Chapter Text
It all led up to this.
Craters littered what used to be the bustling streets of Capital City, so deep they touched bedrock. Rubble was scattered in large piles where buildings were supposed to be, and whether there were people who were caught in the crossfire or not didn't cross his mind.
As adrenaline coursed through his veins, the same words repeated in his thoughts like a broken record.
He won.
He beat Inferno.
Inferno had managed to escape during their fight, but he didn’t care. He practically retreated which makes Gambit the winner by default.
The immortal demon’s title of ‘The Strongest’ was successfully robbed, and it finally belonged to him. After this day, it’ll be known that the strongest in all of Unstable is now Gambit.
Gambit gazed down at the aftermath of it all, eyes darting almost wildly. His demon tail violently thrashed from side to side as if it hadn't processed that the battle had been won yet, or even believed it at all. He couldn’t tell if his breath was heavy from exhaustion, disbelief, or both.
He was perched upon the highest point in the area, wind blowing through his hair. Bystanders who remained watched in fear, not knowing when to expect the next explosion. Reporter drones hovered in the air, live recording Gambit, but none of these facts mattered to him at the moment.
Then finally, when his breath was caught, and his tail slowed its movement, his initially manic expression fell into something else.
It wasn't strong enough to express anger, wasn't vulnerable enough to show sorrow, and it was nowhere near any form of joy.
It was disappointment.
Emptiness.
At first he was confused. He finally accomplished the goal he had been working towards for months, if anything he should be thrilled! He’s the strongest! He should be taking every chance he gets to gloat about it, to live on as a legend. But no matter how much he tries to convince himself, no smile could reach his face, not even a twitch.
Instead of feeling the completion he always strived for, he felt an almost unbearable amount of hollowness. It clung to his chest like a weight he couldn’t remove, almost suffocatingly so, despite the fact he could breathe just fine. His stance slumped as he continued to gaze forwards. The noise of car alarms blaring, crashes of buildings finally giving out, and the frantic fearful voices of citizens only came muffled to his ears.
He just couldn’t understand.
Why? This is what he wanted, right?
He wanted this for months, ever since..
Since when?
It must’ve started when that annoying hero wouldn’t stop bothering him and Egg when they retreated far off after the Mafia was taken down. Wemmbu wanted to live a peaceful life with his best friend and maybe leave the title ‘Gambit’ behind. Of course, that didn’t mean he would leave his beautiful maces behind! They would always remain comfortably in his hands.
Theobald the bird, also apparently known as… “The Biggest Bird”...
Yes, THAT is his registered name, he even saw it on his license when the guy challenged him.
Him and Egg were just finishing up their mushroom cabin when the guy flew in. When they asked how he found them, the cockatiel just casually admitted that he had been following them throughout their entire journey… weirdo..
“So uh.. Why are you here..? You wanna build with us?”
“No- uhh, no. I don't. I wanna fight, you’re Gambit aren't you?”
Even when he refused countless times, the avian wouldn’t leave him alone. Wemmbu even went as far as to ask a professional recommended by Wato to give their base some of the best defenses available, with self regenerating obsidian walls, elder guardians, and even wardens! On top of all that he did some on-field work by stealing the shulker of milk Theo had brought with him to break in.
But despite all that, AND the ragebaiting. The ‘Biggest Bird’ never backed down, and Wemmbu had no choice but to be ‘Gambit’ again.
That's when he learned intimidation is the only thing that works on Unstable.. Or more so accepted that fact. He had hoped he would be able to just live on the server like normal, but with threats like the mafia back then, he knew he had to be stronger.
That’s why he went to him.
When Jaron had given him the mace, despite having one of the most powerful and rare weapons on Unstable, he knew he wasn’t strong enough to stop Minemanner. So he had to find some way to get stronger, and that ‘way’ was in the form of a lion.
He always held some sort of admiration towards him, especially after witnessing the lion pose a challenge towards the immortal demon himself back when Wemmbu was still known as ‘Orbital’. Initially, he refused, until Wemmbu revealed his mace. That had certainly caught the man’s attention, and led to him accepting the demon as his student.
Eventually, they had reached the stage of training where ‘Orbital’ could finally learn how to use the mace itself, and surprisingly, it didn’t take that long for him to get the hang of it. He would be lying if he said the lion's praise didn't absolutely delight him at the time.
The mace had officially became personalised when he named both it and himself ‘Gambit’, leaving the name ‘Orbital’ behind.
Good things never seem to last on Unstable though. The only thing that was left of his mentor was a sign and two words.
