Chapter Text
“Oh.”
His voice, although quiet, was breathless with the abrupt realization of what was going to happen to him. The strangled sound that had managed to escape him was more like a gasp, airy and hollow, than a true word.
So this is how I die.
Maybe, in another world, there would have been a way for Wemmbu to escape.
But this wasn’t that world.
There was little that Wemmbu actually feared, but this, this was one of those things.
Death.
Wemmbu could feel as his chest hitched and his shoulders began to tremble minutely; he could feel the fear begin to course through him. It had taken a moment for it to set it, for him to come to conclusion that he had ended up at. There was no other way from Wemmbu to look at it. There was not going to be a way out of this for him.
Not this time.
And, Wemmbu realized, there would never be again.
Earlier in the fight, Wemmbu had been able to feel all of the damage that his armor had taken before it had finally shattered. There were still a few pieces of the glossy, black remains of netherite and a few scattered shards of glistening diamond that clung to his clothes.
At his hip, Wemmbu was already to tell that the chain he kept there was empty. He was out of Totems; the chain was proof enough of that. There were no more wind-charges in his inventory; Wemmbu was out of any way for him to even attempt at softening the landing.
And then there was the worst part of this whole experience.
His wings.
His wings.
Even as Wemmbu was growing up, he had always adored his wings. His feathers, as soft as eider down and a deep indigo purple in color, had been his favorite thing in the entire world. He had loved the width of his wingspan; had cherished the way that he had been able to wrap one of his wings around the people he cared about. Perhaps it was a little self-centered, Wemmbu knew, but Egg had loved his wings just as much as he did.
Maybe, he realized in that moment, that was why Wemmbu had treasured his wings as much as he had.
And now, all of that was gone.
His wings, at least as they had been, were gone. Once, not that long ago, they had been his pride and joy. He had always taken an hour to preen them each night, carefully threading his fingers through his feathers. Sometimes, if Egg had been with him, Wemmbu would have him help with reaching the ones in the middle of his back. Egg had always kept the feathers that he helped Wemmbu with.
Now, though, the wings that Wemmbu had always taken such care of had been shredded beyond repair.
He had known that it would be a possibility someday. His wings had always been a target for his opponents during a fight. That was why he loved fighting against Flame so much. Flame had been one of the rare opponents that hadn’t gone for his wings. Wemmbu just hadn’t thought that he would lose them so soon. Sometimes, though, there was damage that was just too much for even a Totem or a slew of potions to fix.
Wemmbu knew that there was nothing out there that would be able to fix the damage that his wings had received.
He would never be able to fly again.
This fight, it had grounded him. Permanently.
And if he even tried to fly, Wemmbu knew, all that was going to happen was that he was going to plummet out of the sky.
An abrupt fall.
That was all that remained for him.
“Wemmbu, please.”
Or maybe not.
Now that Wemmbu wasn’t so trapped in his own mind, he could feel the familiar warmth of fingers wrapped tightly around his wrist and the soft press of an uncalloused palm against his skin. The voice that had spoken to him was as familiar as own and yet, he had never heard it sound so devastated before. Wemmbu wouldn’t have even needed to look to see who it was that had caught him. Still, though, his eyes drifted upwards.
And there he was.
Egg.
Because, really, who else could it be?
Across the entire universe and perhaps even beyond it, the only person that Wemmbu would ever willing die for over and over for as long or as many times as needed was Egg. Oh, there were those that he would kill for or those that he would live for.
Zam. Mane. Rejoice. Jaden. Minute.
Even Flame.
But Egg was the only person that Wemmbu would choose over himself time and time again.
And this, what he was doing now, was a risk.
Egg was putting himself in danger.
He was putting himself in danger… for Wemmbu.
Just an arm’s length or so above where Wemmbu was currently suspended in air, his best friend was lying flat on his stomach in an effort to prevent Wemmbu from plunging to his death. There was an air of desperation and terror that Wemmbu had never seen before stretched across Egg’s face. He had never heard the dread that hung in Egg’s voice before, not even when Wemmbu got injured over and over again. Not even when Egg had been forced to stitch Wemmbu up, even when it hurt him.
“Please!”
He hated it.
He hated knowing that he had caused it and that he wouldn’t be able to fix it even more.
“Egg.”
Wemmbu was surprised at how calm and collected his voice sounded, even or perhaps especially when it sounded so distant to his own ears. That was okay, though. Wemmbu wasn’t trying to calm himself. As long as it helped Egg.
As long as Egg listened to what he was saying.
And Egg wasn’t listening to him.
Instead, Egg was trying to talk over him, as though he wouldn’t have to face the truth if he kept talking. “Wemmbu!” The struggle that Egg was facing and the strain that he was putting himself through as he fought to keep holding Wemmbu up was obvious. For too long, Wemmbu had joked about the fact that Egg would never be able to lift him for long. In truth, neither of them had ever thought that they would be in this situation. “All that you have to do is swing up and grab the ledge!”
And that was something that he wouldn’t be able to do.
There was a risk, a big one, that it would displace Egg from where he was laying on the platform in the air.
And that wasn’t an acceptable risk.
“I know that it’s far, Wemmbu, and I know that you have to be tired, but I need you to try!”
Instead of making an attempt to reach for the ledge, all that Wemmbu found himself able to do was laugh. It came out colder and meaner than he meant it to be.
Still, Egg must have known that Wemmbu had something important to say to say to him, because he fell silence.
