Chapter Text
What a coincidence.
To think, just after that whole 'Books of Power' fiasco, Flame would have to retreat into the base of the very man who lost him his year-long streak of no deaths on the server just a few days ago.
Not like Flame was paying much attention to whatever was going on with those books. He supposed they were the stand-in for a contract of some sort. All he knew for sure was that someone - it didn't even matter who, the possible candidates were over half the server - had put a hit out on him, and used Boomie to do their dirty work. He didn't quite harbor a grudge against the Pink Devil for that.
However... he knew that Boomie - while not involved in any resistances against his generally not so well-liked team, the Pirates - was also not quite on his side.
So when the man, appearing peaceful in his sleep, instantly opened his unnatural slitted eyes and grabbed Flame by the collar of his sweater?
Well... he couldn't say he was too surprised.
TARGET ACQUIRED.
It was a swift and natural motion. Everything was calculated - down to the smallest turn of his wrist, and up to the largest swing of his arms.
Within seconds, Boomie had hoisted the intruder over the bed and onto the floor on the other side. They'd fallen to the ground with a SLAM, their head just barely cushioned by their right arm - he still had good instinct.
That wouldn't matter. Even if Boomie wasn't bound by the books anymore - CODE "FOX", kill FlameFrags under any circumstances, using any means necessary - he still hadn't quite taken a liking to the human. The words 'tyrant' and 'traitor' were written in blood across his legacy.
(Then again, so too were they across Boomie's own.)
Boomie shifted himself into a ready stance, summoning his axe in his left arm before preparing to charge in for the kill. He had everything planned out - he'd block the other man from dodging and simultaneously stop his momentum with his right arm against the wall, and he'd angle his axe with his left hand in just the right way to get the easiest cleave straight through Flame's chest.
It was a perfect plan. With what little time Flame had left, there was nothing the man could do to stop it. He'd accounted for every possibility he knew of.
Every possibility... except for one.
'The word you're lookin' for is "MERCY".'
His movements were carried out as planned. He skidded to a halt right in front of Flame - in front of his enemy. He was holding the axe in the perfect position. All he had to do was make the killing strike.
But he couldn't.
He couldn't, because of that book. The one book he hadn't included in the hunt. The one that, now, somehow, the worst possible person to hold it was holding.
'...where did you get that?'
CODE: "MERCY"
I must protect the person who reads this book to me at all costs.
I cannot kill them, and I cannot have anyone else kill them.
This term will be rendered null once they die.
That book. He'd created it along with the others, for just the same purpose... but at the last minute, he decided against including it with the rest. What mattered here was that he hadn't burned it. For some reason, he just hadn't gotten around to burning that stupid book. It was troublesome to undo his magic - the only reason he'd gone through the effort with INSIGHT was because it mattered during the hunt, it had fallen into the wrong hands.
He didn't think anyone would get their hands on MERCY. But... it turned out that assumption was wrong.
The book was back here. Back to haunt him.
'Relax, dude. We can talk this out.'
And Flame certainly wasn't going to help him forget it.