Chapter Text
Lomedy is still rather quiet when they enter the city, so Flame makes up for it by pointing out any useful stalls. Lomedy has apparently never been to Merchant City before, though it makes sense from what he knows of them. He always was stubborn about being self-sufficient, so he probably hasn’t been to any major supply points since first setting up the farm.
“So what are we here for exactly?” A wave of relief rushes over Flame when his friend finally decides to speak up.
“I want to trade for the uh, banner patterns that the law members use for their shields. Then you can sneak into their base undercover and figure out their plan for the fight in a couple days.” He rambles quickly.
“Okay. That’s a pretty sound- wait, me? What will you be doing?” Lomedy stares him down in confusion and maybe also a little panicked.
“Oh, well I won’t be going because…” -I have a history with invisibility, “-they would recognize me right away bro, but I bet you are still fairly unknown to them. You’d have a chance to at least get a proper layout of the place, if nothing else.”
“You don’t- you don’t even know the layout?!” Lomedy’s initial yell immediately turns into a whisper when his first words draw a few looks from nearby patrons. Lomedy grabs Flame’s shoulder, causing him to tense up and stop in place. They apologize and take their hand back, but continue to make their point. “Flame- again, I think this is a really bad idea. So much could go wrong. And what if I get caught? Then you’ll be stuck without any information, so you’ll also end up captured anyway!”
“Bro, If you got caught, then I’d just like… come and break you out, so it wouldn’t get to that point.” Flame states in a matter-of-fact manner. It really isn’t as difficult as they’re trying to make it out to be.
“You wouldn’t know where the jail is.”
“Then I’d figure it out.”
“That’s not a plan! Just-” Lomedy blew out air from behind his clenched teeth. He glances around and Flame follows his gaze to see a few people staring. They are kind of just standing in the middle of the road, so he resumes walking up the mild incline, Lomedy scrambling to return to beside him.
“I really think you haven’t thought this through as much as you should.”
“I really think that you’re overthinking things.” Flame mocks him half-heartedly, more focused on finding the banner merchant. They must have moved the stall to a different spot, because he swears they weren’t this far last time he was here. Then again, it’s not like he had been here specifically for banners at that time.
Flame’s ear twitches at Lomedy’s resounding groan, but he finally spots the trader- Of course they were against the opposite wall, why would it ever be easy?- and speeds up instead of commenting.
They don’t even bat an eye at his request, just wordlessly tap a finger on the sign indicating their prices. Lomedy pushes him to get two of them, “Just in case.” Whatever that means. Flame doesn’t argue though. Being overprepared never hurt anybody. Plus, it’s not like he’s particularly poor.
Lomedy is quick to thank the salesperson, waving over Flame to continue wandering around while the master gets to work on their order. Flame avoids any attempt to rekindle their previous conversation- read, argument- instead choosing to restock on other supplies to take up the time. It only takes about an hour at most to get everything done, a record for this place. It pays to show up early he supposes.
FlameFrags briefly nods at the guards as they make their way out of the city and then they are on their way back to his base. As much as he wishes he could say the way back felt quicker, the opposite was true. They each took a shift at the reins while the other person slept, seeing as neither got any sleep the night prior. Lomedy appeared to be out like a light. He was usually very punctual; always going to bed at the same time every night and rising with the sun. The change in schedule most certainly messed them up a bit.
FlameFrags on the other hand, didn't get a lick of it. Oh he certainly tried, but any kind of movement leaves him on edge any time he closes his eyes. Not to mention the fact that it’s not the most comfortable sleeping with a blindfold on, he doesn’t care what Mane says.
There’s a small spike of feeling in his chest at the thought of his brother.
“Flame? You good bro?” He turns to look at his friend. Lomedy wears a grin, but it fails to fully cover the concern on his face. It probably wasn’t the first time he called. He’s tired. They really need to hurry up with this mission so Flame can get some proper rest before the fight. Where’s some adrenaline when you need it?
“Yeah. Yeah I’m good.”
Lomedy ties up the ghast once again and they hurry inside. They have a few hours before nightfall and they really should use it to the fullest. Flame gets Lomedy to craft some diamond armor alongside the shield. They both typically use netherite, but the Law can’t afford such gear regularly. Standing out is as good as a death sentence. He can’t imagine Lettuce takes too kindly to unknown threats and Lomedy wouldn’t be able to fight back for long.
Flame focuses on making potions in the meantime. He has to brave his subpar storage again to do so, but It’s easy enough to figure out which barrels he had already gone through yesterday with just a quick glance at the contents. Having the easier job, Lomedy finishes relatively quickly. They proceed to assist with gathering up the ingredients while Flame handles the actual brewing.
