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Stormz found himself backed into a corner, slashes from the enemy team coming faster than he could counter them, whether that be with his shield or with golden apples. The redstone-trimmed armour that he had on his body protected him to some extent, but not enough to stop the damage from being fatal.
Stormz almost screamed at the sharp pain caused by someone's sword piercing him, managing to stop himself from doing so until the very last second before the oddly comforting darkness of death washed over him, drowning him in a relieving feeling of numbness.
── .✦
The white-haired man blinked once, then again. The light was almost blinding both times. He opened his eyes fully after a moment, getting blinded a final time; where was he? This wasn't where his bed was located.
He looked down, eyes widening as he realized that he was standing on nothing. He took a step back, half-expecting to fall to his death, but he somehow didn't. He felt like he was flying, but he also felt like he was standing on solid ground at the same time. Truly a strange situation to find yourself in.
He hadn't really had time to think about what was happening because it had all happened so quickly, but now that he had time to think, his first thought was his best friend’s armour. He needed to get out of here, he had to get it back, he had to get back the last pieces he had of Dumb. He wouldn't let her armour, the last thing she had given him before leaving, fall into the hands of team Toes. He couldn't, he just… couldn't. The thought made him sick.
His second thought would've been getting revenge if it weren't for a familiar voice speaking up.
“ It was never really about ender, was it? “ Stormz spun around almost instantly, his gaze falling on a figure that he knew incredibly well; his best friend, DumbIsDumb.
The light that had blinded Stormz when he first opened his eyes might’ve just been a holy light, he thought.
“ What? “ Stormz questioned, trying to process the situation. Dumb, the person who Stormz had grieved like no one else before, was standing right in front of him, talking to him. Dumb wasn't supposed to be here (Or maybe they were. What did he know about this place?), they were meant to be gone, so how and why were they standing right in front of Stormz? He didn't know if he was hallucinating. He could very well be.
“ You heard me. It was never about ender, “ Dumb repeated themselves, tilting their head to the side as they swung their right leg in front of the other. They had a soft look on their face, almost as if they were pitying Stormz, but he knew better than that. He took a hesitant step forward, his breath becoming stuck in his throat as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
The lightning made Dumb look even more angelic than when she had been on the main server, if that was even possible. The clouds moved beneath the two despite them staying almost perfectly still. The only thing that broke the perfect stillness was the wind playing with Dumb’s soft black hair, making the strands dance to a rhythm no one could hear. The wind was also playing with Stormz’s contrasting white locks of hair, though he imagined that it likely looked nowhere near as majestic as Dumb’s hair. In his defense, he was too busy to take care of his hair in the midst of all of the chaos taking place back on the main server.
“ I mean, “ Stormz began, considering his next words; the strong feelings boiling in his chest making it nearly impossible, especially considering his temper. “ I spent so long— I tried so hard, not only to keep you but also to just—.. “ he said after a slight pause, interrupted by the tears stinging his eyes; the white-haired man wasn't sure if the tears were a result of anger or sadness. He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself to no avail. The tears didn't back off, and neither did the feelings boiling in his chest.
“...just to give you a chance, “ he picked up right where he left off, trying to conceal the shakiness in his voice with anger. “ All for you to just leave! All you did was just— leave! “ He cried out with his voice still laced with anger, tears finally spilling over despite Stormz doing everything in his power to stop them. He brought his hands up to his eyes, wiping his eyes with his sleeves in a futile attempt to stop the tears from replacing themselves time and time again and staining his face.
He took yet another step, followed by another and another until he found himself right in front of the player with dual-coloured eyes. He didn’t know why he felt the need to approach Dumb; it was like his body was being pulled towards her. The player had a sympathetic look on her face, though she remained silent.
A sudden but unfortunately not unfamiliar sob slipped through Stormz’s lips and pierced the silence that had fallen over the two; it wasn't long until soft sobs that felt unnatural to Stormz’s rough nature filled this space that they were in.
“ All you did was just leave when I did it, “ He managed through the sobs, two kinds of feelings clashing in his voice; on one hand, he sounded angry, disappointed even, but on the other hand, he sounded sad, upset, and most of all, heartbroken. “ When I finally succeeded, you left! “
── .✦
In the whirlwind of emotions, Stormz found himself standing on that snowy cliff again, right before he was meant to give Dumb the ender effect he believed they deserved. The biting cold clawed at both Dumb and Stormz, yet the latter’s face was warm from the tears it had been and continued to be stained by.
Stormz couldn't look his best friend in the eyes; after everything he had put himself through to get her the ender effect, this is how she repays him? He was both hurt and angry, yet the hurt seemed to overpower his anger; how unusual, especially for someone like Stormz. There was a quiet ringing in his ears, his vision fully fixated on the shoes he had on his feet.
Stormz was snapped out of whatever state he was in when he heard the sound of armour being taken off. His head practically shot up, eyes widening as he watched his best friend take off their armour. It was the final nail in the coffin, the final thing that made reality set in for the white-haired man; Dumb was really leaving. And oh, oh how badly it hurt.
Stormz took the armour into his hands when Dumb pushed it towards him despite how badly he shook, from both the cold and sorrow. Every single word that Dumb said was drowned out by suddenly loud ringing in Stormz’s ears; he knew that she was trying to speak to him, trying to say her final goodbyes, probably apologizing for the sudden revelation.
Dumb's speech was cut short by the sound of armour hitting the snow beneath the thin layer of snow, followed by a sob that sounded like Dumb wasn't meant to hear it. They turned their gaze to the figure on the ground, the cold air around them quickly being filled by sob after sob despite the obvious attempts at concealing them. The white-haired man was sitting on his knees in the snow, supporting himself with his shaky arms. The ringing also stopped, as if something had snapped in Stormz’s head.