“Egg,” As Wemmbu finally spoke up, his voice was strangely empty, as though it was void of any emotions at all – even anger. “Egg, I need you listen to me.” And Egg must have been able to predict what Wemmbu was trying to say, because he already shaking his head. “If I move any more than I already am, then you’re going to fall yourself.”
And, as both him and Egg knew, that was a risk that Wemmbu would never take.
“No.”
Surprisingly or, perhaps, less so, Egg was already disagreeing with Wemmbu had said on principle. Where Wemmbu was more than willing to die for his best friend, Egg would much rather that Wemmbu listen to him instead of dying.
“Absolutely not. No. You’re going to make a grab for that ledge. It’s right there. You’re going to listen to me for the first time in your life.” Wemmbu could only watch, his own arm growing sore, as Egg’s face twisted and contorted with something could only be described as grief flashing through his eyes.
Wemmbu began, his voice softer than it usually was. “Egg…”
This time, though, Egg interrupted Wemmbu instead of letting him finish.
His voice, typically gentle, was harsher than usual, desperation leaking into his tone as he desperately tried to think of a solution other than the one that was right in front of him. “There had to be another way.” His aquamarine blue gaze darted back and forth before finally meeting Wemmbu’s amethyst eyes. “A Totem, maybe? I have one right, -.”
But he didn’t.
In a slow moment of realization, Egg’s words trickled off as he made the same connection that Wemmbu had made only moments before hand. And his eyes glittered, glossy with unshed tears as devastation reigned supreme. Only a few minutes prior, in the same attack that had caused Wemmbu to go tumbling off of the platform, his last Totem had popped.
His eyes briefly flickered down to where Wemmbu kept his own Totems attached to his belt, the embers of hope dying as he saw that there were none left hanging on the chain.
Wemmbu had given his last one to Egg in an effort to keep him safe.
And the plan had worked.
While it might have meant a layer less of safety for him, it meant another layer more for his best friend. And while the Totem might be long-gone now, erupted into an explosion of golden and green sparks, it had kept Egg alive. It had knitted his injuries back together, making sure that he would live for another day.
Wemmbu would never regret keeping his best friend alive.
“No,” Egg said again as his face twisted, leaving him struggling against his own tears. “No, there has to be something else that we can do. Anything else.” Wemmbu could see his shoulders shaking and his heart hurt when he realized that there was nothing that he was able to do to comfort Egg. “Wemmbu, please. Please say you have something. Anything.”
All that Wemmbu was able to do was offer Egg a small, sad smile. “I’m fresh out of tricks.”
And it was those words that made the tears in his best friend’s eyes finally bubble over.
“Wemmbu…”
“It’s okay, Egg. I’m not scared.”
Not anymore, at least.
By now, with the ache in his arm slowly turning to a sense of agony, the sharp fear that had clung to Wemmbu’s skin and that seeped into his bones had faded away. All that he wanted to do was make sure that Egg would be okay without him. All that he wanted to do was make sure that his death wouldn’t hurt that much.
“But I don’t want to lose you. Please don’t make me lose you.”
“You won’t.”
“But I will!” Egg’s voice was shrill with panic. “I will lose you! You’ll be gone and I’ll never see you again! I’ll never talk to you; I’ll never be able to do anything with you ever again!” Wemmbu could see as Egg began to hyperventilate; could feel as his grasp on Wemmbu’s wrist began to slip because of the sweat. Honestly, he was surprised that no one had noticed what was happening yet.
That was okay. It was more likely that an enemy would notice rather than an ally.
And that meant that Egg would be in danger.
That wasn’t allowed.
He needed to end this.
Quickly.
“You’ll still think about me, won’t you?”
Wemmbu could only offer a small smile, broken and hollow, as he grieved for his own death before he died. Wherever he ended up next, he would miss Egg.
“How could I not think about you?
“Then, Egg, how could I not be with you?”
“It won’t be the same!”
“It won’t.”
That, after a moment, was something that Wemmbu could concede to his best friend. No matter what happened, life would never be the same. He would be gone, thrown into the depth of the void. Egg would be left behind, protected by whoever remained of the people who Wemmbu had protected, once.
Wemmbu hoped, distantly, that Jaden or Minute would keep an eye on him.
Make sure that Egg wouldn’t end up following him too soon.
“Don’t leave me, Wemmbu. Please.”
“I’m sorry, Egg. I’ll always be with you”
It was those words, said in a voice that was as fragile as shattered glass, that would be the last thing that Wemmbu would ever manage to say. Whether his hand finally slipped free from his best friend’s grasp or whether he had forced Egg to let him go, he wasn’t sure. All that Wemmbu knew was that anything that Egg would have said as a reply to him was lost as the wind rushed up to meet him.
Around him, shredded indigo feathers scattered and swept up in the breeze as Wemmbu’s ruined wings came up to cradle his body as he fell.
Egg. I’ll tell Rejoice that you said hello.
Wemmbu had known that he had been crying. His tears, hot against his skin, had been slowly sliding down his cheeks. Now, though, they had been snatched away by the wind. Wemmbu didn’t know when his hair had come undone, but now his hair was floating around his face, drifting and dragging in the currents of the breeze.
Far above him, however distant, Wemmbu could see it as Egg reached out to him.
He couldn’t hear him, but Egg was screaming.
It’s okay. It’ll be okay.
Egg…
Don’t cry. Please.
Wemmbu smiled, sad and soft.
Egg had always loved his smile.
You’re perfect.
It’s… okay…
You’ll be okay.
I love you.
Please, just let me go.
Please, don’t let this consume you.
Then.
Pain.
Instant. Agonizing.
And then nothingness.
Egg, I’m sorry.
Goodbye.