Chapter Text
Clown wasn’t the only one who had noticed the resurgence of corruption again. Everyone had taken notice. They thought nothing of it when it was just a few small spots popping up here and there. It wasn’t until those small spots started to rapidly grow and spread that everyone began to panic.
It was annoying how persistent it was.
It wasn’t like it was when the corrupted Ender Dragon was still alive, but it was still just as dangerous. It could—no, had corrupted people. Pangi had been a prime example of that. Keyword had since a cure had been made and was successfully used on the pangolin.
But the corruption continued to spread.
Not on its own like last time.
No, someone was helping it.
It had a harbinger.
Ace, as he liked to call himself, was who came back when Pili 2 died. Pili 2 had been corrupted from the moment he arrived, and it seemed that corruption had stuck and worsened when Ace arrived.
Ace adored the corruption, willingly spreading it all over the spawn area. Cleaning up any sculk that had come from Aimsey and Sneeg, just to make sure there was nothing that could prevent the corruption from consuming everything in sight.
The Corruption.
That’s what made Ace the harbinger.
That’s what led him to steal the corrupted dragon egg from Pangi.
That’s why he revived the corrupted Ender Dragon.
It’s why the fourth calamity was brought back.
It’s why everyone was in The End, stuck in cages made of the corrupted obsidian, all eyes on the purple-clad cat standing atop the bedrock fountain. There were some Keepers trapped in similar cages further away from the group, doing all they could to break out and rescue them.
The dragon was circling the island, but it never attacked, never drew near. Just sticking to the edge of the island, keeping its distance. The flap of wings is a constant reminder of its presence.
Clown scanned the area around his cage, trying his best to see who was where. Everyone was scattered around the fountain, but to Clown’s luck, he was able to see everyone.
To his immediate left were Ros and Aimsey, the two stuck in a cage together. To their left were Zam, Water, Derapchu, and Tubbo, each having a cage to themselves.
Behind him were Pangi and Lukey, not in a cage together like Aimsey and Ros, but still fairly close to each other.
To his immediate right were Bad, Beky, and Michela, also by themselves in their cages.
Across from Clown, on the other side of the fountain, were Phil, Fit, Sneeg, Tina, and Foolish. Phil and Fit were in a cage together, while Tina, Foolish, and Sneeg were in individual cages.
Clown shifted on his feet as he turned his gaze to Ace, the cat wearing a wide grin as he stood and watched everyone.
He hated this—hated being caged. He felt helpless. There wasn’t anything he could do to get his friends out, or anything he could do to kill the dragon and Ace.
Sneeg had already tried to shoot an arrow through the bars of their cages, but the corruption had reflected it, nearly hitting himself as it bounced back at him in the cage. Any kind of projectile was stopped, which meant they couldn’t use ender pearls to escape.
The Keepers couldn’t teleport out of their cages or even teleport back to wherever they usually went. Something about that deeply unsettled Clown, the fact that these powerful beings couldn’t do anything to help them.
“Man, if I had known it would be this easy to bring back the dragon and trap you guys here, I would’ve done it ages ago!” Ace’s voice rang out across the island. “I mean, seriously, that was—” Ace starts laughing, something manic and gleeful as he continues talking through it. “That was just too easy! Laughably easy! Literally! Like, come on, guys!”
Ace holds his stomach as he hunches over from laughter, finding the events leading up to this ‘funny’.
It makes Clown’s blood boil.
He shifts the weight of his battleaxe in his hands, itching to swing it and cut through that stupid fucking cat’s flesh. Clown wants nothing more than to tear Ace’s vocal cords out and rip that grin off his face.
He wants to tear Ace apart, limb by limb, over and over until he’s nothing but a pile of blood, guts, and bones.
Eventually, Ace calms down from his fit of laughter and resumes speaking. “Although I will say, it was fun messing around with some of you. Especially with the two of you, Pangi and Zam.”
Clown spares a glance back at Pangi. The pangolin is glaring daggers at Ace, and Clown can see his grip on the bars tightening. He was aware of the two’s history, how Pangi had once loved him before moving on. Clown can only imagine the thoughts going through Pangi’s head, can only imagine how badly he wants to kill Ace for this.
