Chapter Text
“Another dead end.” Spoke gasped, nearly out of breath from running, “There had to be an end somewhere, right..?” He said, trying to sound hopeful, but it came off as insane instead. “Please.. I can barely handle drinking this many potions..” He almost tripped over, trying to catch his breath and not gagging, but Parrot managed to catch him.
“Spoke, sit down. You’re only hurting yourself.” Parrot helped Spoke sit down. “Let me change your bandages for you.”
“Yeah.. yeah, that would be nice..” Spoke breathed out. Parrot took off Spoke’s shirt, revealing the red-stained bandages all over his chest. Parrot looked in his inventory, grabbing out a roll of bandages. He began removing the old bandages, his hands working diligently to get them off fast. They didn’t have enough time for Spoke to fully rest and recover, which was not great since Spoke’s wounds were very severe.
“Holy, these wounds are extremely large and deep. How the hell did you even survive?” Parrot’s eyes scanned Spoke’s chest with disgust and concern. He could feel some of the dried blood fall onto his hand as he removed the bandages.
“I had some potions of regeneration when Mapicc attacked me. It saved me from nearly dying..” Spoke closed his eyes for a moment, his back slouched against the wall. Parrot had begun bandaging his chest up, the bandage wrapping around his back and chest. Spoke winced, his chest was throbbing with pain as the new bandages touched the wounds. “We’ve been running armor-less for days now.. There seems to be no sign of an exit.”
“No. There is a way out of this hell. We’re just not there yet.” Parrot ripped off a piece of bandage. “We can’t give up hope now. I need to keep my throne.”
“We’re only letting them win by being slow.. You should’ve gone searching for someone else,” Spoke mumbled.
“No, Spoke. I choose you for a reason, even if you weren’t my first choice.” Parrot’s tone turned stern. “You gave me hope when you were willing to help me fight. That’s all that matters right now. I can’t afford to lose.”
“…Thank you, Parrot.” A small, warm smile formed onto Spoke’s face. He pushed himself upwards, forcing himself to stand up, even if it hurts to move. The pain in his chest, which he had been ignoring for days, had suddenly begun to constantly throb and spike. They were sharp, but extremely painful; every time he felt it throb, it would make him lose his balance. He would fumble and fall onto the ground or onto the wall, only for Parrot to constantly catch him. “Still feels like a knife stab every time the pain hits.. Sucks that I can’t drink any potions of regeneration right now or I’ll start getting sick.”
“Well, we’ve drunk a lot more potions than a normal player can take. The after effects eventually will catch up.” Parrot said, also sick of the taste and effect of the potions. Potions of invisibility weren’t the best tasting ones; they tasted bitter with an unpleasant sickenly sweet aftertaste. Often or not, they caused nausea and stomachaches, which resulted in players often fainting onto the ground, their ragdoll bodies falling and flopping. “Are you sure you can walk now?”
“I’m sure, Parrot.” Spoke took a shaky step forward, one hand on his chest. He felt his heart beating against his ribs rapidly. He put one hand on the wall for support, leaning his weight onto one side. Parrot rushed up to him, gently pushing Spoke onto his side, letting his weight fall onto his shoulder.
“Spoke, I got you.” Parrot wrapped an arm around Spoke’s upper back. “Just lean on me, I can support your weight.” Parrot’s left wing lightly wrapped around Spoke, assuring him that he didn’t need to push himself too far. “These halls have been suspiciously empty, but we’ll take whatever opportunity we have to get out,” Parrot mumbled.
They were walking again. Each hall looks exactly the same. There was no way of knowing where you actually are. Spoke felt a sharp pain in his head and tried to ignore it. “Damn it.. If Jamato finds us like this, we’re dead..”
“Jamato won’t find us bro. No one can find us in these halls, not even ourselves,” Parrot reassured. “We’ll be fine, Spoke. We’ll be fine.” Parrot flumbled with his inventory. “Can you handle one more potion, Spoke?”
“Uh..” Spoke almost gagged. “I don’t think so, Parrot. My stomach’s killing me..”
“Uh.. Right.” Parrot scanned through his inventory again. “I’ll use splash potions instead.”
“Thanks, Parrot…” Spoke exhaled sharply, trying to calm himself down. “I feel like I’m one step away from dropping dead…”
“Spoke, you are NOT dying on me.” Parrot’s eyes narrowed at Spoke; the light in his eyes immediately disappeared, leaving only a dark shadow. “I’ve lost too many people. I can’t allow myself to lose another.” Spoke couldn’t respond to Parrot; he didn’t know what to say nor was he able to talk without his chest hurting. “Come on, just lean on my shoulder. We’ll get out of here soon.”
