Chapter Text
Spoke wandered through the maze, his clothes torn from countless fights.
He had no food.
No Mapicc.
No Jumper.
No Planet.
No one.
The twisting stone corridors stretched endlessly before him. Every turn looked the same as the last, every shadow seeming to mock his attempts to escape.
"I... I need to find a way out..."
His fingers glided along the cold stone wall as he walked.
"Is this what Jamato wanted?.. Right?.."
The realization made his stomach twist.
"Jamato played me."
A broken laugh escaped him.
The sound barely resembled laughter at all.
"What is his end goal?.. What is..." He swallowed. "Is this it?.. Just kill me now that I'm split off from them. Just kill me..."
His voice rose with every word until it nearly echoed through the maze.
"Jamato, if you're here... you know you've done it, right?"
Spoke slowed his pace.
"You can bring in your Null guards. You can break all my gear. You can do whatever you want."
His voice faltered.
"I don't know what you want anymore."
Silence.
"I don't know."
His eyes lowered to the ground.
"I don't know why you do this."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Why did I kill?.. Why did I do it?.."
The questions lingered unanswered.
"There's surely another way, right?.. Somehow..."
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"I could have dropped the book to them from the beginning. I could have given it to them without saying anything."
Regret gnawed at him.
The maze offered no comfort.
No answers.
Only more stone.
Spoke continued walking, ranting quietly to himself as his hunger bar dropped lower and lower.
Then a portal appeared.
Only a few blocks away.
Spoke immediately stumbled backward.
His heart skipped a beat.
He knew exactly what it meant.
Without thinking, he turned and ran.
The maze blurred around him as he sprinted through corridor after corridor, desperately searching for an escape.
Another portal opened ahead.
He turned.
A second appeared behind him.
"No... no, no, no..."
The words slipped out under his breath.
His stamina was failing.
Hunger clawed at him with every step, draining what little strength he had left.
Still, he ran.
Another turn.
Another corridor.
Another portal.
They were everywhere.
Null.
He was surrounded.
Panic flooded his chest.
Spoke drew his bow and fired.
The arrow vanished into a portal.
Useless.
He swung at another.
Useless.
No matter what he did, more portals appeared.
More exits.
More entrances.
More ways for Null to reach him.
Then the maze ended.
A dead end.
Spoke skidded to a halt.
His breath caught in his throat.
Another portal slowly opened directly in front of him.
The purple glow illuminated the stone walls.
A figure stepped through.
JamatoP.
Spoke froze.
There was nowhere left to run.
Jamato looked at him for a long moment before speaking.
"Are you even surprised?"
His voice echoed through the dead end.
"It was always going to end like this."
Spoke stood there, unable to speak.
"But somehow..."
His eyes narrowed.
"It always ends with you."
The words lingered between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Spoke could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The tension in the air felt almost tangible, as if the maze itself were holding its breath.
Waiting.
"It always ends with death. Destruction."
Jamato took a slow step forward.
"And that's why Null exists. To bring trappers, griefers, and killers to justice."
Another step.
"To bring you to justice."
The words lingered in the air.
Spoke blinked.
Justice?
The thought felt absurd.
"Justice?" A bitter laugh escaped him. "Look at everything you've done. Look at what you've become-"
"Don't interrupt me."
Jamato's voice cracked through the maze like a whip.
Silence followed.
Then he laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because he was tired.
Because he had heard every excuse before.
"Everything I've done?" His smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. "It isn't enough."
His gaze never left Spoke.
"Capturing you wasn't easy. I've spent months preparing for this. Months training for this. Months training everyone for this."
His expression darkened.
"And still..."
His voice lowered.
"You survived."
Another step.
"You fought back."
Another.
"You killed."
Spoke found himself backing into the stone wall.
Cold stone pressed against his shoulders.
There was nowhere left to go.
"And somehow..."
Jamato stopped only a few feet away.
"You kept going."
For the first time, genuine emotion broke through the calm mask he had been wearing.
Not anger.
Not satisfaction.
Something uglier.