The archmage then looked over to Zam. His face is pulled into a tight grimace as he stares at Ace. Clown didn’t know as much about Zam’s relationship with Pili as he did with Pangi’s and Pili’s, but he did know that the two cared for each other. He’s sure that the princess wants to get revenge as well, but she most likely wants to get everyone out of here safely first.
“ Aaaaand it gave me time to clean up all the sculk around spawn. That stuff would’ve just gotten in the way and become a hassle later on.” Ace said—Clown’s gaze snapping back to the cat—as he glanced between Aimsey, Sneeg, and Lukey.
Clown wasn’t sure why Ace had looked at Lukey. He knew that Lukey was able to make a cure for the sculk infection, but that was his only connection to the sculk to Clown’s knowledge.
Clown also didn’t like the way Ace’s gaze lingered on Sneeg for longer than it did on the other two. Unlike Aimsey, Sneeg was still infected by the sculk, and from what Clown knew, the sculk and the corruption were opposing forces.
“Actually, speaking of sculk. ” Ace’s grin widens as he spins around to face Sneeg, the moth flinching at the sudden attention. “ Sneeg, I have an offer for you!”
“An offer? ” Sneeg asks warily.
“Yes, an offer you can’t refuse! As the strongest person here, I want you to join my side! If you do, I will let everyone here go and leave them alone. How does that sound?”
Clown’s eyes snapped to Sneeg. Surely, he wouldn’t accept. They beat the dragon and the corruption before, and surely they could beat it even faster with how much stronger everyone had become.
(Clown was trying to ignore the fact that the corruption on the Ender Dragon looked worse now, shards of corruption now protruding from its back, and large streaks of purple adorning its scales.)
He couldn’t see Sneeg’s expression clearly from this distance, but he could see him having a small back-and-forth with Fit and Phil. The two knew Sneeg the best and could probably convince him not to take the offer, but everyone knew that there was a non-zero chance that Sneeg would take it. A fact that greatly upset all of them.
“Sneeg! Don’t you even think about it! We’ll be fine, we can figure something out!” A voice from his left shouts.
Clown turned to see Ros pressed up against the bars of her and Aimsey’s cage. She was staring at Sneeg, desperate to convince her friend to say no. Clown could see tears starting to well up in her eyes, and surely— surely those tears would be enough to get Sneeg to say no.
Clown looked back at Sneeg, the moth looking at Ros with sadness and guilt, before his attention was drawn away by Foolish. The archmage could see their king saying something to the royal blacksmith, but whatever it was only made Sneeg’s frown deepen, and look back at Ace.
“Oh, silly me! Surelyyou’ll want some other people besides me to be there with you!” Ace turns on his heel, his back to Sneeg. “What’d ya say? Bad? Clown? Zam? Pangi? Wanna join Sneeg and me?”
Ace looks at each of them as he says their names, Clown’s grip on his axe tightening when the cat looks at him—a cheshire grin plastered on the cat’s face. Clown hates how Ace sounds confident about Sneeg joining him, hates how he thinks they’ll say yes too. (Deep down, Clown knows Sneeg will say yes. Deep down, Clown knows he will also say yes.)
Clown looks over to meet Sneeg’s eyes, an expression morphing on his face that Clown couldn’t quite decipher. Clown subtly shakes his head at Sneeg, hoping that he would understand and maybe, just maybe, would decline Ace’s offer. They could still try to break out and kill Ace and the Ender Dragon—they had other options. Clown just hoped Sneeg understood that.
“Hmmm, maybe you guys need some… motivation. ” All eyes snap to Ace when he speaks up. “Here, I’ll show what will happen if none of you agree to join me.”
Ace snaps his fingers, and a cage holding a Keeper is moved to be near the fountain, in view for everyone to see. Then, from the edge of the island, the Ender Dragon changes course. It flies above them as it makes its way towards the center of the island—where Ace is, where the Keeper is. The Dragon opens its mouth, and with another snap, the cage is gone, and the Corrupted Dragon devours the Keeper.
Everyone is silent when it happens. Ace had just killed a Keeper —or well, Ace used the Ender Dragon to kill a Keeper—something none of them thought was possible. Ace slowly spins around, looking at every one of them, a smile never leaving his face.
