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Minute turned away from where he had just helped heal Egg's arrow wound, spotting a bright light shining from the spawning platform of the End dimension.
He smiled.
The empty blackness of the void lit up for the first time in nearly two decades, the void turning slightly lighter, flashes of purple occasionally lighting the area. Faint white sparkles streaked all around the void, acting like stars in the night sky. The few remaining Endermen followed his gaze to where a beam of purple light had shot to the 'sky' of the End.
A symphony of voices sang in the old lost language of the End, joyous in the return of the lost soul of their ruler. The Endermen rushed to where Wemmbu lay on the cold obsidian platform, screaming a song of welcome that Minute couldn't translate.
Wemmbu laid on the ground, disorientated from the switch in dimensions. He groaned and pushed himself up, only to be surrounded by Endermen. He tried not to look them in the eyes, but with so many surrounding him it was almost impossible. Strangely enough, they didn't seem to mind. They actually acted… happy to see him?
Wemmbu was gently picked up by one of the tall entities, and now that his senses had clear up, he could hear familiar voices singing all around him. Which was extremely weird, because he normally heard these voices in his own head.
Welcome home, Dragon!
Your highness!
Praise the Dragon!
You have returned!
It has been too long!
Welcome back!
Welcome back!
Welcome back!
Wemmbu was overwhelmed in the strange creatures joy. He knew that he was the ruler of the End once upon a time, but he didn't realize that the Endermen here worshiped him! None of the Endermen in the Overworld (when they still spawned) acted like this. Was it because they spawned in different dimensions?
"You… you guys have been talking to me?" he asked as the creature carried over to what seemed like Minute and Egg.
At least Egg is okay.
Yes!
We helped!
Yes!
Helped get Gambit!
Helped get Crucible!
And explosives!
Yeah!
Explosives!
Huh. So this entire time he's been lead around by the strange voices of his… followers? Subjects? But he has no memory of being the Ender Dragon, so why would they still worship him?
They brought him straight over to where Minute was just chilling with Egg beside him, "Welcome back, Wemmbu."
"Heyyyyy Minute!" Wemmbu decided - fuck it - this situation isn't the worst thing he's been through.
"Are you alright?!" Egg panicked.
"Yeah," he said as the Enderman carrying him set him down, "I should be asking you if you're alright! You're the one who got shot!"
Minute smiled as Wemmbu rushed over and gave him a tight hug, "Hey, you're still as short as ever."
Wemmbu sniffed a little, "Asshole."
Minute let out a soft laugh, "Good to see you, kid."
The Endermen around them let out small whines as Wemmbu's attention had been stolen from them. One of them moved forward with a small box and presented it to him.
"What's this?" Wemmbu's head tilted as he took the box from the tall creature.
He gasped as he uncovered a golden tiara. Not like the small one holding his ponytail, this one was larger. It was meant to cradle his horns and was covered in the same amethyst jewels as Gambit. He was almost too scared to touch such a beautiful thing.
"Here," Minute gently pulled the little tiara from Wemmbu's ponytail, "let me help you."
Wemmbu purred lightly as Minute brushed and retied his hair, weaving pieces of gold jewelry between the strands. Finally, the voidling carefully placed the tiara on top of the dragons head, the jewels glowing once in place.
Surprisingly, the tiara felt like nothing could move it. Wemmbu shook his head and the tiara stayed in place. It must be magic.
The Endermen sung in joy, teleporting around the main island. Wemmbu found it a little funny that such dangerous creatures acted like excited little kids.
"Rest here for a while, I know you want to go to the mainlands of the Overworld as fast as possible, but the two of you have been on the move for a year." Minute explained.
"I guess you're right," Wemmbu huffed, "the me and Egg can go home."
"Uhhh- about that…" Egg trailed off, "I'm kind of… stuck here?"
Wemmbu's head snapped around, "WHAT?!"
Egg winced at the shriek, "I may or may not have set my spawn point in the Farlands…"
Wemmbu groaned and covered his face, "Eggggggg!"
"I know."
"How am I supposed to get you out?!" Wemmbu was stressing, this was supposed to be the easy part.