They work together in tandem. Flame doesn’t even need to ask before Lomedy is handing him what he needs next. It’s… interesting being so easily read by someone. Lomedy shouldn’t be able to see the brewing stands from where he’s standing, Flame is blocking them. So, it’s not the potions themselves giving away that they are ready for the next ingredient, it has to be something Flame is doing. He really needs to work on that, having such obvious tells is dangerous.
Or maybe Lomedy just knows him that well? There’s that uncomfortable feeling again. It was certainly not missed.
“Alright,” Flame puts the last batch of invisibility potions into a shulker with a sigh, glad to see them disappear as it twists closed. “There should be everything you may need in here.” He hands the box off to Lomedy to keep on his person. Flame does a double take, looking Lomedy up and down. “Where’s the armor? Bro, we need to leave. Like now.” People are going to start thinking he’s incapable of being on time at this rate, even for his own plans.
Lomedy smiles nervously, “So you agree that we’re both going?”
“I already told you that I’d be nearby in case something goes wrong. What are you on about?” Flame squints at the farmer.
Lomedy steps back over to the crafting table, “Don’t be mad, I know you said it could only be me going in, but-” They turn around with a flourish, showing off the two shields they’d left behind. FlameFrags stills. Everything down to the smallest idle movements, completely gone. “Your reasoning didn’t make any sense, so I figured…”
“I thought- Bro, we went over this! There’s no reason- that’s why you wanted another banner?! I can’t-” Flame takes a second to breathe, “We can’t draw attention bro. They’ll just change all their plans if they notice, like, invisible people wandering around and listening in.”
Lomedy stands up straight, willing to fight Flame on this, for some reason. “Sure, an invisible player is a bit odd, but with two of us, it’s much easier to act like we’re supposed to be there. If anyone asks, we can pretend to have been sent on a stealth mission! Or something. I don’t know!” Their point is shaky at best, but Flame is desperate, so finding the right words is rather difficult. He decides to move on after a moment of near incoherent sputtering.
Flame grits his teeth, annoyed at himself, “There’s not even enough invis for two people! Like, one and a half, maybe. If you stretched it. But like- bro, just-” He really doesn’t want to do this. He can’t stop his tail from lashing.
“Then we’ll share! They’re splash potions for a reason!” Lomedy deflates, rubbing at his forehead with a hand, “Look, if you give me just one genuine reason, I’ll back off. Otherwise, just take the gear. Please.”
Flame wants to yell, but he knows it wouldn’t be fair to Lomedy. He swallows down whatever noise is trying to leave his throat and twists on his heel, pacing to expend some of his sudden energy. His hands tighten into fists, but he shakes them out when it starts to hurt. Looks like he needs to file down his nails again soon.
He stops abruptly in his tracks, speaking towards the wall, ”Alright bro. Okay. This can still work. Don’t-” His voice cracks. Well that’s embarrassing. “Just don’t wander off. We’ll stick together.” It’s been long enough. He can handle a single effect, no problem. Right? Right. Worst case scenario, he still has Lomedy. That ought to keep him sane.
The man in question watches him with wide eyes. “Of course.”
“Cool. Cool.” Flame lets out a breath and runs a hand through his locs. He all but runs over to the armor and starts the tedious process of putting it on. The standard sets are always at least annoying for anyone with extra limbs, but they didn’t have the time to spare for a specialist to make a custom set for him. Lomedy does the same after shaking himself out of whatever thoughts he was lost in.
Flame can feel Lomedy’s eyes on him on several occasions throughout the time it takes for them to get ready, but he doesn’t speak up until they’re already well on their way to the Law headquarters.
“Flame?” Lomedy finally tries to catch Flame’s attention.
He hums in acknowledgment.
“Thanks. And sorry.”
“For what?” Flame turns his head slightly to put Lomedy in his peripheral.
Lomedy’s brow furrows, “For pushing you to do something you clearly don’t want to do.”
“Bro. I know that. Why are you thanking me?”
“You’re doing it anyway. I really didn’t want to be in there alone. So thanks.” Lomedy smiles at him so warmly, the full brunt of it could probably knock most people out. It’s a good thing FlameFrags isn’t like most players.
“We should probably stop around here.” Flame peers around the jutting pillar at the walls up ahead. Mesas always do have some of the strangest terrain. Convenient for moments like these though. “Okay. After we pot up, it’s no more talking except for with signs.” This is going to suck.
Lomedy places down the potion shulker, transferring several of the invisibility ones to his belt before shrinking the box once again. Flame already has his set up for potential combat, so Lomedy will have to be the one to keep up their disguises. How fortunate that it worked out that way.