Clown looks back over to Sneeg, the other meeting his gaze and giving him an apologetic look before he looks over at Bad. The moth and the demon share a silent conversation before Bad looks away and turns to Ace. Clown knows what he’s about to say, and he knows what Sneeg is going to say shortly after it.
“I… No. I won’t join you.”
Ace frowns and shrugs before moving his gaze between Clown, Zam, and Pangi. Ace is about to say something when Sneeg finally speaks.
“I’ll join.”
Voices erupt across the island, his faction members’ pleas and cries for Sneeg to please, please reconsider. Ros’s voice is the loudest, but maybe that’s just because Clown is right next to her.
“SNEEG, PLEASE! PLEASE DON’T! PLEASE! THE KINGDOM STILL NEEDS YOU!” Ros is crying, her voice wobbling as she shouts, “WE CAN STILL FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS, PLEASE DON’T GO! DON’T LEAVE US, PLEASE!” Ros collapses to her knees, sobbing. Aimsey is down by her side in an instant, wrapping their arms around her.
“ Please… ”
Ros’s voice was barely a whisper, yet it pierced through the silence of the void, making it loud enough for everyone to hear. Her hiccups echoed throughout The End, everyone going silent after hearing Ros’s desperate pleas. Clown stares at her, his heart breaking. It’s almost enough to convince him to say no.
Almost.
He has to remind himself that he’s doing this for her, for Sneeg, for all of the kingdom. Surely they’ll find a way out of this. Surely, they’ll reunite, and everyone will be fine.
Surely…
“Wonderful, wonderful! Anyone else?” Ace says with a large, annoying smile.
Clown is about to say his answer when Zam begins.
“I’ll jo—”
Sneeg immediately interrupts him. “ No, Zam. No, you won’t.”
“What? Why not? Why do you get to agree and I don’t?” Zam asks, anger seeping into her words as she glares at her mentor. “ You don’t get to decide that for me! And—And I don’t want to leave you here! You’re my mentor!”
“ I know, Zam, I know—and as you’re mentor, I want you to stay with the others. I want you to help protect them and the kingdom. I want you to be there for Ros, for Clown, for Foolish, for all of them, Zam. Please, Zam.” Sneeg calmly replies, staring into his apprentice’s eyes.
Clown frowns at the mention of his name before his attention is drawn to Foolish.
“Zam…” The totem is looking at his daughter, resignation painted on his face.
Zam stares at his father before angrily huffing and relents, “ Fine. ”
“Zam, I’m—” Sneeg starts, but this time it’s Zam’s turn to interrupt him.
“No, I get it! I won’t join!” Zam says as she turns away from Sneeg, wrapping her arms around herself. Clown can see Derapchu and Water talking to the princess, doing what they could to comfort him from their cages.
Clown returns his gaze to Sneeg, the moth looking at his apprentice with hurt. Clown can tell he wants to say something, but he doesn’t, probably out of fear of making the situation worse. He then meets Clown’s gaze, the hurt in his eyes morphing into a silent plea for Clown to say no, to decline the offer, to stay with their kingdom.
Clown is tempted to take his mask off, to let his expression tell Sneeg his answer, the wrong answer. He doesn’t. He just holds Sneeg’s gaze, unwavering, and he hopes it’s enough for him to understand.
“Well, that’s one yes and two no’s,” Ace says from above them. “What about you, Pangi? Deal or no deal?”
Clown doesn’t turn to look at the pangolin, but he can hear the shift of armor behind him before Pangi speaks. “I’ll join.”
“What?!” Clown can see out of the corner of his eye, Bad whipping around to look at his fellow Honey Badger.
“I’m sorry, Bad! But I can’t just—I can’t sit on the side and do nothing! I wanted Pili—Ace to regain his memories from his past two lives, and I was the one stupid enough to trust him again and let him know that I had the corrupted egg!” Pangi exclaims, desperate to get his faction leader to understand.
“ Pangi… ” Lukey, it’s barely a whisper, but Clown can still tell it was Lukey who said it.
To his surprise, Aimsey speaks up as well. “Pangi, you don’t have to do this! It’s not your fault, ok? Please, don’t do this, you don’t have to do this.”
“I know, Aimsey. I’m sorry… I really am, but I’ll be fine, I promise. I just want you guys to be safe,” Pangi says, his voice straining like he’s on the verge of tears.
