Chapter Text
The murmurs start, gossip spreading like wildfire along the server.
They look at him in fear, some in awe, as if he was just a wandering ghost.
Wemmbu had heard them, the mumbles that speculated that he was dead and Lettuce had managed to connect his ghost to a soldier.
How could he not notice? The burning eyes that follow every single one of his steps, blurry pictures that players take of both of them, as if to prove they exist. Wemmbu almost prefers the training facility, it felt safer than being outside like this. Flame hums distantly from next to him while they follow Loppezzz in the direction of their first redemption mission. Both of them are tense, well, Flame is a little more for some reason. Wemmbu fidgets with the collar around his neck, pausing when he feels an unfamiliar piece of metal.
Right, Lettuce had inserted some sort of microphone on his mouth.
It allowed him to talk with Flame through the man's earpiece, in this ragged whispers that tear his throat. It felt right, yet wrong at the same time. The only good thing that came out of the training facility. Part of him felt happy, as if being able to communicate was a price. Lettuce words still echoed his brain, no matter what he did. Wemmbu forces himself to breathe as his eyes lock into his partner's quivering form, soft burns from the cold still unhealed. The law was in the wrong, they had to be.
Wemmbu is not going to start doubting himself.
"Okay, we are here." Loppezzz huffs with annoyance, turning to look at them. "It's a simple construction mission, so you literally can't mess it up"
Wemmbu scans the place quickly, looking around the destroyed place. There's ruins of what once was surely a farm, pieces of dirt missing, and a big structure that is almost on shambles. They had come to rebuild a random farm? Wemmbu doesn't recall a fight of theirs in this place. The smell of soot, burnt wood and ash filled his nostrils. Wemmbu turned around, facing Flame. His partner seems on edge, scanning the place with tense shoulders, there's smoke flowing under the man's veil. Flame looks almost sorrowful here, which is surprising honestly. Flame seems to have found something since he adverts his head, still looking nonchalant.
Yeah, he's not fooling Wemmbu with that facade.
Maybe it's the way they had spend a whole month with only themselves as company, but Flame feels like an open book to him.
Wemmbu raises his head, trying to see whatever made Flame so upset.
The answer comes in the form of a short brunette with yellow clothes and a sun hat.
This was Lomedy's farm.
Flame turns the other way, grabbing a shulker before dragging Wemmbu the opposite direction. The man does not try to approach Lomedy, instead blending with the rest of recruits while Lomedy talks to Loppezzz. Okay, it was weird. Did they have a falling out? Lomedy was Flame's friend as far as he knows, it made no sense. Flame didn't relax at all, focusing on reading the patrol orders and the materials with a distant expression.
"Jeez, someone's cranky" Wemmbu's voice comes out as an ugly rasp, barely audible. For a moment, Wemmbu wonders if Flame can even hear him. The man gives him a hum in response, not even turning to look at him.
Yeah, something is not right at all. Had Flame been swapped by an alien? There's no way bro decided to ignore Wemmbu out of the blue, after all, he hadn't done a single thing.
"Flame?" Wemmbu asks again, reaching into the shulker and grabbing a random stack of wood. This time he gets no response, the man just tenses for a while before continuing to build.
Okay, now he's getting really freaked out. Wemmbu could deal with an angry Flame, a nervous one or even a sad one... but a silent Flame? The Flame that was basically Law Dog? How did he even begin to unpack the fact that the man in front of him is acting like a robot! So, Wemmbu stays silent. Handing the blocks to Flame while the rest of trainees stared at them and gossiped around. How did this place even get so trashed in the first place? Flame hadn't mention a single thing about Lomedy in a while.
Was it the Law? Too many questions and too little answers.
Wemmbu hauls his body to the exposed ceiling, owl wings silent against the wind, as he scans the place. Flame continues constructing without twitching, almost as if he hadn't noticed Wemmbu's absence. Flame had to have noticed, right? Yeah, Wemmbu is real and Flame knew that from day one. Wemmbu is alive, then why does everyone act like he's dead? Was it better like that? Wemmbu had faked his death once, maybe he was better like that, maybe he was better as a ghost.
He is just being pessimistic and dramatic. Was he really that used to the attention that Flame ignoring him made him spiral? Puh-pathetic
Yeah, no, lock in Wemmbu. Stop being such a mess about this.
Instead of that, he focuses on searching for information. Building does get boring after a while, and if he can catch some gossip... (preferably not about them, thank you very much)
So, he walks in the ceiling rafters once again. Uncaring at the way his steps wobble from the destroyed planks and the occasional parkour he has to do.