They crowd up against the pillar of terracotta, Flame with pursed lips in anticipation of the discomfort to come. Lomedy searches his face before nodding to himself once and throwing the potion at their feet. Vapor rises from the puddle left behind, turning them both invisible from the ground up. He feels nauseous watching his friend disappear.
“Oh, your…” The whisper cuts itself off. Right. So much for that.
“It’s enchanted.” His blindfold doesn’t get the luxury of turning invisible alongside the rest of his clothes. If only.
“You know, that makes a lot of sense.” Flame grins wryly at the response. He reaches around the back of his head to untie the blindfold. It takes a bit longer than usual due to trembling hands, but he manages.
He blinks his eyes rapidly upon removal, getting used to having to deal with wind and fresh air in general again. He can only imagine how much worse this would be if the sun wasn’t currently covered by hills. This must be the first time he’s been outdoors without his own cover since… probably the mafia. He squeezes his hands at the thought.
Taking a deep breath, Flame loosely wraps the strip of fabric around his shin and tucks it into his boot. “Alright, now no talking.” He hopes the shakiness of his voice wasn’t as obvious as it felt. He feels so cold.
He nods his head in the direction of the Law, taking the lead. The front gates are wide open without anyone keeping watch. There’s no need to explain themselves, they can just walk right in. It’s very familiar. When you look important enough, only the head of the organization has the wherewithal to stop you.
To stay calm, FlameFrags finds himself falling back into old habits. He ignores any citizens, focusing on scanning the houses- they appear to be made up of mostly stone and brick. Wood would be preferable, but this is still not as time consuming as obsidian to handle- mentally noting any discrepancies. One such building was clearly built in a hurry, likely the first one up to have some form of shelter in the early days of the civilization. It doesn’t seem like they ever went back to its foundation. It’d be easy to tear down; just a little bit of TNT at the base and it would come crumbling. The best place to start if they refuse an offer, if he needs to send a message. He can send the person with him to gather what they need.
Ash would be pleased.
Flame’s foot misses a step and he stumbles slightly. There’s sounds of snickering from a nearby group of lawmen on break. It’s to be expected. Catching a diamond trim off their game is a rare occasion- Wait. He’s not a diamond trim. He’s in diamond armor.
Besides, Ash is dead, so his thoughts on FlameFrags’ actions mean nothing. Sure, everyone says the same thing about Wemmbu, but that’s Wemmbu. Completely different scenario. Ash is certainly dead. And if he’s not, he doesn’t have any power anymore. Plus, he’s never been one to wear armor. He’s weak. He’s weak, or he’s dead. Flame isn’t sure which is preferable at this point.
Flame looks over at the soldier with him- No. It’s Lomedy. He came here with Lomedy. Though, he wasn’t paying attention to them, so what if someone replaced them while he was distracted? Wouldn’t be the first time. There have been way too many attempts on his life for strategies such as this to get overlooked.
Cautiously, Flame slows his pace to match the step of the invisible player previously partly behind him. They glance over towards him briefly, before returning to face forward, though they could be looking anywhere. If it’s Lomedy, hopefully he has actually been paying attention to more than just the structural integrity of a building or two, like Flame should’ve also been doing.
Flame reaches out and grips the unknown person’s forearm. They turn to face him as both players halt in their path. They tilt their head, moreso helmet, in an exaggerated manner to question the action. Yeah, that’s definitely Lomedy.
Lomedy proceeds to perk up and drag Flame off the path and around the corner of the nearest building. It just so happens to be the one he was debating blowing up. Flame’s fingers tighten on Lomedy’s arm. He startles and rips his hand back, he did not realize that he still held on.
Lomedy doesn’t say anything, obviously, he just nods his head at the wall, tapping it lightly with a hand when Flame doesn’t do what he’s asking immediately. Flame steps up it right beside him, unsure of the point of all this.
Lomedy chucks another potion at their feet. The immediate chill causes a violent shiver in Flame. His friend drops a small pat on his shoulder. One that he can’t really feel due to the armor, but that’s probably why they did it.
It’s very odd. Flame isn’t even sure if they were around during the mafia, but considering how unthreatening they are, probably not. Comfort was rather rare to come across, so getting even a semblance of it from someone invisible is strange. It does make it easier to spot the differences between now and then, so he doesn’t complain.
The next time Flame’s brain goes a little fuzzy at the edges, his first instinct is to scratch at his nose, but it’s unable to accomplish anything due to his current effect. When he instead reaches for Lomedy again, they go through the same motions of repotting. Again. And Again.
He’s not entirely sure why Lomedy does it every time, because surely he knows it’s unnecessary. Though, maybe he just doesn’t have that same intrinsic timer for potions and is following Flame’s lead on this. Whatever the case, Lomedy always notices his reactions and he gets a moment to breathe. Without fail.