He hears Bad let out a defeated sigh. “Ok, Pangi. I trust you, but please stay safe.”
“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little heads, Pangi will be justfine with me—pinky promise!” Ace says in a mocking tone before turning his attention to Clown.
He stares at Sneeg for just a little longer before finally looking away to meet Ace’s goggle-covered eyes. Ace just grins and tilts his head at him, and Clown’s sure the cat already knows what his answer will be.
“And what about you, Clown?” He asks.
Clown spares one last glance at Ros and Sneeg before saying, “I’ll join.” Those two words send his kingdom into an uproar once again.
Next to him, Ros chokes on her tears and curls in on herself in Aimsey’s arms, quietly pleading for Clown to change his mind. Aimsey looks at him, anger and sadness mixing as he holds Ros closer.
Tina started to beg and plead for him to reconsider—for her mentor to stay. Foolish joins her pleas, demanding that Clown change his mind and come back with them to the kingdom.
Fit and Phil had begun to protest as well, they knew how much Clown meant to Ros, Sneeg, and the entire kingdom. Sneeg just stares at him in shock.
Zam whips around to glare at him, grabbing onto the bars of his cage as he yells at Clown. “ No! No, if I’m not allowed to join, then you aren’t either, Clown!”
“Clown… Clown, please. Don’t do this, please. Stay with others, stay with Ros. Please, don’t do this,” Sneeg begs. Clown doesn’t think he’s ever heard him beg before.
Clown just stays silent—he had expected this kind of reaction—and lets their words wash over him. He had made his choice, and he wasn’t going to go back on it now.
“Oh, how wonderful! ” Ace’s voice rings out. “Three yes’s and two no’s. Better than I thought, honestly.”
The cages around them suddenly crumble away with a snap of Ace’s fingers. He jumps down from the bedrock fountain, and with another snap, they watch as the Ender Dragon is consumed by the corruption and dies—its presence no longer needed.
It was an awful sight, watching the purple streaks spread and sprout shards of corruption that tore the Ender Dragon apart. The sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing alongside the Ender Dragon’s pained cries rang out across the island—crumbling away and leaving a deafening silence.
The portal in the bedrock fountain lights up again.
“I’ll be nice and let you guys say your goodbyes before you leave,” Ace says with a smile.
And they do, everyone gathering around the portal. It would probably be the last time they would see each other. So, they say their goodbyes and any other final words.
Ros had been a mess, sobbing and clinging to Sneeg and Clown, begging them to change their minds or to let her join them. It took the combined efforts of Phil and Aimsey to pull her away and convince her to leave.
Speaking of Aimsey and Phil, both had some… opinions on his and Sneeg’s decisions.
Aimsey had scolded them for leaving Ros, because while they did understand why they were doing it, he still didn’t like that it was both of them.
“Look, I get why you guys are doing this, but did it have to be both of you?” Aimsey asked, glancing back at the portal that Ros had just left through.
“I mean, sure, if it had just been Sneeg, Ros would still be upset, but less so because she would still have you, Clown.” Aimsey looked straight at Clown, grief written all over their face. “But she doesn’t, she doesn’t have you , Clown. I mean, yeah, she still has me, Phil, and the other kingdom members, but Ros was the closest with you two. ”
Aimsey sighed before turning away, preparing to go talk to Pangi, but not before saying one last thing to Clown and Sneeg.
“Just… stay safe, for Ros’s sake.”
Phil was upset, more so with Sneeg than he was with Clown. But overall, he was more concerned for the two more than anything.
“I hope you two know what you’re doing, especially you Sneeg,” Phil said after Aimsey walked away. “I know how much you want to protect everyone, but you need to take care of yourself, too.”
“The same goes to you as well, Clown.” Phil turned to him. “Please take care of yourself.”
They both had silently nodded. Phil looked between them before saying his final words.
“And… take care of each other, ok?”
Zam didn’t say anything to them, just hugged them tightly. He’s not sure if Sneeg had said anything to her while the two hugged, but Clown had quietly apologized when she hugged him. She quickly left after that.
Fit was similar, hugging Sneeg and giving Clown’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaving with Zam and Phil.
Then there was Foolish, their king… their friend. He had walked up to them wearing a somber look. It was strange seeing their king, usually so jovial and loud, now silent and solemn as he stood before his royal blacksmith and royal archmage.
