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Flame was hurt during the fight with the LAW. In a war, injuries were hardly surprising.
He suspected at least a few broken ribs, and his leg dragged slightly when he walked. It didn’t matter. The bruises, the cuts, the pain, he could deal with that later.
The golden apple he had eaten during the battle kept the injuries from turning lethal and dulled the worst of the pain, but it hadn’t erased it.
Right now, he had only one priority tho. Lomedy.
After making sure LettuceK was being imprisoned, Flame exchanged a few brief words with Wemmbu before leaving.
He headed straight for the prison ruins. Among the broken walls and scattered rubble, he finally spotted Lomedy… stumbling through the debris.
Flame limped forward, voice rough. „Lomedy!“ Lomedy turned slightly but didn’t react much. Flame stepped closer, breathing uneven.
„Lomedy. Law’s over. Law’s over. Listen… listen. Law’s over. We’ve killed them all. There’s no more guards.“ Flame called. Lomedy blinked at him, clearly trying to process what he had just heard.
„You killed them all…? Okay,“ he sounded so done with this whole situation. Flame didn’t seem to notice and nodded quickly, talking fast now, like he had been holding this in for hours: „Yeah. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,” Flame stopped Lomedy from trying to leave.(Leave him again), „so… Law’s over. They’re gone. You can leave. It’s fine.“
He shifted his weight, wincing slightly. „I realised that like you were right all along. I kinda thought about it and I’ve kinda of heard it from time to time again.“
He rubbed the back of his neck. „And I do need to change and after all, Law did actually have valid reasons to after me.“
Lomedy just stared. Flame continued, quieter now: „And I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire. I’m I’m sorry that your farm got destroyed.“
He hesitated. „I’m sorry even with Jaden. I’m sorry that he stole your mace on my behalf.“
A pause.
„I’m sorry.“
Flame placed an ender chest down in the middle of the rubble. The purple particles floated softly around them. „Here. You can regear and… you can take your mace back.“
Lomedy slowly opened the chest, still looking confused. Inside were armor pieces, potions, and a few valuables. He pulled out some gear, including a Totem of Undying.
„It is what it is,“ Lomedy muttered quietly. Flame shifted awkwardly. „Uhm… yeah. , I plan to try and make things right.“
He looked around at the destroyed prison. „I know I’m not perfect and my goals on the server kind of involve conflict.“ A small unsure shrug. „I might not be a good guy, but I’m going try and change for the most part.“
He glanced back at Lomedy. „And I understand if you don’t want to be a part of that because after all I did kind of screw you over.“
Flame took a step back. „Uhm, because you know… if I stay doing whatever I want, there will be another Lettuce.“ A small last nod. „So… farewell, bro.“
Flame turned to leave, when he heard a windcharge behind him. Flame spun around just in time to see Lomedy flying through the air above him, mace raised high. For a split second Flame just stared. Then the mace came down.
His totem popped, bursting into bright green light.
Flame hit the ground hard, landing on his back in the rubble. Lomedy landed beside him. For a moment there was silence.
Then Lomedy held out his hand and pulled him back to his feet as soon as Flame accepted it, grinning like nothing had happened.
„What? Lomedy? What are you doing?“ Flame stared at him in complete confusion.
Lomedy laughed and responded in the most innocent voice ever: „What bro?“
„What are you doing? Hello, bro. What are you…?” Flame’s complaints slowly dissolved into laughter as well, „Hello bro. Like… what?“
Lomedy rested the mace on his shoulder. „You know, bro… I’ll forgive you.“ He pointed the mace slightly toward him. „As long as you promise.“
Flame raised both hands. „I promise, bro.“
„Yeah.“ Lomedy raised an eye teasingly.
„All right,“ Flame just rolled his eyes, playfully.
Lomedy nodded once. „Let’s go.“
„All right. There’s a bunch of things we need to do,“ Flame sighed, then he looked back at the mace, „so, why did you need to mace me to get that point across, by the way?”
„Don’t worry about it, bro. I need… get some… my revenge somehow,“ Lomedy shrugged casually.
Flame nodded slowly: „All right. Well, we’re also going to have to get you some new cloths.”
Lomedy chuckled: „That is true.”
