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Leo didn't know why he bothered the check his stasis chamber before the fight.
It's not like anyone knew about it, not even the people who used to be his closest allies. It was far from the server, far enough that nobody would stumble upon it by accident. But Leo had a feeling. He'd been paranoid lately.
When he arrived at his stasis, he was proven right. It being found was no accident, and his paranoia was more than justified. The void trap could only be the work of Spoke.
But when Leo finally realized what the other pearl meant, he laughed. Was Spoke stupid? Did he really want to deliver a monologue so badly he was willing to risk his life for it?
Oh, Spoke had made things too easy. All Leo had to do was make a few adjustments to the void trap, and Spoke's life would be in his hands. Finally, finally, he could deal with his biggest headache on the server, he could drop him in the void and just be done with this nightmare. He wanted Spoke dead so, so, badly, and his goal was within reach.
Finally. Leo continued to laugh, and then took a good look at the trap, wondering how he would modify it. It would likely be pretty easy to just swap the pearls around, so Spoke would fall into the void instead of Leo.
Leo was so excited to see Spoke die. He wouldn't have to worry about that stupid nuisance anymore, he'd finally be able to move on with his life, and maybe, he'd finally be happy.
There was so much he'd be able to do with Spoke gone. He could build up his team, bring it back to how BAT was in the glory days. And with his alliance with Lettuce, things could be even better. He and his teammates-
He didn't have any teammates anymore.
Jumper had betrayed him. Derapchu had left. And Nufuli…
He didn't want to think about Nufuli.
What was even waiting for him after Spoke's death?
Sure, he was allied with the Law. But he didn't actually really care about them, he was only using them to kill Spoke. All of his real friends were gone. Without them, what was even the point?
Sure, he was rich. He had hundreds of soldiers at his disposal. But did any of that really matter? Not more than Jumper, more than Derapchu, more than Nufuli…
What did he even have left to live for?
He knew he had to kill Spoke. He refused to die until Spoke was dead. But was there even any point of living, after that?
It was clear what he had to do, and it wasn't swapping the pearls.
Both pearls were going into the void.
Somehow, Leo had survived until the end of the battle.
He was covered in the blood of fallen lawmen, and some of his own. Not like he cared. He didn't care if the Law died, he didn't care about any of it. As long as he could pull off his plan, as long as he could see Spoke dead, nothing else mattered.
Now, he trudged through the snow, struggling to stay upright. There was only so much golden apples could do against fatigue. When he saw the spy in the distance, he didn't try to hide or run. He wanted them to see him, so Spoke would come to him.
And only a few minutes later, Spoke arrived, followed by Jumper. As expected, they attacked him, trapping him in a web.
"Bro, bro, you know this isn't gonna stop, bro, this isn't gonna end, not if we keep going the way we are." Leo pearled away from Spoke, making a half-hearted attempt to fight, only to be webbed again.
"This is how you're gonna go out?" Spoke taunted. Oh, if Spoke knew. If he knew just what fate awaited him.
"Spoke. We've been through this so many times Spoke. You know exactly what I'm about to do." But what Spoke didn't know was what was about to happen.
"You didn't have to do any of this! You didn't have to destroy my home-"
"This is your fault."
"-you didn't have to blame me for anything, you didn't have to accuse me for something- for everything I didn't do! I didn't burn that village, I didn't kill those spies, you have like- you have some sort of absurd agenda against me that makes no sense. So many people have died because of you. Maybe you haven't killed them yourself, but so-"
"Spoke! It's never gonna end!" Leo did have to do all those things. He couldn't have a repeat of last time. The Director had taken so much from him- he'd threatened to kill his friends, he even killed Nufuli just to prove he could. He couldn't let someone like that ruin his life again, but clearly, he hadn't done enough. Jumper was beside Spoke, criting him out, and Derapchu was who-knows-where. He needed Spoke dead, and since it was too late to fix things, he needed himself dead as well.
"Spoke, the way we're going, it's never gonna end! It's simple as that. You're never gonna kill me, and I will kill you bro. It'll only be so long until you're dead."
"You have done some horrible things. You send spies to their deaths, you even tried to say that Mapicc was dead."
"I mean… where is he? Did he die in the battle?" Leo didn't hold any grudge against Mapicc, but if Mapicc died, he would be happy. Spoke deserved it. He deservered to know what it felt like to lose your best friend, the only person who was always there for you. Even if Spoke didn't die, maybe that would be a suitable punishment for his crimes.
"I- no, he didn't die in the battle."
"Ohhh, you don't know where he is!" Leo felt almost giddy, knowing that Spoke would die terrified for his friend, not knowing whether or not he was alive.
"And honestly, one day, one day Spoke, if I can't kill you, if this doesn't work, one day, one day Spoke, there will be someone else. And they will kill you. Goodbye Spoke." And with that, Leo pulled the fishing rod.
The stasises activated. The pistons moved, and, in unison, they fell. Both Leo and Spoke equipped their elytras- Spoke for survival, and Leo just because he wanted to ensure Spoke was dead, he wanted to watch him fall into the void.
Spoke laughed. "Of course. I should've expected this. You found the pearl, and you really dropped us both into the void. Better work on your redstone, buddy, because now we're both dying."
"Spoke, you really think I would make such a stupid mistake?" Leo said. "If I wanted to live, I would've just switched the pearls."
"So what is this? A murder-suicide? What- Why would you want to be dead? Don't you have plans? Something to do after you kill me?"