“Do you guys really have to do this? Couldn’t you just kill Pili—sorry, Ace. We did it with Owen. Surely, you could do the same thing now.” Foolish’s voice was soft. It had startled Clown, not used to their king being so…quiet.
“Just — Just be safe, ok? I mean, if not for me, then for Ros and Zam, please, ” Foolish requested. “I don’t want to lose either of you.”
Foolish had hugged them before he left, whispering one last thing to them.
“I just hope you guys know what you’re doing.”
Sneeg, Clown, and Pangi stand there, staring at the portal. The memory of the goodbyes with their friends was fresh in Clown’s mind. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, but whatever it is, he knows it won’t be good.
“Sneeg!” Clown calls out, walking through Ace’s End base.
He hates being here, but he’s forced to come here at least four times a day, all because Sneeg has to be here. If Clown had his way, Sneeg would be working in the Overworld base and not in the End base. Although if Clown truly had his way, none of them would even be here, and Ace would be dead.
He turns a corner and spots the entrance to the mossy forge. The material was something Sneeg insisted they use when building it.
To Sneeg, it brought comfort.
To Clown, it brought bittersweet memories.
The moth hybrid is working on some armor when Clown walks in, the clangs drowning out any sound his footsteps would’ve made. Clown smiles bitterly as he watches Sneeg work, both happy and sad that he has been able to keep his blacksmithing skills. It pains the archmage to watch the royal blacksmith make weapons, tools, and armor for their enemy instead of their kingdom.
When he gets the chance, Clown is going to tear Ace and Ash to pieces.
Ash was a recent addition, happily joining Ace’s side in power, spouting nonsense about unity and uniformity under the corruption. Clown wasn’t surprised—he expected something like this from Ash—but his anger towards him was all the same.
Others had also joined, Bad being the most notable, since the demon had refused when first asked. Clown doesn’t care to know why he changed his mind and does his best to ignore him.
“Sneeeeg, it’s time to take a break,” Clown says, raising his voice so he could be heard over the clangs of metal.
Sneeg pauses and looks over his shoulder at Clown, purple eyes meeting painted black ones. His eyes narrow in confusion for a split second before he realizes it’s Clown at the forge entrance.
Sneeg turns back to the chestplate he was working on and moves to put it away, hanging it up on a nearby armor stand. Clown watches him move, taking note of his wings dragging behind him. Sometimes Sneeg forgets they’re there, the purple hues dragging along the floor.
“Sneeg, your wings,” Clown says, he makes sure to remind him whenever he notices.
Sneeg hums and lifts his wings off the ground, flapping them slightly, and pulls them against his back.
“Thanks…” Sneeg pauses, glancing at Clown again, before something clicks and resumes. “Thank you, Clown.”
The archmage just hums as he watches Sneeg go back to cleaning up his work area, patiently waiting for him to finish.
Unfortunately, it’s not a surprise to Clown anymore that Sneeg has trouble remembering his name. Becoming corrupted messed up Sneeg’s memories and emotions, notably becoming more expressive and looking happier. He had an easier time recognizing Clown by his appearance, but his name still gave him trouble.
Clown’s just thankful that Sneeg even remembered him in the first place. He’s even more thankful that he hasn’t been corrupted. It seems to affect everyone differently, and Clown’s not sure how it would affect him.
He wants to keep it that way. He’s only one of three people not corrupted, the other two being Derapchu and Lukey.
After seeing Sneeg’s sculk infection getting worse instead of receding from being around so much corruption, Ace had tasked Clown with kidnapping Lukey. Clown’s not sure why he didn’t ask Lukey to join him when he had the chance, but Clown wasn’t going to question him. If it meant keeping those he cared about safe, he would do as told and not act out—even if their captors were just a single axe swing away from death.
Ace had kept Sneeg away from them while being cured, the process causing the moth some pain as the sculk was forced to leave. Ace had forbidden all of them from visiting Sneeg during this time, stating that he needed his rest and that Ace would take good care of him. Clown is positive that Ace only said that so he could easily corrupt Sneeg without anyone, specifically Clown, stopping him.
After being kidnapped, Lukey wasn’t allowed to leave, not that he minded. He once confided in Clown that he was secretly happy to be reunited with Pangi—and Bad too, but more so with Pangi—despite him being corrupted again.