They began walking again. The hallways of Null were still empty, which kept them highly on edge; Spoke was always glancing around the room, eyes shooting from one corner to the other. Parrot, on the other hand, kept using invisibility potions even if there was no one to hide from. They’ve been walking for days on end now and Parrot’s mind kept racing; What if Cindercrest already took the throne? What am I doing? Is this the right step? His mind was constantly plagued with doubt that he couldn’t seem to subdue. He tried talking to Spoke and asking him about his adventures, but Spoke couldn’t speak for long without having to cough nor were his stories happy. They were rather disheartening and sad as he felt that Spoke’s stories were way too similar to his.
“Parrot?” Spoke’s voice pierced through Parrot’s head, snapping him out of his thoughts. He shook his head and looked at Spoke.
“Ah—sorry, Spoke. I was a bit distracted, but what did you want to say?” Parrot asked.
“I was uh—wondering about why you didn’t have your crown? I know your throne is being threatened, but didn’t you have your crown on 24/7 after you became king?” Spoke leaned a bit closer to Parrot, his legs starting to get shaky. “I was ignoring this for a while knowing that your throne was on the line, but I couldn’t help my curiosity..”
Parrot didn’t respond at first, glancing towards the side as more light in his eyes disappeared. Spoke’s eyes widened a bit and his eyebrows started to dip downwards. He was terrified of offending Parrot knowing how much he had to rely on him right now. However, in contradiction to Spoke’s internal panic, he felt Parrot’s hand on his right shoulder tighten its grip. “It’s because I left my crown to Theo and Reina..”
“Theo and Reina? I know Theo, but who’s Reina? And why did you leave your crown to them?” Spoke took a small sigh of relief, knowing Parrot wasn’t too mad at him, but he was more focused on Parrot’s answer.
“The crown was too heavy to simply run in. Normally, I had no trouble running in it, but it started to wear me out quicker and when I felt lightheaded, the heaviness of it started to weigh my head down and make me trip,” Parrot explained. “Besides, the crown would get me spotted so easily.” He paused. “And about Reina, she’s one of my commanders and close friends.”
“I see…” Spoke coughed, “Sorry.. Not feeling the best right now.” Spoke took a shaky, slow step forward, nearly collapsing forward. Thankfully, as he was about to fall, Parrot grabbed his arm and pulled him back against his wing.
“Careful, Spoke,” Parrot sighed, “don’t push yourself too hard.” They continued walking down the hallway, but as they reached an intersection, Spoke’s eye caught onto something bright. He almost recoiled as the light hit his eyes.
“Uh.. Parrot, I see something.” Spoke covered his eyes with his arm. “Do you see it too?”
“Hm? You see something?” Parrot peered from the wall; his eyes widening. “Spoke, we found the exit!”
…
“Jamato?” A voice echoed through the hallway, “Jamatooo~?” The voice whistled; it was the voice of Saparata. Jamato perked up from his thoughts, shaking his head aggressively. “Come on, Jamato.”
“Ah, sorry—I was distracted.” Jamato ran up next to Saparata. Taking a few quick deep breaths as he caught his breath. “I just have something on my mind—just don’t worry about me, Saps, I’ll be alright.”
“I can’t promise you that, Jamato. You’re one of my most important allies right now and I can’t afford to lose the war,” Saparata said, “besides, I can’t have you dying on me, right?”
“I guess…” Jamato glanced off to the side; he saw that his four commanders were walking right behind him and so were Flamefrags and Wemmbu. “Where exactly are we going? Shouldn’t I be the one leading you through the hallways since it’s technically my prison?”
“Ehhh, I guess you’re right.” Separate paused. The rest of the group, who were following him, also stopped next to him. “Lead the way then, Jamato.”
“Alright then, follow me.” Jamato stepped in front of Saparata, gesturing them forward. “Come on then.”
“By the way, Jamato, I heard from one of your commanders that you have an enchanted totem,” Saparata said, “mind if I take a look?”
“Maybe when we get back to my office.” Jamato paused the group and gestured towards a large iron door. “This is one of our storage rooms. We have some of these rooms in these hallways, but most of the storage is with the farms.” Jamato opened his inventory and searched for his keycard. Saparata glanced around the hallways while Arachn1d still eyed Wemmbu, making sure he wasn’t dragging them back. Jamato grabbed out his keycard and inserted it into the dispenser. The door slid open, revealing a small room with rows of chests and even an enchanting table in the middle. “This is one of our special ones as most rooms don’t have an enchanting table.”
“Hey, Jamato, mind if we browse some gear?” Arachn1d asked. “We’re kinda running out of stuff, so mind if we get some since we’re allies now?”
“Sure, just don’t take way too much from the chests. The guards need supplies too.” Jamato moved to the side, gesturing to them to open the chests with his arm. Arachn1d, Wemmbu, and Flamefrags immediately began browsing the supplies. Saparata, on the other hand, went up to Jamato.