Something exhausted.
"I watched people throw themselves into this mission."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I watched them train. Fight. Bleed."
A pause.
"And every time I thought we'd finally stopped you..."
His jaw tightened.
"You got back up."
The maze fell silent.
"You lost people."
Another pause.
"You watched your friends suffer."
His eyes narrowed.
"And somehow that still wasn't enough to make you stop."
For a moment, Jamato looked less like a leader and more like a man who had spent too long carrying a burden he could never put down.
"And I resent that."
The words came out quiet.
Which made them hurt even more.
"What did you expect?"
The words burst out of Spoke before he could stop them.
"You sent soldiers to Spawn to capture me. You captured Mapicc, let's not forget that."
Memories flashed through his mind. Mapicc disappearing. The uncertainty. The anger. The helplessness of knowing his best friend had been taken while he could do nothing.
"You waited months. Months." His voice shook. "Then you spent weeks preparing before you even came after me."
He took a step forward.
"And you think I wasn't going to fight back?"
The frustration that had been building for months finally spilled over.
"Of course I fought back. Of course I tried to kill them."
His fists clenched.
"And I succeeded."
The words came out harsher than he intended.
"I killed your leader."
For a brief moment, the maze fell silent.
"I was ready to kill more."
Jamato laughed.
The sound cut through Spoke like a blade.
Not because it was loud.
Because it wasn't.
The laughter was calm.
Certain.
As though everything Spoke had just said only proved his point.
"No. No, no, no."
Jamato slowly shook his head.
"Because after all of that, I realized something."
His expression remained unreadable.
"After you killed my soldiers, I realized there was no reason for me to capture you myself."
Spoke's stomach dropped.
Jamato's eyes narrowed.
"I already had someone who could do it for me."
The air suddenly felt heavier.
Spoke already knew who he meant.
"You're talking about Mapicc?"
His heart pounded.
"Mapicc was in on this? You said... you told me-"
"No."
The single word silenced him instantly.
Jamato paused.
"Of course not."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"He still believed I was dead."
Spoke stared.
Then what-
"I sent a message to Null."
Jamato folded his arms.
"I told them to let Mapicc escape."
The realization hit Spoke all at once.
No.
No.
"He found you exactly as I expected."
Jamato took a slow step closer.
"And then he brought you exactly where I wanted you."
Spoke instinctively backed away.
The stone wall pressed against his back.
Every word felt like another knife twisting deeper.
"But why?"
The question came out barely above a whisper.
"I... I don't understand."
For the first time, Jamato's expression darkened.
"That's not even the best part."
A chill ran down Spoke's spine.
"While you were busy building your army..."
Jamato's voice remained calm.
Far too calm.
"You led me to every rebel camp."
Spoke froze.
"And because of you..."
Jamato began listing the names.
One.
By.
One.
"Ali."
Each name landed like a hammer blow.
"Dev."
Spoke's breathing became uneven.
"Planet Lord."
No.
"Dylan."
Please.
"Cookie."
Stop.
"And now Jumper."
Jamato looked him directly in the eye.
"They're all in my hands."
The silence that followed was unbearable.
"What was I supposed to do?!"
Spoke's voice cracked.
"You infiltrated my team. You blackmailed me!"
The words echoed off the stone walls.
"How was I supposed to tell anyone?"
His breathing became ragged.
"How was I supposed to stop this?"
Tears blurred his vision.
"How was I supposed to prevent any of it?"
His voice finally broke.
"It was always going to end like this!"
The scream echoed through the maze.
When it faded, all that remained was silence.
Spoke wiped at his face.
Only then did he realize his cheeks were wet.
He was crying.
The realization made his stomach twist.
How pathetic.
"And do you know why?" Jamato asked.
He didn't turn around.
"Why it will end exactly the way I decide it will?"
The portal behind him crackled softly.
"Because I own the truth."
Spoke felt his stomach sink.
"I can tell them anything. Any lie I want."
Jamato paused.
"But honestly..."
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"Nothing I could ever fabricate would be worse than the disaster you've already created yourself."