Flame started walking again before suddenly stopping. „Bro was just about to walk around with prison clo...” He turned around just in time to see Lomedy sprinting toward him with the mace again, „BRO. OH, YO, YO, YO! CHILL!” Flame immediately started running. „All right! Enough, enough. I don’t have totems! Why are you chasing me with the mace?!”
Lomedy shouted after him: „This is for my farm, bro!“
„No, wait, wait, wait, WAIT...“
Their laughter echoed through the ruined gates as they finally left the LAW base behind. For a moment it almost sounded normal.
Lomedy spun the mace in his hand before finally putting it away when he looked over at Flame again.
Now that he looked closer, it was impossible to miss. Flame looked exhausted. The smile was still there, wide and careless, but everything else betrayed him. His steps were uneven, a faint limp slowing him down. His breathing was slightly irregular, the kind someone tried very hard to hide.
There was blood on his clothes. A lot of it. Lomedy couldn’t tell if it belonged to Flame or to some lawman from the battle. Both were very likely.
„You good?“ Lomedy asked, trying to keep his voice casual.
Flame didn’t even hesitate: „Yeah, I’m fine, bro. Are you?“ He sounded just a little too casual.
„Yeah. I’m good,“ Lomedy nodded.
A short silence followed while they kept walking through the damaged terrain outside the base. Then Lomedy spoke again: „We should get a horse.“
„We should go to my base. Cinder should be there,“ Flame suggested. Lomedy nodded.
They made their way across the scarred land until the familiar outline of the hole in the wall came into view.
Lomedy became slower and looked around. „Oh my god…“
The place was wrecked. Thousands of blocks were missing from the landscape, entire chunks blown out from previous fights. Lava streams crawled down the hillsides like glowing scars. Spiderwebs spread across the sand.
„Oh my god,“ he turned in a slow circle, „what happened here?“
Flame didn’t even bother looking around. His voice came out tired. „Law.“
Lomedy glanced back at him, a hint of guilt crossed his face.
They dug the horse out of the hole where Flame had buried it before the fight. It didn’t take long for her to finally be able to come out, snorting and shaking dust from her mane.
Flame swung himself onto the saddle with a quiet grunt, clearly feeling the movement in his ribs. Lomedy climbed up behind him and they rode off without another look at the grieved base.
They didn’t bother going inside. There was nothing left worth checking.
The ride to the farm was quiet. Hooves thudded softly against the ground.
When the farm finally came into view, Cinder slowed her pace.
It was still damaged, but not nearly as bad as it had looked during the last fighting here. Some of the fields were intact again and a few structures were rebuilt.
In the middle of one of the carrot fields, someone was working.
They rode closer and saw P0tatoOverlord19 calmly harvesting carrots, moving down the rows in a steady rhythm. Carrots went into his inventory one after another. He hadn’t noticed them yet.
„PotatoOverlord?!“ Lomedy called out, his happy voice carrying across the field. The farmer froze mid-harvest. Slowly he turned around. For a second he just stared. „…Lomedy?!“
The carrots were forgotten immediately. He dropped what he was doing and ran across the field toward them. „You’re out of prison!“
„Yeah,“ Lomedy said with a grin, gesturing toward Flame, „Flame got me out.“
PotatoOverlord looked between the two of them, a bit surprised. „You two are good again?“ he smiled, as Lomedy confirmed with a nod, „I’m glad.“
His attention shifted to Flame, „Actually… I have someone who’s going to be really happy to see you.“
Flame tilted his head slightly in confusion. They walked toward the main house. On the porch, a dog lying near the door lifted its head the moment it heard more than one set of footsteps. Its ears perked up.
Then it saw Flame. The reaction was instant. The dog jumped to its feet and sprinted toward him.
„Ashen?!“ Flame’s face lit up immediately. A second later the dog slammed into him at full speed, knocking him straight to the ground.
„Umpf,“ Flame groaned as they both crashed onto the floor, but his arms were already around the animal, hugging him tightly while Ashen enthusiastically licked all over his face. „Hey, hey… easy.“
Ashen wagged his tail wildly, whining in excitement and pushing his head against Flame’s chest.
Flame scratched behind his ears, still smiling. „Bro, how did you get here? I thought Law took him.“
PotatoOverlord leaned against the porch fence. „He showed up shortly after the fight with Law,“ he explained, „I think he was looking for you.”