Pangi’s corruption was similar to Sneeg’s, minus the being happy part. He was more… blunt, in Clown’s opinion. His memory loss wasn’t as severe as it had been the first time he was corrupted, but he still had some trouble remembering things. Lukey and Bad were always there by his side, though, ready to remind him of whatever he had forgotten.
He also apologized to Clown for being the reason that Sneeg was even corrupted in the first place. Clown had reassured him that he wasn’t angry with the scientist, that he knew that Lukey was being forced to do this. While yes, Clown was happy that Sneeg was cured of the sculk, he just wished that it had happened under different circumstances.
Lukey had also told him that he had been able to make some kind of cure that made him immune to the corruption, but he had only been able to make one. Lukey had left his notes with Aimsey, but he’s not sure what ratio was the one that worked, and he knows there are not enough materials to continue the experiments.
Clown had reassured him that they would figure something out, his words seeming to ease the scientist a bit. Lukey had been curious about why Clown was immune, asking him all sorts of questions, none of which Clown could give a good answer to. Lukey had his theories, though.
The most likely one being that, because Clown had spent so much time around Sneeg and the sculk, he had been infected at some point. However, his infection never got to progress—not like it had with Aimsey and Sneeg—because Pangi had thrown a vial of corruption at him while working on cures with Aimsey and Sneeg.
A likely theory, possibly the correct one too. Unfortunately, Clown would never know why he was immune, but he’s been grateful for it every day that he’s been here. He’s still not sure why Derap hasn’t been corrupted, but he’s thankful nevertheless. He doesn’t think he and Lukey could handle being the only two non-corrupted people for any longer.
Derapchu arrived shortly after, coming to them with a partially corrupted Zam. He had refused to let him go alone, even if it meant he could get corrupted. Despite what happened between the two in Lifesteal, Derap still cared about Zam and only wanted what was best for him.
Thankfully, Zam has stayed partially corrupted. Her memories were fine, but she was notably happier, like Sneeg after he got corrupted. Derapchu had asked Clown about it, telling him about their journey here and how he had noticed the emotional shift during it.
Clown did his best to explain what he knew, telling him how the corruption affected everyone differently. He’s not sure if his explanation eased Derapchu’s worries or made them worse, but Clown noticed him sticking to Zam’s side more often after. Which meant he was hanging around Clown and Sneeg more often as well.
After learning about Sneeg’s memory loss, Zam promised Clown that she would help him keep the memories of their friends alive in Sneeg’s mind. Derap would help out when he could, joining in on their reminiscing and sharing stories of his own.
Sneeg did remember some of his friends, like Ros, Foolish, and Zam, but not very well. He’s had an easier time remembering Zam ever since the partially corrupted princess joined them under Ace and Ash’s control. He still had some trouble with Derap, but that was understandable since he hadn’t been as close with the moth.
“Is it lunch time already?” Sneeg asks, turning to Clown.
“Yup, Zam is joining us this time.”
Sneeg’s face twists in confusion. “Who is-” He cuts himself off as recognition replaces his confusion, starting his sentence over. “That’s good, she hasn’t joined us for lunch in the last few days. Is, uh, what’s his name again?”
Clown knows who he’s asking about and shakes his head. “No, Derapchu is busy with something else.”
Sneeg just nods and fully turns to face Clown, now finished with cleaning up.
“Ok, I’m all set, are you?” Sneeg asks.
Clown nods and grabs Sneeg’s hand, the moth happily holding it as Clown leads him out of the forge. After getting separated from Sneeg on multiple occasions, Clown had started holding Sneeg’s hand whenever they had to go somewhere together. Zam teases him for it, but she knows why Clown does it, having witnessed it once herself.
Zam had found the moth wandering the halls in the End base, forgetting the reason he was even there. Zam had said that he looked like a lost puppy.
When the two of them found Clown, the archmage had been frantically going from room to room looking for Sneeg. When he noticed them, Clown had barreled into Sneeg, tightly hugging him and not leaving his side for the rest of the day.
Now the two of them, hand in hand, walk to the portal. They never eat in The End. Sneeg likes to eat outside in the overworld, enjoying the fresh air while they chat away. Clown doesn’t complain. He hates being in The End. He only comes here because Sneeg has to.