Their aimless wandering- at least on Flame’s end, he doesn’t really know where they’ve already been, it all blends together- finally comes to a halt, when Lomedy stops in his tracks and quickly herds Flame around the corner of the nearest building. Lomedy crouches below the window so Flame carefully glances in as he passes. He’s quick to duck when he nearly makes eye contact with someone. The person appeared to be Spoke’s kind, with similarly hard to make out features beyond the glowing white eyes.
It takes a bit of awkward angling to be able to see the front door when peeking through the glass, especially for the both of them. Other than the void being standing in the doorway- clearly someone of importance as they are brandishing netherite gear- there is a regular Law soldier inside, as well as…
Flame unconsciously holds his breath when he identifies the third presence. It’s Lettuce. They’re going to have to be really attentive moving forward. He strains his ears to listen to their further chatter.
“Now, is everything else-” Lettuce cuts himself off when his associate leans in to whisper something. His ears visibly perk and swivel every which way, filling Flame with dread, but he just continues his original question without comment. “Is everything in order?”
The Law member is too soft spoken to make out their words, but Lettuce smiles at their response. “Perfect! I can’t wait to see the results.” He turns his head to the other person. ”Well, I need to check on some others, and Deputy, you have to go gather some things, correct?”
“Unfortunately. Are you sure you don’t want me to stay for the announcement?" The voice of the second in command is rather stiff and awkward. The contrast between the deputy’s uptightness and Lettuce’s carefree persona is glaringly obvious. It’s really not what Flame expected.
“I’ve done it plenty of times, no need to worry over me now.” Lettuce listens to something said by the regular soldier. “Yes! By the front gate, so keep an ear out for that. Alright, take care now.”
Lettuce and his deputy say their farewells and go their separate ways. Quite literally, seeing as they go in the complete opposite directions. Flame spins around to be greeted by a sign held by Lomedy asking if they are going to pursue Lettuce. Flame nods. The “announcement” they were so kind as to mention probably has something to do with him or the fight. There’s no way they already have everything prepared.
Not waiting for another response, Flame stalks off after the cat. He finally has a more clear target now that they know for sure that Lettuce is on base and he refuses to take a backseat since he can focus currently. Flame’s been doing that a bit too much recently. He thought he got over that.
He watches as Lettuce makes a stop at a farm on the outskirts of the grounds. The conversation goes much the same as the previous; queries regarding the stock, compliments, then a reminder on the upcoming announcement. Lettuce is very quick to dole out praise to his subordinates, Flame notices. A far cry from what most others in power on this server have been known for, if it’s even genuine.
When Lettuce starts making his way to the gate, it’s without any hurry. He slows even further when others pass by in order to tell of his future declaration. It’s incredibly frustrating trying to remain close by when their target doesn’t give them many chances to move forward. Flame is unable to hear some of the conversations because of it. It’s easy to guess that they’re all just the same thing, but he doesn’t want to miss anything.
After who knows how long, they finally make it to the entrance. Lettuce builds a makeshift staircase in the center of the circle formed by all the branching pathways. Flame and Lomedy have to stay on higher ground where they can duck behind a building if need be.
Lettuce takes out his goat horn and ensuing noise makes Flame grimace. Most soldiers are already nearby due to the constant advertisements by Lettuce, so the wait isn’t long for his speech to begin. “Okay, this will be a short one. So! Should all go well, by around this time tomorrow, those we sent to Merchant City will be back with our supplies. Whether you are in need of potion materials, new armor, golden apples, any of that, be sure to come to the gate! We’ll do our best to make sure everyone gets what they need, though, those physically present will take precedence.”
His gaze sweeps over the small gathering and it almost seems like his eyes briefly flick up to where Flame is hiding, but that can’t be right. “Again, that’s this time tomorrow. Alright, spread the word to anyone who was unable to be here today, thank you.” Lettuce breaks his pedestal on the way down. A few lawmen rush up to get his attention and they all disappear into a nearby structure.
The rest of the crowd gradually disperses in small groups. Flame writes out ‘We need to stop the shipment’ on a sign and flashes it at Lomedy. They pause for a little while before lightly tapping the wall. Flame bites back a groan and steps in close. Lomedy throws a potion at their feet, the last one according to his responding sign afterwards. Probably should have mentioned that before using it up, but whatever. They’ll make it work.
At the first opportunity, they march their way down the path and through the open gate. It’s just as simple as it was on the way in. Lomedy stops Flame before he can take a single step on the bridge leading to Merchant City. He impatiently shifts from foot to foot while Lomedy scribbles something on a spare sign. He doesn’t get a chance to read it though.
“Hello there.” A voice speaks up behind them.
It’s Lettuce.