The words hung heavily in the air.
"You've ruined yourself better than I ever could."
Silence followed.
Jamato didn't need to explain what he meant.
The meaning was already there.
Sharp.
Unavoidable.
Behind him, the Null began stepping through the portal one by one. Their silhouettes disappeared into the purple glow until only Jamato remained.
At last, he exhaled.
"I'm done."
The statement felt strangely empty.
As though he had finally grown tired of arguing.
Tired of fighting.
Tired of Spoke.
"Wait."
The word slipped out before Spoke could stop it.
Jamato paused.
His back remained turned.
"Jamato..."
Spoke hesitated.
The question felt impossible to ask.
"Are you... are you going to tell them?"
His throat tightened.
"What I've done?"
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Jamato answered.
"The better question..."
His voice was quiet.
"...is how long you think you can hide the truth."
Spoke lowered his gaze.
He didn't answer.
There was no answer to give.
A second later, Jamato stepped through the portal.
The light vanished.
The maze fell silent.
Spoke was alone again.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
Then he pulled out his water bucket and destroyed the portal.
The sound echoed through the empty corridor.
Gone.
Just like that.
He began walking.
One step.
Then another.
The maze stretched endlessly before him.
Every corridor looked identical.
Every turn led to another turn.
The silence felt unbearable.
To keep himself grounded, he ignited his flint and steel every few steps. The brief sparks illuminated the darkness before disappearing just as quickly.
Walk.
Spark.
Walk.
Spark.
The rhythm became the only thing keeping him moving.
Minutes passed.
Maybe longer.
Time had stopped making sense.
Eventually, the maze opened into a wider area.
Spoke slowed.
Ahead was something different.
An exit.
At least, it looked like one.
His heart immediately leaped.
He took a step toward it.
Then stopped.
Something felt wrong.
The entrance stood open, waiting.
Too easy.
Spoke glanced back at the countless corridors behind him.
One path.
Then another.
Then another.
An endless network of stone.
His instincts screamed at him not to trust it.
So he backed away.
And that was when he noticed it.
A figure.
Standing further down another corridor.
Spoke froze.
His pulse quickened.
No.
It couldn't be.
The figure shifted slightly.
And suddenly Spoke recognized him.
Mapicc.
Relief crashed into him so hard it almost hurt.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he didn't feel alone.
"Mapicc!"
Spoke immediately broke into a run.
His footsteps echoed throughout the maze.
"Mapicc, listen!"
As he got closer, the feeling of safety grew stronger.
Everything was finally going to be okay.
Mapicc had made it out.
Mapicc was here.
Mapicc looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a brief moment, neither spoke.
Then Mapicc finally answered.
"Bro."
The single word hit harder than it should have.
Something was wrong.
His voice wasn't relieved.
It wasn't happy.
It wasn't even surprised.
Mapicc sounded disappointed.
"L-listen."
The words tumbled out before Spoke could stop them.
"I don't know who you've seen. I don't know who you've talked to. I don't even know how you got here."
His voice shook.
"But I know where the exit is."
He pointed down one of the corridors.
"We can get out of here. We can leave."
His breathing had become uneven.
"We don't have much time. He's here. Jamato's here."
"Spoke."
Mapicc's voice was cold.
The single word immediately silenced him.
"Jamato told me it wasn't Leo who tried to kill him."
Spoke froze.
The blood drained from his face.
"It was you, bro."
The words landed like a punch.
"He told me everything."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then they both started talking at once.
"It doesn't matter what he's saying-"
"That's the most selfish thing you've ever done, Spoke."
Spoke immediately stopped.
Mapicc rarely sounded angry.
That somehow made this worse.
"He's trying to turn you against me." Spoke took a desperate step forward. "I don't know what he told you. I don't know what you're talking about."
His voice rose.
"We can still leave. We can just go."
"Listen to yourself."
Mapicc shook his head.
"When you killed Jamato, you created Null."
His expression hardened.
"We could've been free, bro."
The disappointment in his voice hurt more than any accusation.