The familiar feeling of traveling across dimensions washes over Clown, frowning at the feeling of Sneeg’s hand disappearing from his. He knows that Sneeg is just being taken to where his bed is, but Clown doesn’t like how they get separated.
He appears in his room next to his bed, quickly leaving it to go next door to Sneeg’s room. The moth is sitting on his bed when Clown walks in, leaning over with his head in his hands.
While Clown had no trouble with going through the End portal, Sneeg usually needed a few seconds to readjust. Luckily, he recovers quickly, sparing a glance at Clown as he lifts his head.
He slowly gets up and shifts his wings a bit, making sure they aren’t dragging on the ground behind him. When Sneeg is close enough, Clown takes his hand into his and starts leading him to the courtyard behind the base.
“Zam already grabbed our food,” Clown explains, because he knows Sneeg was about to ask. He hears Sneeg hum behind him, happy to head straight outside and join their friend.
It’s a nice day out, fluffy white clouds float across the sky, and there’s a nice breeze. Zam is sitting at their table already, currently putting her hair into a braid. He perks up when he notices Sneeg and Clown approaching, pausing his braiding to give them a quick wave and smile.
“Hiiii guys!” She says as they near.
“Hi, Zam, thank you for grabbing our food,” Clown says as he sits down.
Sneeg sits next to him, shifting his wings slightly before settling.
“ Anything interesting today?” Zam asks as she finishes braiding her hair.
“Not that I know of. What about you, Clown?” Sneeg asks as he takes a bite of his sandwich.
“Hmmmm, nothing so far.” Clown lifts his mask slightly to take a bite of his sandwich before asking, “Anything with you and Derapchu?”
Zam just sighs and leans against the table, resting her head on one of her hands. “ No, not really. The same goes for the others, too. Seems like today is going to be uneventful again. ”
Clown hums and shrugs. “Not a bad thing, in my opinion.”
“ I guess, ” Zam huffs before taking a sip of her water.
The next hour is full of chatter as they eat, Zam and Clown reminiscing about the Kingdom of Fools while Sneeg just listens.
He wishes Sneeg could remember, could go back to his normal self. Clown misses their banter—they still do sometimes, but it’s not the same —misses Sneeg’s little quips and his laugh, god, Clown misses Sneeg’s laugh.
After corrupting, his laugh sounds hollow, something unnatural.
It doesn’t sound like him.
Clown hates it.
He doesn’t care to remember much of what happens after lunch. He takes Sneeg back to the forge in The End before going about his day, doing his tasks until it’s dinner time, and he has to go get Sneeg again.
Dinner was… boring, to say the least. Not much happened or was said, just idle chatter amongst everyone. Maybe Zam was right to complain about nothing exciting happening here.
Then it was free time until everyone had to go to bed.
Clown and Sneeg didn’t do much during this time, usually lounging around in Sneeg's room or playing some games with Zam and Derapchu in Zam’s room. Sometimes, if the sky was clear enough and the weather was nice, they would go stargazing.
Tonight was one of those nights.
Sneeg was the one leading him this time, happily dragging Clown out of the base into the courtyard. The air is crisp and cool, and the breeze has lessened but is still noticeable. The sky is clear of clouds and littered with stars, and a full moon bathes them in soft moonlight.
They stop in the middle of the courtyard, hand in hand, as they lie down in the grass to stare at the stars. Other than occasionally pointing out constellations and some light banter, the two of them are silent, happy to just enjoy each other's company.
Clown wishes they could have done this before everything went to shit, before Sneeg got corrupted, before he became… like this.
Don’t get Clown wrong, he likes spending time with Sneeg, loves it even, but it’s just…
It’s not the same.
He wants his deadpan voice, his humor, his banter, his everything back.
He just wants his Sneeg back.
They eventually get up and go back inside, Clown leading them to their rooms. Sometimes, he wishes they could share a room, and sometimes, he’s grateful they don’t.
They part ways for the night, Sneeg going into his room and Clown into his.
Maybe he was wrong when he said that it wasn’t a bad thing when the day was uneventful, because he hates how cyclical the days have been.
He wishes something— anything would change.
Big or small, he doesn’t care.
He just wants something to change…
But for now, he gets ready for bed, preparing himself to do this all over again.