„Thank you for looking after him, bro.”
Flame was still sitting on the floor. Partly because he didn’t mind, mostly because getting up sounded like a terrible idea. The fall hadn’t helped his ribs or his leg.
Lomedy noticed immediately and without saying anything he stepped closer and offered his hand. Flame grabbed it. „Thanks, bro.“
Lomedy pulled him to his feet.
They went inside. Flame made it halfway toward the couch before Lomedy stopped him. „Nuh uh.“
Flame turned slowly.
„You gotta shower first. I’m not getting blood all over my couch.“
Flame looked down at himself, then back at him. „…Fine,“ he grumbled, but complied.
A short while later he came back out clean, wearing one of Lomedy’s shirts that hung slightly loose on him. Lomedy had also changed into something more comfortable then the prison cloths.
The Blaze-hybrid didn’t hesitate this time. He dropped onto the couch with a heavy sigh. For about five seconds it felt amazing, then Lomedy sat down beside him with a med kit.
Flame groaned immediately. „Where do you wanna start?“ Lomedy asked.
Flame sighed and stuck out his arm. „Let’s just get it over with, bro.“
Lomedy took Flame’s wrist gently, turning his arm to inspect the deep cut running along the forearm. It had stopped bleeding properly thanks to the apple, but the skin was still split and angry.
„You’re lucky that wasn’t deeper,” Lomedy muttered. Flame only hummed tiredly
Lomedy cleaned the wound. Flame didn’t flinch at the disinfectant, which was worse than if he had. His pain tolerance was always stupidly high.
„Ribs?” Lomedy asked.
Flame hesitated half a second too long. He pulled the oversized shirt up slightly, careful but firm. Bruising bloomed across Flame’s side in dark purples and reds. One section looked wrong and swollen.
Lomedy’s jaw tightened. „You’re resting tomorrow.”
Flame grumbled, but stayed silent when he saw Lomedy’s serious expression.
Flame huffed a laugh that immediately turned into a tight inhale when it pulled at his ribs.
The comfortable silence between them, got only broken by Ashen padding over and resting his head on Flame’s thigh. Flame absentmindedly threaded his fingers though the dog’s fur. His movements were slower now. The adrenaline had long drained out of his body and he felt like he could relax a bit after everything.
Lomedy started wrapping his torso with practiced hands, having done this to often in his opinion. He finished securing the bandage and moved to Flame’s leg. The limp made sense now. A deep gash near his calf. Probably from a blade, maybe a trident.
„You’re an idiot,” Lomedy said, voice softer than the words. „Yeah, I know, bro” Flame didn’t even try to deny it. When Lomedy finished, he nudged Flame’s shoulder. „Lie down properly.”
Flame let himself be pushed until he was stretched across the couch. Ashen immediately adjusted and curled up against his side, careful this time, being more aware about the injuries of his owner now
Lomedy draped a blanket over him. Flame was tired so he let it all happen without arguing. His eyes were already half-closed.
Lomedy just sat there for a moment, watching the rise and fall of uneven breaths.
After a few minutes, Flame’s breathing finally evened out. Sleep hit him hard, after the countless nights where sleep wasn’t an option.
Lomedy leaned back in his chair, exhaustion finally catching up to him too. Ashen lifted his head once, looked at the farmer, then settled again.
Flame slept till lunch on the next day, which wasn’t surprising at all. He hadn’t relaxed or had a good night’s sleep in the past few months he was hunted down.
He was still a bit sleepy, but decided to get up anyway and look for his friend. He found him in the kitchen, making some steak for them to eat.
„Morning,“ Flame greeted.
„Hey, bro,“ Lomedy greeted back.
Later that afternoon the quiet around the farm didn’t last. Two figures appeared at the edge of the fields, walking up the path toward the house.
Lomedy noticed them first and his smile immediately disappeared. „…You’ve got to be kidding me,“ he mumbled. Flame followed his gaze.
Spongs and Willsion were approaching the farm like they had every right to be there.
Flame’s posture stiffened instantly. „No,“ he muttered. „Absolutely not.“
By the time the two reached the yard, both Flame and Lomedy were already standing outside the house. Neither of them looked welcoming. „What are you doing here?“ Lomedy asked flatly.
