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All it takes is a few sentences for a debate to go so, so, wrong.
All it takes is an accusation.
All it takes is the wave of a hand as Spepticle stores all of his armor in his inventory, quickly, easily, regretlessly. Not even a second thought.
“Spepticle, no-” Parrot says, and Lettuce’s eyes shift, gleefully, to Parrot’s face. Theo shoots Parrot a glare that screams don’t get involved in this.
In another universe, maybe he would’ve let himself be shouldered out of the way.
Not in this one. He’s had too many friends die for him, already. He can rattle them off now, but he has to do this first, has to save at least one of them. Maybe if he sacrifices himself, he’ll somehow pay back the souls he’s stolen.
“Lettuce, Lettuce, wait. Lettuce. Lettuce.”
The caracal hybrid turns to face him, a slow, predator’s grin spreading across his face. “Yes, Parrot?” Lettuce asks, his painfully sweet voice filled with threats. A fishing hook with a worm, begging for Parrot to bite. Knife in honey, inching its way towards Parrot’s heart.
He can see the trap clear as day. He takes the bait anyway.
“Lettuce, I killed the guard.”
Spepticle turns around with a horrified sort of look on his face.
“You killed the guard?” Lettuce says slowly, as if savoring each word. “Well, how can I be sure you’re not covering for Spepticle?”
“Because - because -” he thinks fast and brings out his communicator with desperate, trembling fingers. He scrolls up and shoves it in his face.
The white-and-yellow messages are as damning as an eyewitness account.
IDKNAME was shot by Parrot using [Bow]
IDKNAME left the game
“Oh,” Lettuce says slowly, face morphing into something akin to surprise. He looks up with a dancing, crazed spark in his eyes. Such a good actor, like - like - like Wifies once was. “Oh. I’m afraid, Spepticle, that I have made a grave mistake. But were you trying to cover for Parrot?”
Spepticle just looks up at the pair of them, eyes stunned and somehow disappointed.
“No, no, no, it was just a mistake, Parrot didn’t kill the guard, it’s a glitch,” Theo’s words tumble out like a waterfall. He grabs Parrot’s arm and dragging him away. Parrot slaps him away.
“No, I killed the guard - Spepticle just made a mistake.”
“I will have mercy on Spepticle and Theo,” Lettuce says, fake-reluctantly. Parrot can see his joy. “But Spepticle will be kicked out of LAW, and Parrot will be executed.”
“No,” Theo breathes. Then louder: “No. No. You don’t get it, it was just a mistake-”
“If you will, Parrot,” Lettuce says, gesturing to Parrot’s armor. Ever the gentleman.
Parrot nods resolutely, taking his armor off easily. Steps inside the cauldron and closes his eyes. There’s just the warm darkness of his eyelids and the cool metal pressing into his legs, now. His heartbeat thumps rapidly, as if making up for the beats it won’t have time for. His breath flutters in his throat, and for a moment, he has time to appreciate the miracle of being alive. Snow drifts gently down from the sky, and for once, it feels welcoming, embracing.
For a moment, he wonders if it was the wrong decision. But the thought of Spepticle, so vulnerable and small without netherite armor-
And then pure pain pierces his skull and he vaguely understands, from far, far away, what it is like to turn into a million fragments of blood and organs and items. He understands what it is like to die.
ParrotX2 was squashed by a falling anvil
ParrotX2 left the game
In the communicator, white-and-yellow.