Lost cause
He wanted so desperately to prove that that wasn’t what he was, that he wasn’t weak, emotions or not, but every time he dared to show any of them, it only led to him being proven wrong. The first instance being back with Zam.
The rubble below him brought him back to the memories of the home he had created upon Zam’s orders. Zam said he shouldn’t have been upset because the funding and resources were all provided by his city, or ‘empire’ as he preferred to call it. But it was his home, Orbital worked so hard to defend it from the immortal demon and his ‘minions’ back then, when they would relentlessly make attempts on his life. At one point they even had to deal with the infamous villain ‘Clownpierce’ trying to kill the avian hero ‘Yang’.
Yet despite all their efforts, he was forced to watch it all turn to dust by the self-proclaimed prince and his guards, twice.
“You’re a little too pathetic to be killed, Orbital. You are just so unbelievably weak that I-” the siren couldn’t help but laugh between his words. “I’m not even gonna try to kill you! You aren’t a threat to my empire! You’re nothing.”
It must’ve been those moments- no, his ENTIRE experience on Unstable that led to his motivations of wanting to be ‘The Strongest’.
But it used to be just ‘strong enough’, strong enough to defend himself and those he cared about.
He reached that goal a long time ago though, didn’t he? Why did he even want to beat Inferno in the first place?
Sure, the rivalry between the two was fun, the thrill of the fights gave him something to look forward to every time.
But he was tired.
He reached his goal, and now he’s bored.
That's what it was. Boredom. emptiness.
Gambit was snapped out of his thoughts when the sound of police sirens were finally processed in his brain- that could only mean Heroes would arrive at the scene too. Not that he couldn’t handle them, he just didn’t want to, especially in the mood he was in.
So he quickly extended his wings and took off into the sky, flying towards the only place he knew he could retreat to, where his best friend currently resided.
-------------------------------------------------
Oftentimes The End felt like the only place in the entirety of Unstable where Wemm- Gambit could truly find peace. Most people find the vast emptiness 'creepy' and the cold ‘uncomfortable’, but to him, these facts are what make it a place he could almost call ‘home’.
That, and the fact two of his closest friends resided here: his best friend Eggchan, and the infamous ‘Guardian’.
The Guardian was an officially registered hero within ‘Stabilize’, an alliance for the entire nation that included those who swear to keep the lands from completely falling apart. However, his duties differed from most.
The average hero is typically assigned various differing missions during their entire career, which can range from stopping the ‘criminal of the day’, which was usually the average thief, to full on coordinated attacks towards nation-wide threats, such as the now fallen ‘Mafia’.
Actually, Gambit assisted in bringing down that villain faction, despite never registering in Stablize. He’s far from a ‘hero’ anyway.
The Guardian had long used to be a high ranking member of the Mafia, before betraying them in favor of helping… ‘Fish Bucket’ and ‘Chestplate’ protect citizens from it, as the enderian had told him.
Gambit might have an idea on who those two were anyway…
After the faction was dismantled, The Guardian found a new way to serve the people of Unstable.
Unlike most heroes, The Guardian always sticks to one task, protecting the end dimension and the innocent who enter it. Besides the center surrounding the portal back to the overworld, The End did not have any bedrock separating the stone from the void, and since it forms in islands with nothing but abyss in-between, all it could take is a simple slip for someone to never be seen again.
When Gambit first met The Guardian, he had been lied to about the man’s intentions, thinking that he was only gatekeeping its unique resources from the rest of Unstable. After learning the truth, he and the enderian had teamed up and have been allies since.
Despite the fact they had very… ‘different’ moral codes to say the least..
“Gambit?”
The demon snapped from his thoughts as he looked up from the floor, meeting the eyes of The Guardian himself.
“Oh- hey bro” Gambit fixed his posture in an attempt to appear laidback to the man in front of him as the other opened the gate.
“Welcome back, here for Egg?”
Gambit hummed before nodding. “Mainly, yeah”
The enderian in front of him blinked before squinting at the demon, as if trying to dissect his act and figure out what could potentially hide underneath. This guy must have a sixth sense or something..
“Did something happen?”
“Huh?”
“You seem distracted.”
Gambit snorted a laugh in an attempt to ease the man’s thoughts before he started actually doing a full on analysis on his body language to determine whatever’s going on in his mind.
“Dude I think you’re just over analyzing, buuuttt…”
“‘But’?”
“I did just recently become the strongest, so-”
A moment of silence passed as the man processed his words before he blinked in surprise “Wait, seriously-?”
“So- is Egg still in the library? He probably is, that’s lowkey a stupid question from me I can't lie.”