Spongs raised his hands slightly: „Relax.“
„No,“ Flame cut in immediately. „You can turn around and leave.“
Willsion frowned slightly: „We’re not here to start anything.“
Flame didn’t look convinced for a second. „That’s what people usually say right before starting something.“
Before the tension could escalate further, PotatoOverlord stepped out from the house. „It’s fine,“ he said calmly. Both Flame and Lomedy turned toward him.
„What?“ Lomedy asked. Potato nodded toward the two newcomers. „They’re cool now.“
Lomedy blinked. „Wait… seriously?“ „Yeah,“ Spongs confirmed.
Lomedy’s expression slowly shifted into a grin. „Oh. Well… that’s good then.“
Flame didn’t share the enthusiasm. His eyes stayed on Spongs and Willsion, studying them carefully and very sceptical. „We’ll see,“ he said quietly.
The tension in the yard slowly loosened, though not for everyone. PotatoOverlord went to the cows to feed them.
Lomedy and Willsion drifted a few steps away from the others, ending up near the edge of one of the carrot fields. Lomedy wanted to know more about the other so he had started explaining something about traps, using a stick to draw quick sketches in the dirt.
„So, if you run the redstone like this,“ Willsion said, drawing a small square, „the pressure plate activates the piston underneath. People think they’re safe because the floor looks normal.“
Lomedy crouched down beside him, genuinely interested.
„Wait, so it’s hidden completely?“
„Yeah. You only see the pressure plate if you know where to look,“ Willsion added another line to the sketch, „Then the piston pushes the block and drops them straight into the pit.“
„Bro that’s actually genius,“ Lomedy’s eyes lit up.
Willsion shrugged slightly. „Works every time.“
Meanwhile, several meters away, things were going significantly worse. Spongs had followed Flame around the yard like an irritating mosquito.
„So you actually took down Law, huh?“ Spongs said casually. Flame didn’t answer. He kept walking toward the water trough, pretending to be very interested in literally anything else.
Spongs wasn’t discouraged: „I mean I heard about it, but hearing it from you would be cooler.“
Still no response. Flame grabbed a bucket and stared at the water like it had personally offended him.
„So what happened with Lettuce?“ Spongs continued. „Did he beg? Did he cry?“
Flame slowly turned his head. His expression was completely flat. „Spongs.“ „Yeah?“ „Stop talking.“
Spongs grinned: „You’re still mad.“
Flame’s jaw tightened. For a moment it looked like he might actually swing. His hand even curled slightly. Then he stopped himself. He promised it, he had said he would try to change. Flame took a slow breath.
Spongs noticed. „You’re holding back,“ he said with an amused tone. „That’s new.“
Flame stared at him for a long moment. „You’re testing your luck.“
„Not really, we both know I could take you in a fight,“ the sponge-hybrid said with so much conviction, that Flame didn’t even know if he was serious or not.
A few seconds passed, then Spongs leaned slightly closer: „So, what’s the plan for today?“
Flame’s eyes narrowed, another pause, then he stepped past him. „Getting away from you.“ „I’m not that bad,” Spongs whined.
Across the yard Lomedy glanced over briefly, noticing the tension.
„…You good over there?“ he called. Flame didn’t look back. „As soon as he leaves me alone,“ he said flatly.
Spongs sighed dramatically and threw his hands up: „You’re so mean.“
Flame didn’t answer. He walked a few more steps toward the fence, leaning against the wood for a moment. The movement made his ribs protest again and he quietly adjusted his posture so it wouldn’t show.
Spongs noticed anyway: „You look like you got run over by a cart.“
Flame slowly turned his head: „Bro, like… I guess war does that.“
Spongs squinted at him for a second, clearly trying to figure out if he should keep pushing. He did: „Yeah, I wouldn't know, people would be to scared to even fight me.”
Flame exhaled slowly through his nose. „I wish I could just kill you,” Flame muttered not expecting the other to hear.
„Yeah I know, it can be hard to stand across someone more skilled than you,” the sponge-hybrid smiled proudly.
Across the yard Lomedy was still crouched in the dirt while Willsion continued explaining trap designs.