"-no need for all of this. Dude, can't you just leave?" Lomedy voice came out strained, tired, as he talked with Loppezzz.
Huh, so Lomedy isn't happy with the Law being here at all. If the man hadn't ask for help in the reparations of the farm then why were they here? Wemmbu watched at the clearly frustrated man with slight sympathy, mood, dealing with the Law sucked.
"Lettuce order us to help you with the reparations since well, you got caught in the crossfire." Loppezzz said dragging a hand through her hair before sighing. "Just let us do the job and we'll leave you alone"
Yeah, Wemmbu was not getting any more information out of this conversation.
A slight huff leaves his lips, as he starts to fix the ceiling with the blocks that he took. The blueprints are scattered just below him, making his job easier but not less tedious. I mean really? You have the strongest players of the server and decide to send them to rebuild stuff. Just make it make sense!
It's a boring, monotonous task.
Part of him wonders if Parrot has managed to do something, or if the man simply hadn't care at all. Last time they had talked, it had been under less than ideal circumstances. Maybe Parrot had just gave up, had accepted that Lettuce had crowned himself king and gotten his hands on the two most powerful people on the server. His eyes flicker to Flame's robotic movements, the way they just dunk water on him for each mistake and wonders... Are they even people anymore?
The question felt heavy against his heart as he placed the blocks, somehow silent. Wemmbu no longer left any traces of his existence, sure, he could cause chaos. it had been fun messing around with the players, yet that only seemed to reinforce the view they had of him. If things went missing or dropped to the floor, he was a poltergeist or a vengeful one. If he was too silent, he was a spirit. No matter what he did, how he acted, that's just what he is now. Wemmbu has heard so many times the same question among the people of the server, questions of a ghost who haunts the soldier of the redemption program.
Flame was the dog, the tool and Wemmbu was his leash.
The thought left a sour taste on his mouth as he let a plank fall to the floor. The sound echoed through the whole space, daring them to prove Wemmbu wrong, instead he watches as people murmur among themselves. One particular trainee shouts "Law Dog, calm the ghost down, it's ruining our work"
Wemmbu just watches the way Flame raises his head at him, as if the man was snapped out of a trance before throwing a block to the person's feet. "I'm sure you are just waiting for an excuse to laze around, pathetic, cmon get to work"
Flame's voice is icy, yet Wemmbu can't even focus on it. He can only think of the fear in their faces, of the way they had recurred to Flame to calm him down — they hadn't thought of talking to him at all, instead they had recurred to the supposed link.
Just like most people did to ghost, actual ghosts.
For a second, he puts his hand on his heart and swears it's not beating. He tears part of his skin apart, just a tiny cut, letting the blood splatter to the floor as some sort of proof. I'm alive, he wants to shout, I'm alive and breathing and... real.
They only stare at the drops in horror, murmuring about a horror movie with a similar ghost, an illusion. Part of him wants to laugh hysterically, it doesn't matter if he can still breathe, he's dead! dead for every single person in this place. No amount of blood, tears or sweat is going to change that.
The realization snaps like a part of a puzzle, leaving him numb. There's no tears, no sadness, not even anger. There's nothing, he feels nothing and he wonders if he'll survive living in this place.
"Wemmbu come down bro" Flame soft voice comes as a whisper through the headphone on his ear. "They are stupid chungies, don't listen to them"
The man is looking directly at him, ignoring the way Lomedy is right there. Flame's eyes travel his folded wings, and he sees Wemmbu. He sees him not as a ghost, but as a living breathing player. Flame's shoulders are tense, smoke flowing out of his nose, the man is mad at the others. Wemmbu doesn't know if it's the tenderness on his gaze or the fact that he's the only one looking at him — that makes him want to burst out in tears. He's going to drop next to Flame, yet the stares, the multitude makes him uncomfortable.
He feels frozen in front of them, dead.
"You people sure love lazing around. I'll make sure to write that down in my report to Loppezzz" Flame says dispersing the multitude around him, dreads lighting up in fire, as they scramble around the place. Somehow, the man had understood him.
Wemmbu sees the exact moment recognition enters Lomedy's brain, in the way the farmer is scanning the place wideyed. The man seems suddenly angry, approaching Flame from the entry with furic steps. The motion is enough motivation to send him to the floor as quickly as possible, landing right next to Flame. Carefully, he points to Flame's back with a soft grumble — trying to warn him. Loppezzz is close behind, her hand in a red button that Wemmbu barely recognizes. There's a hint of worry behind her eyes, as she watches Wemmbu. It's probably his imagination.
What he does know is that the button is some sort of trigger, since immediately Flame freezes and turns to look at Lomedy nervously.