“Wemmbu.”
The demon almost tensed when he heard the guardian use his real name, a strong indicator that he’s not in the mood for any avoidance out of him.
“...Minutetech.”
Minute took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh, his milky white eyes returning to the purple man in front of him as he relaxed.
“By ‘becoming the strongest’, do you mean..”
“Uhh yea! I beat Inferno!”
“Really?? So the rumors were actually true..” Minute muttered, clearly still trying to comprehend how he managed such a feat. Wemmbu couldn’t help the pride that welled up in him as he placed a hand on his hip, slightly puffing out his chest.
“Yep! He ran off, but honestly? I don’t care, I never wanted him dead anyways.” The demon shrugged. “Surprised?”
Minute couldn’t help but huff a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t say that I'm not…”
“Wow, didn’t think I could do it?? Some friend you are.”
“D’alright..”
Wemmbu couldn’t help but burst out into laughter, which in turn led the enderian to chuckle as well. The banter managed to lift some of the weight of his earlier thoughts off his chest. Minute just seems to always have that effect on others, when he wasn’t in a super serious mood. After a moment, Minute cleared his throat before answering Wemmbu’s earlier question.
“But yeah, Egg is still in the library. Follow me”
“Sir yes sir!”
Minute and Wemmbu made their way through the halls before eventually the head of the seraphim caught the demon's eyes.
He was currently hunched over the desk, a journal in front of him. He didn't notice their arrival until the sound of his best friend caught his ear.
“Pfft-..” Wemmbu held back a laugh as Minute spoke up with an amused tone.
“So we got the ‘reader’ over here..”
“Can I not read bro?”
The demon snorted a laugh at the angel's comment, shaking his head as the guardian left the room.
“You’re such a nerd bro.”
“Dude, knowledge is power and information is liberating.”
“What are you even saying??” Wemmbu cackled out, and this time, Egg started snickering with him too.
The two had stuck together for as long as they can remember, practically attached to the hip; almost everyone knew this too.
At first, people would be confused considering their origins. It's rare to see a demon and angel be so close, especially to the extent they were, but overtime people stopped questioning it. It just made sense now.
Wemmbu and Egg used to travel together all the time, journey after journey, though most of the time all they really wanted was some peace.
Their most recent adventure had taken them all the way to the ends of the Farlands, an area where logic slowly dwindles the further you go out. Sure, some others ventured through it too, but none as far as they had.
And it was better that way. Afterall, the farlands is where Wemmbu found his little trinket that helped him defeat Inferno.
He remembers the deal he made with Serpentbound, that he would never return to his kingdom so long as the older would help him retrieve a piece of something he likes to call his “catalyst”.
There was this large glowing cluster of crystals he had found just before the kingdom. They seemed to have the special ability of enhancing someone's ability by tenfold.
So with a piece of it in his hands, his powers’ long-cooldown explosions, which could take as long as months for his body to charge, would be greatly upgraded, giving him the ability to call multiple nukes instantaneously.
Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that happened in the farlands; usually his best friend Egg would accompany him on his adventures, but ever since their latest journey he has been bound to the end dimension.
When you go back through the portal at the center of the island, it’ll take you back to the last place in the overworld where you ‘set your spawn’.
And that place for the seraphim was far out in the farlands, so if he went through the portal, he’d find himself stranded and alone.
“So, what's new bro?”
He was snapped from his thoughts, looking up at his best friend before humming thoughtfully. He placed an ender chest, deciding to use the time to organise all his belongings as he chatted with the angel.
“Well, I beat Inferno finally.”
“.. but?”
Wemmbu sighed, going through his shulkers. If anyone could read him like a book, it was Egg, and today is no exception.
“I guess I'm just like- bored now. I don't have anything left to do...”
The angel hummed. “Nothing?”
“Yeah, nothing to look forward to. I reached my goal, but now what? It's just..”
He pondered, searching for a word that wouldn't be too vulnerable to use.
“Boring,” he settled on, but something in the back of his mind told him that Egg could see right through him regardless.
The angel in question nodded in acknowledgement. “Why don't you just, I dunno, explore? Live a normal life? Get a nine to five-”
“Okay so easier said than done!” The demon huffed out in a laugh. “It's not like I could anyway”
“Why not?”
“I don't think people would be too welcoming of me after I basically blew up a bunch of places..”
“Oh damn, you're lowkey a villain.”
“I- okay bro whatever yea.” Despite that comment, the two didn't fail to laugh together.