„See, if you stack two observers here,“ Willsion said, drawing another quick diagram, „you can detect movement through the wall.“
Lomedy leaned closer. „Wait, seriously?“
„Yeah. Then you hook it up to dispensers.“
„Bro that’s insane.“ Lomedy looked genuinely impressed now, already imagining it around the farm.
„We could hide that under the wheat field,“ he said excitedly. „People would never see it.“
„Exactly,” Willsion nodded.
Meanwhile Spongs had not stopped talking.
„So what are you actually gonna do now that Law’s gone?“ he asked. „Just… chill on a farm?“
Flame glanced toward Lomedy and Willsion, then back at Spongs. „Something like that.“
Spongs crossed his arms: „I give you less than three days before you're gone again.“
Flame frowned: „What’s that supposed to mean, bro?”
„Flame, you don’t got what is needed to be a farmer,” Spongs studied him for a moment, then he grinned again.
Flame looked back at him with a completely blank expression. „Good thing I’m not trying to be one.“
Spongs snorted: „Sure looks like it. You’re hanging around farms, sleeping here, only talking to farmers. That’s a pretty big lifestyle change.“
Flame didn’t answer immediately.
He leaned his elbows on the fence, watching Lomedy and Willsion still crouched in the dirt, now arguing about where exactly a piston should go in Willsion’s trap design.
For a moment Flame almost smiled, then he looked back at Spongs. „Bro, I’m just… taking a break.“
Spongs raised an eyebrow. „From fighting?“
„From being hunted,“ Flame corrected flatly.
That wiped the grin off Spongs’ face for about two seconds, then it came back.
„Still. You? Staying on a farm? Without any conflict?“ he shook his head, „I don’t buy it.“
Flame shrugged: „You don’t have to.“
Spongs leaned back against the fence beside him: „You get boring too fast.“
Flame gave him a sideways look: „You get annoying too easily.“
Spongs grinned.
The wind moved through the fields. Somewhere nearby Ashen barked once before running after something in the grass.
Spongs and Willsion didn’t stay much longer. After another round of trap explanations and Spongs managing to irritate Flame at least three more times, the two finally decided to leave.
Willsion brushed the dirt off his hands and stepped back from the half-finished trap sketch.
„You should try that piston setup,“ he said to Lomedy, „it works way better than people expect.“
„Oh I’m definitely testing that,“ Lomedy said with a grin.
Spongs stretched his arms lazily: „Alright, we’re heading out.“
Flame nodded once: „Finally, bro.“
Spongs grinned at the reaction: „See you in three days when you get bored of farming.“
Flame didn’t even bother answering.
Willsion gave Lomedy a small wave before the two of them started walking away across the fields.
The farm finally grew quieter again, for a moment nothing happened, then Lomedy turned slowly toward Flame.
Flame immediately narrowed his eyes: „What.“
Lomedy was smiling: „Nothing.“ That sounded very suspicious. Flame just stared at him. „You’re planning something,“ he stated
„No,“ Lomedy said innocently.
Flame didn’t move: „You absolutely are.“
Lomedy shrugged and casually started walking toward the house.
„Come here for a second.“
Flame didn’t follow. He already knew there was gonna be a trap. „No.“
„Bro.“
„No.“
„Just come here,“ Lomedy basically begged.
Flame sighed loudly and finally walked over. The moment he stepped onto the wooden path beside the house. Click.
Lomedy pressed a hidden button. A piston moved. The block beneath Flame disappeared.
„BRO!“ Flame whined and dropped straight into a small pit with water at the bottom.
It wasn’t deep enough to hurt him badly(even without the water), but the sudden fall still made him grunt when he landed.
For a moment there was silence, then Lomedy leaned over the edge of the hole, grinning down at him: „Trap works.“
Flame stared up at him from the bottom of the pit. „No it didn't, bro. I knew there was one,” he complained, „if I were an enemy I wouldn't have walked straight into it.”
Lomedy just laughed above him: „You still fell in.” He held out his hand for the other. Flame grabbed it and climbed out with a quiet groan.
Once he was back on solid ground he looked at the hidden mechanism.
„You built that already?“
„Well,“ Lomedy said proudly, „Willsion helped, but I did most of it with his explanation."
Flame shook his head, then, despite himself, he let out a quiet laugh: „You’re unbelievable, bro.“
Lomedy grinned: „You still got trapped.“