Chapter Text
Saparata was ecstatic.
He had won! He was king! He could finally fix the server Parrot destroyed!
And nobody could stop him.
Not new players, not old ones, nobody stood a chance.
He held the broken world in the palm of his hand, and he was going to fix it.
Saparata was irate.
He could’ve finally had a villager! Taken away the one advantage Parrot had!
But nooooooo, those imbeciles or guards just HAD to die!
He needed time to be alone and process this loss.
But we can’t have nice things because two guards barged in holding someone between their arms.
“What do you want?” Saparata scowled, turning around slowly.
One of the guards didn’t have a mic while the other actually spoke. “This guy says he knows you and wants to talk.”
Saparata rolled his eyes. Paparazzi, of course! The guards just let anyone in these days.
He looked down at the black-haired man. Something about him was deeply familiar. But anyone could have black hair and cat ears and horns.
There were millions of bizarre breeds on Unstable.
“Speak.” Saparata commanded, turning away.
“Saps…” Said the prisoner.
He knew that voice.
Saps turned around embarrassingly fast to see a face he knew all too well.
“Flux?” He asked, voice shaking. He wasn’t supposed to be here, he wasn’t supposed to find this place.
“Hey.” He replied sheepishly. “It’s been a while…”
“What are you doing here?”
“I got exiled.”
“Wh- HOW?” Saps had to hold onto a nearby table to keep himself from passing out.
Flux shrugged. “Cynikka and Cass led a rebellion against me.”
Saparata was so utterly confused. He didn’t want to see Flux ever again for the mental anguish he’d put him through, but he still felt bad for him. Fuck…
“Some of the others made it out, but we got separated.” Flux continued.
That worried him. The members of the very Conspiracy that ruined his life could just be wandering through his server.
“Sir, what do you want us to do with this man?” One of the guards asked. Fluixon suddenly looked a bit frightened. “Would you like us to execute him?”
“NO! I- I mean no. Just… lock him up.” Saps shooed the three away. He would talk to Flux later.
He just needed to calm down first.
After approximately two minutes of “calming down”, Saps declared himself ready to face Fluixon.
He walked into the dungeon, over to Flux’s cell and suddenly the whole speech he had prepared in his head melted faster than a snowball in a volcano.
Flux stared at him, waiting for him to say something.
…
“Hi?” Saps immediately wished he’d jumped off that tower.
“Hey.” Flux replied, “What’s up?”
“I- uhh…” Saps began twiddling his thumbs to keep himself from strangling himself. “I wanted to see you.”
“Well,” Fluix stood up. “Get a good look.”
Yes this was most definitely Fluixon.
“So, how’s being a ruler been?” Saps asked, crossing his arms.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Flux leaned on the bars of his cage. He was frustratingly confident that Saps wouldn’t do anything.
The worst part was that he was right.
“So, Cynikka overthrew you?” Saps changed the topic.
“And Cass, yes.” The black-haired one confirmed. “A completely unexpected betrayal, but it is what it is.”
“You’re acting way too calm about this.” Saparata declared, “You’re at my mercy, you know?”
“What are you going to do?” Flux pressed his face against the bars. “Really, tell me.”
Saps refused to look at him. “I could have you executed…”
“But you won’t.”
“I could.”
“But you won’t.”
“Whatever.”
Flux laughed. Really leaned back and laughed. “You’re so weak. It’s almost painful”
“Ish forbid I still care about you.” Saps mumbled to himself, turning to look. Just to see if that affected Flux in any way.
It did, he crinkled his nose like he’d smelt something bad.
“You’re stupid.” He declared. “The feeling isn't, and never will be, mutual.”
“At least I’m not the one behind bars.” Saps turned away.
“Maybe not real ones.” Flux sat back down. “But you’re building your own cage by keeping me alive.”
Saparata walked away and didn’t look back at his former friend, even if he really wanted to.
Fluixon hadn’t changed at all. If anything, he had become more infuriating.
Two can play infuriating.
Agitation thrives on engagement.
All Saps had to do was limit engagement.
Simple enough…
Right?