"We could've explored the server."
"We still can!" Spoke interrupted.
Mapicc spoke over him.
"But you had to have your moment with Leo."
Spoke flinched.
"You dragged all of us back into this."
The words echoed through the maze.
"Bro..."
Mapicc looked exhausted.
Not angry.
Not hateful.
Just tired.
Spoke's chest tightened.
"I couldn't."
The words came out broken.
"I couldn't tell you."
His hands trembled.
"If I told you... if I told you and Zam that I tried to kill Jamato..."
He looked away.
"You would've turned against me."
The admission felt pathetic the second it left his mouth.
"But because of that decision, we helped Spawn."
The words came faster now.
"We stopped Leo. We don't have to worry about Leo anymore."
He pointed desperately toward the corridor.
"But none of that matters right now."
His voice cracked.
"We have to go."
"Spoke-"
"No."
He shook his head.
"Jamato could come back any second."
The panic was obvious now.
"We still have a chance."
He took another step.
"We can still explore. We can still fix this."
His eyes burned.
"I don't know if we can save everyone."
The words nearly broke him.
"But we can come back for them."
Silence.
For the first time, his voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"I just want to go home."
The maze suddenly felt far too large.
"I just want to see everyone again."
His gaze drifted toward the exit.
"Please."
He pointed down the corridor.
"The exit is right there."
For a brief moment, Mapicc said nothing.
Then he stepped forward.
Directly into Spoke's path.
Spoke stopped.
His stomach dropped.
Mapicc wasn't moving aside.
The corridor behind him was gone.
The exit was gone.
His only way out now stood silently in front of him.
And Mapicc was blocking it.
Spoke froze.
For a moment, he simply stared at Mapicc.
Then he took a step forward.
"Spoke, bro."
Mapicc's voice was calm.
Too calm.
"I'm not letting you leave here."
The sound of armor being equipped echoed through the maze.
One piece.
Then another.
Mapicc pulled out a stack of golden apples and began eating.
The familiar crunch echoed off the stone walls.
Spoke immediately backed away.
His stomach dropped.
He already knew what was about to happen.
"No."
Another step backward.
"No way you're actually doing this."
Mapicc didn't answer.
"There is no way you're actually-"
The next hit came without warning.
Spoke's health dropped instantly.
He stumbled before turning and running.
"Bro!"
Mapicc's voice echoed behind him.
"You manipulated me this entire time!"
The accusation cut deeper than the sword.
"This entire time!"
"Manipulated you?!"
Spoke practically screamed the words.
His voice cracked from exhaustion.
From disbelief.
From fear.
Behind him, he could hear Mapicc gaining ground.
"I just did what you wanted me to do so I'd stay on your side!"
Mapicc shouted.
"You used me!"
Before Spoke could answer, something flew past him.
A cobweb.
Then another.
The maze around him suddenly slowed to a crawl.
"No!"
His movements became sluggish as the web wrapped around him.
Mapicc was already there.
Standing over him.
"My chestplate!"
Panic filled Spoke's voice.
"My chestplate, Mapicc!"
The durability was nearly gone.
Cracks spread across it.
The chestplate that had survived countless fights.
The chestplate that had been with him through everything.
"Oh..."
Mapicc tilted his head.
"This is a tough scenario."
Another hit.
More durability disappeared.
"No way."
Another hit.
"The infamous chestplate is gone."
The teasing in his voice somehow made everything worse.
Spoke desperately tore at the cobwebs surrounding him.
"Mapicc, I have nothing left."
His voice shook.
"I don't have any golden apples."
Another strand broke.
"I don't have armor."
Another.
"I don't have anything."
Mapicc crouched slightly.
His netherite sword rested casually against Spoke.
"Bro."
His expression remained unreadable.
"Is this how you thought it would end?"
Silence.
"When you were manipulating me?"
Spoke stared at him.
"What was your goal?"
The question lingered between them.
"Manipulating you?"
The words barely escaped his mouth.
His voice sounded broken.
Raw.