“Hey, Jamato. I know we’ve known each other for a few days now, but I noticed you seemed distracted.” Saparata put a hand on Jamato’s shoulder. “What’s going on? I can’t have you dragging us right now.”
“Ah—I prefer if we speak about this in my office. It’s not something I want everyone here to hear.” Jamato eyes looked towards the side. Saparata didn’t respond, but his hand instinctively tightened on Jamato’s shoulder.
“Tell your commanders that we’ll be discussing some private plans in your office,” Saparata said.
“I see.” Jamato nodded, he turned to his commanders. “Me and Saparata are going to be discussing some war plans in my office. X, Y, Z, and Underscore, show them around the base.”
“Understood.” X, Y, Z, and Underscore nodded. Saparata and Jamato turned and left the room with Saparata having an arm around Jamato’s back.
…
“Ah…!” Spoke nearly tumbled forward, but Parrot pulled him up. “Damn it…!” Spoke gasped, his hand clenching at his chest. “Please damn it… We’re so damn close to the exit…”
“Spoke, what did I say earlier?” Parrot pulled Spoke against his side, letting him rest against his shoulder. “Don’t push yourself too hard. Your body can’t handle it.”
“Sorry, Parrot..” Spoke huffed. He stumbled against Parrot’s side. They slowly proceeded to the door, which was a decent distance away. Spoke shuffled a bit closer to Parrot’s side. His vision started to blur. He huffed, moving his arm away from his chest and around Parrot’s back. Parrot’s grip tightened on Spoke’s arm; his wing wrapping closely and gently around Spoke’s back.
They were just at the exit door; Parrot was trying to mine through the wall with only one hand while Spoke was looking through his inventory for a regeneration potion. “Parrot, do you have any regen potions? I kinda need one right now,” Spoke coughed.
“Uhh, here.” Parrot handed one to Spoke from his inventory, before managing to break through the door. “Spoke, go first.” He gestured, putting his pickaxe away.
“We’re out..” Spoke’s eyes widened as he stumbled forward. “We’re truly—out..! Yes..! Yes..!! There was an exit after all!”
“Yeah, there is,” Parrot commented, but Spoke gave no response, “Spoke?” Parrot glanced up at Spoke as Spoke’s body suddenly dropped to the ground. “Spoke..!?”
…
“So tell me, what’s keeping your head in the clouds?” Saparata leaned forward in his chair, tapping his foot.
“I have a feeling my commanders might turn on me.” Jamato crossed his arms, leaning back into his chair. “You see, Null can only be led by the strongest, and if their leader shows weakness, they’ll quickly find a replacement for said leader.”
“So you showed weakness?” Saparata raised an eyebrow. “What is this weakness, Jamato?”
“It’s—Spoke, It’s Spoke.. He’s the only weakness I have. He’s just too dear to my heart, but he can only harm the server, so I have to protect the server from him.” Jamato sighed.
“Why don’t you kill him then?” Saparata asked. “It’ll take that weakness away.”
“Because I’m not a monster, Saps. I may be a villain, but I am not a monster like him. I don’t kill people just for my goals—”
“Yet your weakness is one, and you’re talking to one, are you not?” Saparata interrupted Jamato mid-sentence. Jamato’s eyes widened a bit, before he forced himself to breathe and calm down.
“Yes… I am aware, Saps, I am aware.” Jamato sighed once more. “Anyway, didn’t you say you wanted to see my enchanted totem?”
“Ah yes, that.” Saparata leaned back in his chair, “I’m very interested in that totem.”
“I can’t allow you to touch it, but you may observe it.” Jamato delicately placed the totem of undying onto his desk; its purple shine reflecting off the light.
“What enchantment is on it?” Saparata’s eyes scanned it closely, watching the way it shines.
“..Curse of Vanishing..” Jamato glanced off in a random direction.
“Why Curse of Vanishing? Why not Infinity—”
“Because Infinity doesn’t work on it even with my exploits,” Jamato interrupted, “I don’t know why this totem had Curse of Vanishing on it; it was just like that when I had killed Null’s previous leader—”
“Previous leader?” Saparata looked up at Jamato. “Are you saying that you weren’t the one to start Null?”
“No. Null had been around since the beginning of the server. I just happened to obtain the leader position,” Jamato explained.
“Oh. I see how you got the exploits now,” Saparata said. “You know, the king hasn’t been spotted around Spawn. I’ve been wondering if you’ve seen him.”
“Not yet. I do have my suspicions though, but I am more focused on finding Spoke.” Jamato shook his head. “Speaking of which, did you perchance see Spoke anyway in Purgatory?”
“Nope, but I suspect a little birdie might've freed him~”