"Actually," Minute cut in, "I know someone who specializes in glitches and exploits. He might know how to get you out without destroying your spawn point."
"Really?!" the duos heads snapped towards him, "Who?!"
"My… cousin? Spoke." Minute seemed a little confused in what to call this 'Spoke' guy, which is fair as voidlings don't have typical families.
"Okay," Wemmbu started in a determined tone, "After resting, I'll go home on my own. Then I'll go to the Zam Empire to get mine and Egg's communicators fixed. After that, I'll message Minute for the contact info for Spoke!"
Egg showed a thumbs up, "Sounds good!"
"As long as you rest first." Minute sighed.
Finally with a plan in mind, Wemmbu relaxed next to his friend.
~
"Can I tell you something?" Egg asked as they lay next to each other in Minute's bed (how did he get this thing to work in a different dimension?).
Wemmbu turned to him, his hair fanned out around them, "Yeah? What's up?"
"You know how - when we first met - I was just sitting at the library waiting for you?" Egg started.
Wemmbu hummed, "Mmhmm?"
"Have you ever wondered about that?" Egg asked.
"Well, yeah," Wemmbu admitted, "but I thought you'd tell me about it sooner or later."
"Well…" Egg turned on his back to stare up at the ceiling, "back when you were the Ender Dragon, I was your Guardian Angel."
"Dragons can have Guardian Angels?" Wemmbu tilted his head.
"Yeah," Egg sighed, "when dragon-you was slain, I 'died' as well. But because your soul survived, so did mine. I stayed attached to you as you grew up in that human body. That's why you didn't die when you were living in the jungle on your own. I was there to help you."
"You know what? That makes so much more sense then just getting lucky." Wemmbu giggled.
"When you started staying with Mane and Flame, I found it safe enough o leave you for a while to remake my physical form. Then Minute ended up finding me and taking me in. I moved into the village about around the time you first started hearing voices."
"Because you knew I would look for someone to teach me!"
"Right! And nobody but me could teach you, so I waited at a place I knew you were going to be."
"The library!"
"Yeah!"
Wemmbu hummed in thought, "If you think about, we've been friends in two lifetimes…"
Egg huffed, "You could put it that way, though I do think we argued more when you were a dragon."
"That's because I'm always right~!" Wemmbu sung, causing Egg to roll his eyes.
"Whatever, dude."
~
"You've got everything? Food, weapons, restocks?" Minute fussed over him almost as much as the Endermen.
"Yes, Minute!" Wemmbu groaned, "I'm ready to go!"
Minute sighed when Wemmbu squirmed in his grip, "Okay, okay. You can go now."
"Yes!" Wemmbu cheered, rushing towards the portal, "Bye Minute! Bye Egg! Bye Endermen! See you later!"
Egg sighed, "He's going to fuck this up somehow."
"Have faith…" Minute trailed off with absolutely no faith in him.
The Endermen all whined mournfully as their ruler left their dimension once again.
~
Wemmbu flew away from the chaos of spawn. On any other day, he'd be happy of run around smashing the withers with Gambit, but he just really wanted to go home. He's had his 16th and 17th birthday away from home and he just wants his brothers.
He still needs to apologize.
What if they didn't except his apology? What if Flame was still mad at him? What if Mane still thought he was a lost cause? What if, what if, what if…
No.
He wouldn't think about that. He missed his brothers and he knows that his brothers have missed him. He's tired and just wants to curl up in Mane's den and sleep for a week straight.
He's coming home.
He flapped his wings frantically, using fireworks to boost him forward. His wings felt heavy with exhaustion as he forced them to continue, but he didn't care.
He's coming home.
He passed by unfamiliar terrain until something that he knew like the back of his hand came into view. The jungle.
I'm coming home.
He weaved through the trees that he used to run through - a strange feeling if he's being honest - until he reached a village he knew. It was oddly quiet as he passed over, like no one was actually there. He didn't stop to look, flying down a path he used to take every day.
I'm coming home!
And there.
Right in front of him.
A massive treehouse.
I'm home!