"Are you serious?"
His eyes burned.
"We've been friends for almost two years."
The tears came before he could stop them.
"You think I wanted this?"
His voice trembled.
"You think I wanted it to end like this?"
He couldn't even finish the sentence.
"To end like-"
"No."
Mapicc cut him off.
His voice was ice cold.
"You just wanted to get away with it."
The maze fell silent.
Spoke lowered his head.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
Not because anything was funny.
Because suddenly it all made sense.
"What did I expect?"
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"What was I thinking?"
He looked up at Mapicc.
Not with anger.
Not with hatred.
Just exhaustion.
"Of course Jamato wasn't going to kill me."
The realization settled heavily in his chest.
"Of course Null wasn't going to do it."
His eyes drifted to the netherite sword resting against him.
A sad smile crossed his face.
"He wanted you to do it."
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
The maze seemed to grow impossibly quiet.
Spoke swallowed.
"You're going to be the one who bans me."
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Permanent.
And for the first time since they met in that maze, neither of them had anything left to say.
"Oh, Mapicc."
Spoke let out a shaky laugh.
"I have no armor left. No food. No healing."
His voice trembled.
"I don't even have a sword anymore."
The maze felt colder than before.
"I don't have anything."
He looked down at the ground.
"I don't know what you want from me."
"Spoke."
Mapicc's voice cut through the silence.
"What direction is the exit?"
Spoke blinked.
For a moment, he seemed confused by the question.
Then he slowly raised a hand.
"It's..."
His arm felt heavy.
"It's the way I came from."
He pointed down one of the corridors.
"Down that hall."
Mapicc nodded.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Mapicc sighed.
"Spoke, I'm leaving."
The words felt distant.
"I suggest you do the same."
His grip tightened around his sword.
"Go to the Farlands. Live your life."
The disappointment returned to his voice.
"Or keep pushing Null and die trying."
Spoke lowered his gaze.
"But if I ever see you at Spawn again..."
Mapicc paused.
The silence that followed felt endless.
"I'm going to end you."
The words hurt more than Spoke expected.
For a moment, the maze disappeared.
The portals.
The fighting.
The accusations.
None of it mattered.
All he could hear was the person he trusted most telling him to leave.
Forever.
"No."
The word escaped before he could stop it.
Mapicc frowned.
"What?"
Spoke looked up.
His eyes were red.
"How am I supposed to live like that?"
The question was barely a whisper.
Mapicc didn't answer.
"How am I supposed to wake up every day knowing you don't want to see me?"
His voice cracked.
"Knowing you hate me."
"Spoke..."
Mapicc's expression shifted.
For the first time, the anger began to fade.
"That's not-"
"Knowing exactly what you think of me."
Spoke laughed.
The sound was wrong.
Broken.
Tired.
Mapicc took a step forward.
"Spoke, listen to me."
But Spoke wasn't listening anymore.
Everything felt distant.
Muted.
As if the maze itself had swallowed every sound except his own thoughts.
"I can't do this."
The confession hung between them.
Mapicc's eyes widened.
"Spoke."
For the first time since they'd met in the maze, there was fear in his voice.
"Don't."
Spoke smiled.
A sad, exhausted smile.
"You already know."
The silence that followed felt endless.
Then everything happened at once.
Mapicc shouted.
Spoke stumbled.
The world seemed to blur.
"No!"
Mapicc dropped to his knees beside him.
His voice echoed through the maze.
"Spoke!"
The anger was gone now.
The disappointment was gone.
Only panic remained.
"Stay with me."
His hands trembled.
"Please."
Spoke looked at him one last time.
Despite everything, he managed a faint smile.
Then the light faded from his eyes.
The maze fell silent.
A message appeared.
`SpokeIsHere was slain by Mapicc`
Mapicc stared at the text.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't breathe.
Then another message appeared.
`SpokeIsHere left the game`
The words sat there.
Cold.
Permanent.
And for the first time, Mapicc found himself wishing he could take everything back.
even after death, spoke manage to manipulate. He managed by making him kill him.