorry about Rejoice. There’s nothing I can possibly do to make up for that fact, but... I think he would've been proud to know that we became friends.”
Jaden was starting to tear up again. “I just wish he was here to see it himself.” he turned to look over and... surprisingly, the other’s head was buried in his folded arms resting atop his knees which were pulled close to his chest, hiding his expression.
“Uh, Wemmbu? Did you... hear all that?” he reached over, squeezing his shoulder lightly. The man received a suspiciously choked out noise in return. “I’m sorry...” he repeated, inching closer so he could wrap his arm around the player’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry.” he wiped away his own tears, hand moving to rub circles onto his back in an attempt to comfort him.
Wemmbu never said a thing, didn’t even look at Jaden after that. The pirate didn’t pry for an answer, instead silently trying to make up for the regretful loss.
“I already forgave you...” the sudden reply shocked him to the point that his hand froze. The demon’s voice was barely audible, slightly muffled from the position he was in.
“Back when you saved us from the Law... You were already forgiven.”
No further explanation was offered and eventually the air between them turned awkward with the overly exposed emotions. They simply coexisted next to each other for a while until Wemmbu raised his head up, no indication of if he may or may not have been crying visible on his face. “Now that all of that’s out of the way...” as if on cue, an explosion sounded somewhere in the distance.
“Uh. I thought you said you didn’t have a plan?” Jaden raised a brow.
“I don’t...?” the demon leaned against the bars, straining his ears in hopes of hearing better.
Screams and shouts erupted from outside the main entrance, sounds which were suspiciously akin to wind charges and a mace could be heard. Then, finally, a death message popped up in chat.
Outlawtriofan_3 was smashed by FlameFrags with [Incinerator]
Outlawtriofan_3 left the game.
“What the-”
Seconds later, the door was blown up and in stepped the Immortal Demon.
“Flame!?” Wemmbu couldn’t stop the grin spreading over his face at the sight of him.
“Yo.” the blaze hybrid smirked, flipping the lever.
“How did you-”
“No time to explain, bro. Come on. You too, Jaden.” the said man stood stunned in the cell before the other rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him out with them. “Gear up.” he placed an ender chest down and took some shulkers out, completely stacked with pvp items.
“Sweet.” Wemmbu’s grin got impossibly wider, rummaging through the offered shulker and equipping armor then pulling his maces and nukes out from the e-chest. Jaden did the same with his own gear.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Wait. Lettuce has Jaden’s stasis. We need to destroy it.”
“Alright, but we have to make this quick. Everyone’s waiting on us.” Flamefrags impatiently urged, picking up the supplies.
“Wait, who’s ,,everyone’’?”
The player manically grinned in return, not sparing a glance behind him.
“You’ll see...”