“I mean- even before I did all that it was kinda hard to do anything with my reputation so…”
“That's true,” Egg replied, crossing his arms, returning to the mental drawing board. That's when the idea came to him, wings almost flaring up in turn. “Why don't you just like-”
Wemmbu turned to him with a raised brow at the sound of ruffling feathers before his friend spoke up. “Why don't you just like, go under a false identity bro?”
That definitely piqued the demon’s interest.
“..like what?”
“I mean like- y’know how we couldn't identify anyone in the invisible mafia?”
“Yeah?”
“Why don't you just go invisible? Then no one would know.”
“Wait, is bro lowkey a genius??”
The angel huffed in amusement, rolling his eyes before continuing. “Just make sure you always have invisibility up and just like- join a faction or something that won't have a problem with that.”
“Ohhhhh..!”
“You can be like, their greatest warrior- or maybe even be a new hero or something.”
The demon’s previous lingering mood almost melted away instantly, his tail slightly wagging in excitement.
“Wait, that's actually interesting! Okay, let's make this fake identity!” Wemmbu picked up one of his shulkers with a grin before remembering. “Wait, what would happen to ‘Gambit’ though?”
“What do you mean- like, what would happen to ‘Gambit’ identity?”
“Yeah-”
“Oh,” the angel pondered. “Well, tons of citizens pass by here daily so like- I can just spread misinformation.”
The two then proceeded to create a fake identity for Wemmbu, agreeing on a couple rules.
One, that he would always have a potion invisibility activated, otherwise people would just be able to immediately tell who he was.
Two, he would trade his netherite armor for diamond, since on Unstable, just having one piece of netherite is incredibly rare. So if a mysterious person started walking around with full enchanted netherite, it would raise too many suspicions.
Three, he has to get rid of his current shield, because the purple and smile on it was a dead give away..
“Also, don't use your maces against like- average people dude,” the angel began as the other looked up from seeing what trims they had available for him to use. “Otherwise everyone will know it's you. Same with flying, and don't even think about using your explosion powers bro.”
“Ohh.. okay yeah that's true-” The demon snickered. “I'll have to completely reinvent how I fight..” He’d be lying if he said he wasn't going to miss the satisfaction of macing someone, the freedom of flying, and the adrenaline from his destruction, but so be it!
Wemmbu turns his attention back to the armor, trying to figure out how exactly he should style it. “Dude, what color?” He pondered before he remembered a certain end guardian.
“Dude, do you have any netherite? Minute has crazy aura with the netherite trims bro I can't even lie so-”
“Why’re you tryna copy him? Dude what's the point of netherite if you're using it as trims instead of upgrading your armor that makes no sense.”
“Aura.”
Egg let out an exasperated sigh before taking some netherite out and handing it to him regardless. After the two tried out a couple of trim patterns, they settled on a similar pattern to an old green enemy they had. Wemmbu had teased the guy before, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't see the villain's vision now. That, along with a veil he added to the look, thinking it would look cool.
After he organised and packed everything he would need within his ender chest, he turned to the seraphim one more time before asking, “Wait, what are you gonna tell people about what happened to me?”
“About you?”
“Yeah.”
He hummed. “I'll just tell them ‘Gambit’ died.”
Wemmbu snorted a laugh, “Okay-”
“I'll just tell them I defeated him.”
“Why YOU specifically!?” Both of them giggled before Egg continued.
“Nah nah I won't say that, I don't really have a plan. I'll just freestyle it.”
“Heh, I’ll just genuinely let you spread some misinformation then, I'm gonna go off and have a whimsical mystical adventure…!” Wemmbu looked through his inventory. “Aka enchant my shield and.. find a way to get a constant supply of invisibility pots”
“Alright, see ya.”
The two part ways as the now invisible Wemmbu walked up the stairs, making his way back to the portal to the overworld after calling The Guardian over to open it up for him.
When he had explained to him why he was invisible with a completely new style of armor, he described it as wanting a fresh start on Unstable.
Which wasn't a lie, he truly did want that.
The Guardian did try suggesting that he just ‘apologizes’ and ‘redeem his true identity,’ but Wemmbu called it a waste of time. Which unwillingly did get a chuckle out of the Hero, when it maybe probably shouldn't..
Before he left, Minute warned him about Inferno- how he’s not the type to end on a loss. Telling the demon to ‘be careful’.
Wemmbu shrugged off his concerns, insisting that he’ll be fine and thanking The Guardian as he went to open the gate.
Looking at the portal in front of him, resembling a night sky filled with stars, he couldn't help but grin in excitement beneath the invisibility and veil.
The entirety of Unstable was now open for him to explore.
And now he can actually start.