The black-haired player kneeled down in front of the man with white hair, cupping his wet face.
“ Consider this payback for all those times that you betrayed me, “ she said in a light-hearted but incredibly comforting manner. “ Sorry for not telling you earlier. “
Stormz lifted his gaze, looking unnaturally vulnerable. He hated being seen as weak, that much was obvious, yet he made no attempt to hide his weakness and vulnerability now. Dumb was the only person who would ever see him like this, after all.
“ It still would've hurt like hell. I’m happy that I atleast got to say goodbye, “ Stormz managed to say through the tears that replaced themselves over and over despite Dumb trying to stop them from doing so by gently wiping them with her thumb.
Dumb pressed their forehead against their best friend's forehead as a final act of affection, their contrasting hair colours meeting each other and intertwining briefly. Both of them wished that they could stay like that forever, but they also knew that there wasn't any universe where they'd get such a privilege. They were doomed to be separated, after all.
Dumb removed their hand from Stormz’s face as they stood up to remove the rest of their armour. Stormz remained on the ground, hands freezing from the direct contact they were making with the sparkling snow.
Stormz watched hopelessly as the remaining pieces of redstone-trimmed armour fell to the ground in front of him, along with Dumb's signature shield. Only once the shield hit the ground and the snow crunched under Dumb's feet did Stormz lift himself up from the ground. He turned to face his best friend, yet another sob escaping from his lips.
He lunged forward, clinging onto the black-haired figure. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, neither of them seemingly caring about the wet tears that soaked the shirt Dumb was wearing underneath the armour he had just removed.
A soft giggle emerged from Dumb before she gently pried the other off of her; He didn't put up much of a fight despite how much he wanted to. Stormz took a step backwards, watching as Dumb turned to face them for what was genuinely the last time.
A goodbye that neither of them wanted to vocalize hung in the air as the two looked at each other, the faint purple glow of the ender effect seeping into the air around them.
Dumb flashed a gentle smile as she stepped backwards, falling off the edge of the cliff they were standing on. Stormz reached out towards her on instinct, yet he didn't actually grab her, simply letting his hand fall back down before collapsing back onto the ground.
A cry that sounded more broken than anything else rang in the air, yet there was no one to hear it.
── .✦
The white-haired man was brought back to reality when he felt a familiar, comforting hand cupping his tear-stained face. He lifted his gaze, staring into the gentle dual-coloured eyes that stared right back at him. The situation felt all too familiar. Stormz felt like he was drowning in the painful memories, yet the anger that he had felt just moments before bubbled right back to the surface.
It seemed like Dumb was about to wipe Stormz’s tears away, but Stormz pulled away before she had the chance to. Stormz brought his hand back up to his eyes, wiping away his tears himself so as to not give Dumb the pleasure of doing so. She was the reason why those tears existed in the first place, after all.
With a deep breath, Stormz continued his speech.
“ The moment I was about to give you ender, the thing you deserved more than anyone else, you just— you just left! So yeah, you're… you're right. It wasn't about ender, it was about you. “ He said, staring at the black-haired figure in front of him. They didn't move, didn't even seem to react to Stormz’s words; at
least that's what Stormz would've believed if he didn't know Dumb as well as he did.
Their eyes flickered with an emotion they both were far too familiar with; sorrow. It was barely noticeable, so much so that someone who didn't really know Dumb and their behavior likely wouldn't have been able to pick up on it. Stormz cast his eyes to the side, making a quiet ‘tsch’-sound.
“ Then why is the only thing you care about the effect? “
“ Huh? “ Stormz’s gaze turned back to his best friend.
“ To me, it seems that you're focused on the wrong thing. “ Dumb responded, her hand moving up to her chin; it was a familiar motion, she did it often when discussing plans or anything else that needed actual thought put into it.
“ What else is there to be focused on? That was the only thing that was constant, “ Stormz spat out, the anger still burning his chest on the inside. His voice was laced with frustration, as it often was. “ It was the one thing- It— Season one, season two, like genuinely the one constant thing that you had was ender and you got mistreated every time! “ He stumbled over his words, anger evident in his voice; it wasn't only directed at Dumb, but also towards those who had mistreated her.
“ For the first time, I saw and felt what you felt, “ He continued. “ And I want to say sorry, but you left me! “ He said, tears momentarily glimmering in the corners of his eyes before they were wiped away with the same red sleeve as before.
Dumb stood there silently, as if taking in Stormz’s words. Their gaze was fixed on Stormz, just like his gaze was fixed on them.
“ You knew what would happen and you still left me. “
“ If you wanna truly say sorry, “ Dumb began after being silent for what felt like an eternity. “ Why don’t you get back the one thing that matters? “ She questioned, tilting her head to the other side again. She flashed a gentle smile, the one that Stormz had grown to love so dearly, before closing her eyes.
Stormz was about to say something, to ask them what they meant, but before he could, a flash of light blinded him. The white-haired man reached his hand out in a desperate attempt to keep Dumb with him, yet once he regained his vision, they were gone. He found himself in a familiar hole deep underground, suffocated by the softness of his bed. His hand was still reaching outwards, but there was nothing there. Sure, the darkness matched Dumb’s hair colour almost perfectly, but the darkness wasn’t soft like her hair, it didn’t dance in the wind like her hair.
Stormz’s hand fell back down, perfectly in sync with a warm tear that fell from his maroon eye. He sat up, only noticing the tears once wet spots began appearing on his clothes. It didn’t take long for the tears to start falling rapidly; for once. Stormz didn’t try to stop them.