"The control of the collar" Flame whispers, the same robotic movements from before settling over his body like a practiced facade.
Instead of Lomedy being angry at the Law or concerned, the man marches right into Flame's face.
"You have a lot of nerve, Flame! I thought I told you to stay away!" Lomedy shouts, a hint of sadness on his face as he berates, almost like he was tired.
"I'm afraid you are confusing me for someone else" Flame says monotonically, hands trembling behind his back as he eyes the control with intensity.
Now Wemmbu understands what it is. It's a threat, Flame had broken character just this moment. It's a reminder that they are supposed to be Law dog and it's ghost, nothing else.
"Like hell I am! Bro, haven't you done enough?" Lomedy replies once again, his voice breaks just a little at the end.
"I'm not Flame. I'm Law Dog, main soldier of the Law redemption program." Flame repeats once more, and oh he's starting to hate that greeting. The man sounds so robotically, in fact, Wemmbu had heard rumors about Flame being part robot because of it.
"Oh great! You are allied with the Law now. What did it take for you to stop fighting meaninglessly?" Lomedy is clearly distressed. It doesn't matter, the man is pissing Wemmbu off. What did he know anyway? Last Wemmbu checked Lomedy was alive because of Flame. "The destruction of my farm? Almost getting me killed?"
"You are confusing me for someone else. I'm Law Dog." Lomedy opens his eyes in slight alarm at the repeated frase, a weird concerned expression appearing under all of the anger.
"Is that all you are going to say?" Lomedy snaps once more, a strange kind of nervousness appearing in his face.
"I'm Law Dog. I apologize for upsetting you." Flame echoes before bowing in front of Loppezzz calmly, causing Wemmbu to repeat the motion. Maybe that's one of the more humilliating aspects of having field work, the fact that they have to grovel for permission to leave the place. "It appears as if our presence is unwanted here. Requesting permission to switch to patrol on capital city?"
"Uh, granted Law Dog." Loppezzz looking a bit perturbed at the synchronized way both of them moved. Wemmbu wanted to laugh at her, what did she expect? They had wanted tools instead of humans, this is the result of their training.
Both of them started walking out the door side by side after that. Wemmbu felt numb, numb and hopeless at the whole affair.
"Wait, Flame!" Lomedy said once more from inside, yet Flame didn't even turn to look at him. Wemmbu watched softly at the now fearful grimace on Lomedy's face, at the way he watched Loppezzz with slight suspicion and disgust on his eyes.
Wemmbu wishes he could said he felt something instead of the rotting numbness that spread through his chest like an infection. He didn't.
The walk is silent — a silence Wemmbu has gotten used to, the one where both of them were too drained to talk.
There's some sort of grey hue in the day, almost matching both of their moods. One of Wemmbu's hands raises to his neck, searching for a pulse without even realizing it. It's weird to explain, the way he doesn't feel real. Wemmbu can feel the way his lungs fill with stale air, blood flowing, the heat of magic that is somehow his. By all means he should feel alive, then why? why does he feel almost dead? His hands shake slightly, before jolting in surprise.
There's a slight warmer magic, settling under his skin, mixing beyond the soulbond like a small crack. It's Flame's magic, very little quantities of Flame's soul magic seeping through his veins.
Wemmbu had never heard of something like this happening before.
Maybe that should scare him.
Instead, he does something a bit stupid and let's his own magic seep through the crack too. It's comforting, the only proof he has that he exists to Flame.
Part of Wemmbu wishes to be back in the end, to run away with Flame and hide from whatever this shitshow of a server is going to throw at both of them for some reason. He wants Minute and Eggchan to read to him in the library. The memories that are almost tainted by the grey numbness. They seem so far away even if it's only been a month, part of him can barely remember the last time he had been free.
When they arrive back at home, tired, prepared to pass the fuck down into a mess of blankets in the living room.
There's a chest on the front of their house without a single sign on it. After a lot of debating, Wemmbu decides to open it carefully. Worst case scenario, it's a trap and both of them either die or get in trouble. He doesn't really know what to expect from a random chest, maybe a threat.
Only a small book resides on it with post-its and marks all around the pages.
'An advanced guide to enchanting and modificating accessories and how to remove them'
A singular colorful feather falls from the book, a little note attached to it.
'Don't die please, thank you.'
Looks like Parrot hadn't forgotten after all.
At last, a single feeling tears through the numbness, a small sliver of hope.
He exists to someone else than Flame, someone else had remembered him, and Wemmbu can't help the tear that rolls down his cheeks as he enters with the book on his hands.