"Spoke, my life was fine before you showed up!" Leo exclaimed. "You ruined everything. You destroyed my entire team, you made Jumper betray, you ruined my life bro. Because of you, I have nothing to live for. Nothing except killing you."
Spoke laughed. "What, you really think you can kill me?" He flew upwards, towards where they fell into the void, only to find the holes blocked by ancient debris. It'd taken a lot of experimentation with pistons, but if it made it impossible for Spoke to escape, it was worth it.
"I know I can kill you." Leo said. "I'm killing both of us, Spoke."
Spoke used another firework, eating a chorus fruit when he was at the same height as the bedrock ceiling. It did nothing. Leo wondered how many of those he had. It was the only thing that could ruin his plan.
"I have six of those left!" Spoke announced. By now, Leo was so far down he could hardly hear Spoke. Suddenly, Spoke dipped downwards, towards Leo, and extended his fishing rod towards him, but missed. After a few more attempts, he was successful, and managed to fish Leo upwards. As he did this a few more times, Spoke monologued:
"You may think I'm trying to save you, but no, I still want you dead. I just want you to see, see that your trap failed, see me live on!" Spoke laughed and ate another chorus fruit. It did nothing.
"Bro, you know how this is gonna go, even if you do survive." Leo said. "If I can't kill you, someone else will instead. And they might kill Mapicc too, in fact he might already be dead! You have no idea!"
"Well, I'm going to make it out of here, and I'm going to find Mapicc!" Spoke declared. "I'll live on, and you'll die pathetically in the void, like you deserve." Spoke ate his third chorus fruit.
"Yeah, and you'll watch him die."
"I'm sure you know how that feels, huh?" Spoke laughed.
"What- how do you know-"
"Me and Parrot are buddies now, he told me some things about you, and honestly, I don't even feel bad for you!" Spoke giggled, and ate his fourth chorus fruit.
"You are dead." Leo said. "If you get out of here, I'm going to escape too, and you'll never see the light of day again."
"Ha, good luck with that!" Spoke said. "Even if you do the thing where you boost yourself with your bow, there's no way you'll have enough durability on your bow to get to some other void hole!" Spoke said as he ate his fifth chorus fruit. Leo knew Spoke was right. The infinity base and Jumper's void base were both too far from here.
"Well, you're going to die too. You really think the RNG is on your side? After the fifth chorus fruit?"
"We'll see about that." Spoke ate his second-to-last chorus fruit, and again, it did nothing.
By now, Leo was drifting close to the bottom of the void, so Spoke dived down again and fished him upwards. Spoke probably just wanted Leo to see him survive, and then he'd continue to mock Leo from above the void.
Spoke flew up, ate the chorus fruit, and didn't teleport.
Spoke laughed. "That really happened? Really? I ate seven chorus fruit, and not one, not a single one, teleported me upwards? We're both gonna die now!"
Leo sighed in relief. Finally, he'd succeeded. Spoke was going to die, and wouldn't be able to ruin anymore lives, like Spoke ruined his.
Maybe, there was a chance Leo could've put the pieces back together. Maybe, if he'd just swapped the pearls, he could've put his team back together. He could've found Derap and convinced him BAT was still worth his time, maybe he could even get Jumper to see he was right. But even so, the team would never be complete without Nufuli…
Before Leo could regret his actions, Spoke flew towards him, and landed a kick on his face, hurtling him away. Leo regained his balance and continued to glide through the void.
Spoke flew at him again, this time catching Leo in a chokehold. They tumbled downwards, gliding ungracefully.
"Are you seriously kidding me right now?" Spoke punched Leo in the face. "I was going to win! I was going to drop you in here, but no, you really just had to check your stasis beforehand. I can't believe I was that stupid. We both saw what the Mafia can do, when they have your pearl! And still, I gave my pearl right over to you, assuming you'll never find it." Spoke released Leo from the chokehold, and the two separated.
"And I killed you." Leo stated.
"You may have killed me, but you didn't defeat me." Spoke said. "I was the one who caused my own downfall, with my own bad decisions, just like when I said that I wouldn't let another person ruin my life, I'd do it myself. And I did! I ruined my own life, and you ruined your own life by obsessing over me so much."
And that's when Leo realized Spoke was right. He did ruin his own life.
He didn't have to hunt Spoke down, he could've just kicked him off the team, or never invited him to join in the first place. He could've stood beside Jumper against the person who killed two of her spies, instead of becoming that person.
His obsession was the death of him, and it was too late to change that.
"You're right." Leo said. "You didn't ruin my life. I did, and not just by killing myself." He was so close to the void now, but Spoke pulled him up again.
"You know what, Leo? I'm sorry." Spoke said. "I should've just come clean, back when I burned down that village. What's the worst thing that could've happened, anyway? BAT isn't the Mafia, the worst thing you would've done was remove me from the team. It would've made things so much easier, having you as an ally instead of an enemy. I should've just trusted you."
"It's too late to change things now." Leo stated. "But I just want to say that I knew everything was likely to go wrong, that I'd make a wrong decision and everything would be taken from me, ever since Nufuli's death. I thought hunting you was the right decision, but I was wrong."
Spoke fished Leo up again, but his fishing rod broke, and Leo knew he only had a few more moments alive.
"I shouldn't have made that jab at you, about Nufuli." Spoke said. "I couldn't bear it if anything happened to Mapicc, I just don't know how I'd handle it."
"I hope Mapicc is safe, even if you don't see him again." Leo said. He was at the bottom of the void, and as the void killed him, he hoped he could see Nufuli once again.